Public – public, not private !

In his closing remarks to the UN Human Rights Council, Pedro Arrojo Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, stressed the importance of public – public partnerships and of public community partnerships, instead of private involvement. Here his final words from the session on 17 September:

Some countries asked for public – private management. You have my position on this in my report, from the beginning. And the position of the precedent rapporteur. In fact, public – private management strategies is the dominant form of privatizing water management in the world. I don’t agree with this approach. You have my recommendation in this respect and the recommendation of my predecessor Leo Heller. I recommend the non-profit public – public partnership and public – community partnership in rural areas. It is very important what is happening now in Colombia, in Ecuador, in Mexico, trying to build laws for these new public – community partnerships – without any profit, just as a public service. As a human right. Thank you very much.

See his answers and comments on 17 September, at the 12th meeting:

See also our previous entry in the Blue News with further information and links: Water is a human right – and not a commodity