Geneva, Switzerland
The Workshop on Equitable Access to Water and Sanitation - Challenges, good practices and lessons learned - will be held on 4 and 5 July 2011 in Geneva. The workshop will be organized under the leadership of the Government of France, with the support of the UNECE secretariat of the Protocol on Water and Health, and in cooperation with the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation.
The workshop will bring together countries and other stakeholders engaged in the provision of water and sanitation services, with the aim to:
- Analyse the specific challenges and debate the political, economic and practical implications of equitable access to water and sanitation;
- Exchange practical experience and share lessons learned on the policies and measures to be enacted to provide access to water and sanitation to vulnerable and marginalized groups, to reduce geographical disparities in access and to address affordability issues;
- Identify good practices, success factors and lessons learned;
- Support Governments in complying with the requirements of article 5 of the Protocol on Water and Health as regards promoting equitable access to water and sanitation, as well as their obligations under international human rights law.
The workshop is addressed to all those who are responsible for or involved in the process of developing policies, programmes and measures for ensuring access to water and sanitation: first and foremost governmental representatives, but also water and health managers, local authorities and representatives of academia, research institutes, non-governmental organizations and the private sector.
The workshop will discuss the draft document on “Good practices to ensure equitable access to water and sanitation” that has been prepared by a drafting group of experts under the leadership of France. The document aims to provide policymakers and other actoes, at national and local level, with guidance on how to fulfil their commitments to ensure equitable access to water and sanitation. The intention is that, by providing examples of how different countries have attempted to reduce inequities in access to water and sanitation services, policymakers will find inspiration to try similar or innovative measures.
The workshop is the second one organized on this theme in the framework of the Protocol on Water and Health. It will build on the results of the 2007 workshop and illustrate recent developments in this area. Information on the first workshop, “Equitable access to water” (Paris, 5–6 July 2007) can be found at http://www.unece.org.unecedev.colo.iway.ch/index.php?id=22316.
Presentations | ENG | FRE | RUS |
|---|---|---|---|
Equitable access to water and sanitation throughout the UNECE region: obligations under the UNECE/WHO-Europe Protocol on Water and Health | |||
· Political commitments and international human rights law Ms. Mara Bustelo, Coordinator, Human Rights and Economic and Social Issues Unit, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations | |||
· Political commitments and realities: the experience of Hungary in the EU accession process Mr. Andras Kiss, Head of Section, Ministry of Rural Development, Section for Water Supply, Hungary | |||
Non discrimination in assuring access: addressing inequities between present and future generations Mr. Sandor Fülöp, Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations, Hungary | |||
The Croatian Experience with Roma settlements in the context of access to water and sanitation Mr. Branko Socanac, Head, Government Office for National Minorities, Croatia | |||
Social access to water and sanitation in Paris: from Commitment to action Ms. Anne Le Strat, Deputy Mayor of Paris, France | |||
Access by vulnerable groups and groups with specific needs to water and sanitation: modern situation and policy measures in Russia Mr. Alexander Razumov, Deputy Director General, Institute for Labour and Social Insurance, Ministry for Health and Social Development, Russian Federation | |||
Post-hospitalization assistance to ensure access to water and sanitation in Kyrgyzstan Mr. Marat Jidebaev, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity, Kyrgyzstan | |||
Conclusions of the first day of the workshop Mr. André Flajolet, Workshop Chair, Member of the Parliament, French National Assembly | |||
Keeping water and sanitation affordable for all. Introduction to the topic Mr. Henri Smets, Académie de l’Eau, France | |||
Social measures in Flanders to ensure affordability Ms. Ingeborg Limbourg, Regulation Unit, Flemish Environment Agency (VMM), Belgium | |||
Examples from private water operators within and outside the UNECE region Mr. Erasmo de Alfonso, Senior Water Advisor, AquaFed (The International Federation of Private Water Operators), Belgium | |||
Social Measures in Bucharest, Romania and in Yerevan, Armenia Mr. Bruno Jannin, Veolia Water Europe, France | |||
Housing subsidies in Ukraine Ms. Anna Tsvietkova, NGO “Mama-86”, Ukraine | |||
Reducing geographical disparities.Introduction to the topic Mr. Jaime Melo Baptista, President, Water and Waste Regulatory Agency (ERSAR), Portugal | |||
Addressing national differences in terms of access to water and sanitation in the Ukraine Mr. Mykhailo Yatsiuk, First Deputy Chairman, State Agency of Water Resources, Ukraine | |||
Reducing geographical disparities in the price of water in Wallonia, Belgium Mr. Cédric Prevedello, S.A. Aquawal, Belgium | |||
Cooperation between Nablus Municipality and Kufur Qallil Village Mr. Mahdi Al-Hanbali, Councillor, Nablus Municipality, Palestine | |||
Access to safe water in the outskirts of Gyula City - Analysis of local environmental conflicts Mr. Sandor Fülöp, Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations, Hungary | |||
Providing access to remote rural areas in Uzbekistan Ms. Nadejda Vakhitova, Ecoforum of NGOs, Uzbekistan | |||
Main conclusions and the next steps as well as the way forward to the World Water Forum Mr. André Flajolet, Workshop Chair, Member of the Parliament, French National Assembly
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