Right to Water: Institute for Human Rights & Business

Businesses—either as users, as enablers of access to water or as providers or distributors—have a close connection with the interface between human rights and water. This is particularly so for GE, given our large and growing water business. We understand that companies have the responsibility to act with due diligence, to respect the right to water and to conduct operations in ways that do not interfere with government’s obligation to protect that right.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Council, over a billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, and 2.5 billion people do not have access to sanitation. Access to safe drinking water for all human beings, without discrimination, is one of the critical, central challenges facing the world. The importance of water has been noted in the Millennium Development Goals. The seventh Millennium Goal concerning environmental sustainability includes the target of reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to water by the year 2015.

When individuals cannot access water, or face discriminatory impediments to its access, there are implications for a wide range of human rights. These include the right to life, the right to health, the right to food, the right to housing, the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to be free from discrimination. Water also plays an important role in many cultures and faiths; therefore, reduced access to water could also violate specific cultural rights.

GE is working with the Institute for Human Rights and Business on roundtable discussions that explore the important issue of human rights and water.