July 10, 202
THIS WEEK IN HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS
Water as a human right and the privatisation of water in Mexico
Sources: Foreign Policy, Latin America Reports, Arizona State University, Global Voices, UN, OHCHR
Public water utilities in Mexico have long been inadequate for providing clean water access to all residents, raising concerns about the privatisation of water and water access as a human right.
In Mexico City, for example, old and untreated pipe infrastructure have contributed to water being wasted through leaks – up to 1,000 litres a second, by some estimates. Despite heavy rainfall in the region, a lack of collective government oversight means that rainwater collection is not centralised and sanitised to its full potential.
The privatisation of water is a complex social, political, and economic issue. In Mexico, poor public oversight has contributed to high usage of bottled water, a multi-billion dollar private industry. In poor and rural areas, water is brought in by private trucks, sometimes only once every eight days. Private sources of water through bottled water consumption and trucking has led to increased inequality in clean drinking water access.
Water is even a consideration in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which ensures the smooth circulation of goods between Mexico, Canada and the United States.
A study from Arizona State University that studied land use along the US-Mexico border revealed profound differences in water conservation and usage. In the 27 years since the agreement entered into effect, the study found that US border cities converted water from crop use to city use, which yielded water savings. Due to the US’ advantageous economic position, the loss of crop land was partially outsourced to Mexico, who saw an increase in agriculture and water usage.
In the central Mexican state of Querétaro, 30 environmental and human rights groups have responded with concern over bill proposals from the state to award private contracts for water management following water resource instability from intensifying climate change and drought. Fundamental to their debate, and to the issue of water privatisation as a whole, is the question of whether water should be treated as a for-profit commercial commodity.
The greater context of water in geopolitical trade agreements, as well as the debate of public versus private water supply, all raise critical questions and concerns from a human rights perspective.
In 2010, the UN General Assembly explicitly recognised water as an aspect of human rights by stating that ‘clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights.’
The UN Human Rights Commission views the risk of privatisation of water in three parts.
First, the push for profit maximisation in private industry means that water could be used for reasons other than clean drinking water access (such as fracking) and lead to the use of the ‘maximum amount of resources’.
Second, the natural tendency of monopoly in the private sector means that power could become concentrated, which, thirdly, could lead to power imbalances in the oversight of water access.