The Fund has specific tools to analyse and advance its rights-based approach, such as the Human Rights Compliance Checklist for Water and Sanitation Programmes.
The promotion of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation is one of the priorities of Spanish cooperation policy.
The Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean (FCAS) is one of Spain’s most ambitious instruments in this field, as it was established with the aim of making the Human Rights to water and sanitation (HRWS) effective, prioritising the most fragile countries and the most vulnerable populations. Among its inspiring principles, human rights are recognised as elements that should guide its interventions, promoting sustainable, participatory and transparent water management, facilitating the guarantee of universal access and avoiding any type of exclusion.
Agenda 2030
The 2030 Agenda is the strategic framework and benchmark for the Water and Sanitation Partnership Fund to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In relation to SDG 6, “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all”, the Spanish Cooperation is working on most of the goal’s targets, such as improving safe access to water and sanitation, capacity building, fostering the participation of local communities, promoting research, protecting ecosystems and integrated water resource management. SDG 6 is configured as a lever goal, because it facilitates the achievement of other goals related to health, education, the reduction of inequality, the sustainability of cities, gender equity and climate emergency, among others.
Work in 2020
This list allows Fund managers and programme implementers to analyse in detail the content of the Human Rights to water and sanitation in cooperation projects, in order to facilitate their incorporation in each of the phases and to be able to assess whether all the criteria that make up these human rights have been considered in the projects developed.
During 2020, these fact sheets were used to define the actions of the new programmes. In addition, work was initiated to define a tool to analyse the content of the human rights approach in the municipalities responsible for water and sanitation services. In addition, work was carried out with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on the publication of a report on the subject.
The manual, entitled “The Right to Water and Sanitation: Universal Basic Services”, financed by the multi-donor AquaFund, gathers 48 experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean that can serve as a guide for governments and entities in the sector when implementing the Human Rights to water and sanitation (HRWS).
2020 was a year of transition in which the new United Nations Special Rapporteur for Water and Sanitation, Pedro Arrojo, took up office. Spanish Cooperation has been one of the main promoters of this position and in 2020 it collaborated with the former rapporteur, Léo Heller, in the analysis of good practices related to human rights. During the year, a meeting was held with Pedro Arrojo to raise awareness of the impacts of the Fund and its human rights approach, and to help define the priorities of his new mandate.
Related News
España colabora en la publicación de un libro sobre buenas prácticas de derechos humanos al agua y al saneamiento
El manual, financiado con el apoyo del Fondo multidonante AquaFund recoge 48 experiencias en América Latina y el Caribe, que pueden servir como guía a los gobiernos y a las entidades sectoriales al momento de llevar a la práctica los derechos humanos al agua y al saneamiento (DHAS)
Instituciones del ámbito del agua y saneamiento de América Latina se forman en enfoque de derechos con el apoyo de la Cooperación Española
El Fondo de Cooperación para Agua y Saneamiento impulsa un curso virtual de formación en derechos con algunas de sus entidades socias.
