Dear Members of HR2W,
We hope you all had a restful break and we are looking forward to a new and exciting year here at HR2W. This is the Newsletter for the December 2025.
A note from the CEO
As we come to the close of the year, we reflect on a period defined by both urgency and opportunity. Across regions and communities, the human rights to water and sanitation have been tested by climate pressures, inequality, and governance gaps—but also strengthened through advocacy, legal progress, and collective action. This year, Human Right 2 Water has worked alongside partners, experts, and communities to translate human rights commitments into practical change, amplifying voices too often left unheard. As we look ahead, we remain committed to advancing equitable, sustainable, and accountable water governance—because access to safe water and sanitation is not a privilege, but a fundamental human right.
Empowering Women in Water Research
At the IWRA Congress HR2W lead a Special Session on ‘Empowering women in water research’ - essential for building inclusive, resilient and knowledge-rich water governance systems. Yet across many regions, women remain underrepresented, under-recognised and structurally constrained within research, policy and leadership spaces. This roundtable brought experts from three continents to explore data, governance reforms, community-driven approaches and international cooperation and how it can strengthen women’s roles in water research. We included Ariana Rossen from the National Water Institute of Argentina, Francesca Grecco from the University of Bergamo in Italy, Tracy-Lynn Field from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and Raya Stephan, a Water Law Expert from IWRA in France, plus Alfonso Garcia, from Malaga University. The topics covered sex-disaggregated data platforms, transformative citizen-science leadership, justice-oriented legal and governance frameworks, and the growing influence of women in transboundary water diplomacy. Together, these perspectives demonstrated how empowering women researchers leads to more equitable, effective and collaborative water solutions.
Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day is always a special day for recognising, protecting and promoting our basic rights and freedoms, marked each year on 10th December, the day in 1948 when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted.
The members’ open session consisted of a human rights roundtable to share best practices and lessons learned from members in Brazil, Costa Rica, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. Introduced by HR2W President Pedi Obani and joined by Prof. Martha Davis and human right to water experts Amael Notini (Chair of our Expert Committee), Isabella Cubillo, John Dini (WRC) and Kay Windle, the roundtable shared legal summaries from the different countries, and examples of how the law has been interpreted in each case. It was an opportunity for our members to get together and share their views on the human rights to water and sanitation, and its importance to be integrated into national law.
Biodiversity
As a closing event for 2025, our team developed a training workshop for the White and Case Lawyers that will be supporting us with pro bono research in 2026 to create reports on the human right to biodiversity. Based on HR2W methodology, and developed in partnership with IUCN, the questionnaire has been peer reviewed extensively throughout the year by our experts at HR2W. We are very grateful for the engagement on this topic, and aim to release the first reports in early 2026.
Human Right to Healthy Environment
We released the latest new reports on the Human Right to a Safe Clean and Healthy Environment, and how it relates to the human rights to water and sanitation.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica has established a strong legal framework for protecting the human right to water and a healthy environment, anchored in a 2020 by a constitutional amendment that explicitly guarantees access to drinking water and an ecologically balanced environment. This is supported by international commitments and detailed domestic regulations that ensure water accessibility, quality, sanitation, and responsible wastewater management through strict standards and institutional oversight. Costa Rica also provides effective domestic and international remedies for rights violations, including accessible complaint mechanisms for vulnerable groups, making it a leading example of rights-based water and environmental governance despite some remaining gaps.
Kenya
Kenya has made significant progress in advancing human rights–based water, sanitation, hygiene, and environmental governance through strong constitutional, legal, and policy frameworks, especially in the 2010 Constitution. Laws such as the Water Act 2016 and environmental legislation also help to promote sustainability, devolution, and public participation. Kenya’s judiciary system has played a key role in enforcing these rights, lowering barriers to environmental justice and aligning domestic law with international standards. Despite persistent implementation challenges, particularly in rural and informal urban areas, Kenya’s integrated and enforceable approach offers a compelling model for rights-based and sustainable development.
New Zealand
New Zealand has been strengthening its protection of the rights to water and a healthy environment through updated legislation, international agreements, and innovative policies. While it lacks a constitutional guarantee of water rights, given its lack of a written Constitution, reforms such as the Water Services Act 2021, the 2024 Local Water Done Well policy, and environmental laws like the Resource Management Act 1991 improve water quality, regulation, and environmental protection while recognising Māori interests. Notably, the Te Awa Tupua Act 2017, which grants legal rights to the Whanganui River, equivalent to a person, highlights New Zealand’s leadership in integrating human, environmental, and Indigenous rights.
Niger
Niger has developed a comprehensive rights-based framework for water, sanitation, and a healthy environment by constitutionally recognising these rights and reinforcing them through detailed laws, policies, and institutions. Its constitution mandates access to potable water, environmental protection for present and future generations, corporate accountability, transparency in resource exploitation, and international cooperation, supported by sectoral laws such as the Water Code and national sanitation and environmental policies. Through coordinated ministries and decentralised regional governance, Niger integrates water and environmental management while aligning with international principles, offering a strong model for human rights–centred and sustainable development despite ongoing implementation challenges.
Costa Rica, Kenya, New Zealand, and Niger conclude the final reports for our Human Right to Healthy Environment Country Assessments. Please note that our reports, all available on our website (HERE) reference legal and policy data, but not compliance.
Happy New Year
Finally, on behalf of the HR2W team, we wish you a happy new year! We look forward to connecting further with all of you this year!
Best regards,
The HR2W Team