The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights sought input from stakeholders in conducting the detailed study on the scope and content of the relevant human rights obligations related to equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation under international human rights instruments. The purpose of the submission is three-fold:

1- To draw attention to the use of the concept "affordability" in the context of human rights, to question its validity in the specific context of the human right to water, and to suggest as alternative.

2- To highlight the importance of recognizing that a large majority of water poor live in rural areas and that meeting their "right to water" entails ensuring that water is available for healthy ecosystems maintenance.

3- To suggest that adopting a rights-based National Water Policy is a necessary precondition to ensure that "development" efforts, through institutional, national and regional policies, and/or trade and investment agreements, do not violate the human right to water.