Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation

Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation

Purpose of the mandate

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation was established to:

• focus on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation; 
• carry out thematic research;
• undertake country missions;
• collect good practices; and
• work with development practitioners on the implementation of the rights to water and sanitation.

Learn more about water and sanitation as a human rights issue

About the mandate

The mandate was formalized in Human Rights Council resolution 7/22 in 2008, and most recently renewed in Human Rights Council resolution 51/19.

Learn more about the history of the mandate

About the Special Rapporteur

Mr. Pedro Arrojo-Agudo is the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. He was appointed by the Human Rights Council in September 2020 and started his mandate on 1 November 2020. From 2016 to 2019, Mr. Arrojo-Agudo served as an elected member of the Spanish Parliament. He was Professor in the Area of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis at the University of Zaragoza from 1989 to 2011, and has been professor emeritus since 2011. During the last three decades, he has focused his research on economics and water management, publishing his work in more than 100 scientific articles and in 70 books.

Read Pedro Arrojo-Agudo’s full biography

Former mandate holders

Mr. Léo Heller (Brazil)
2014-2020

Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque (Portugal)
2008-2014