The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Koumbou Boly Barry, has published a report outlining the inherent link between the rights to water and education.

The report sets out how failures to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights to water and sanitation inhibits the full realisation of the right to education, and how these rights cannot be fully enjoyed without education.

It further underlines that learning is impacted when students and staff do not have access to adequate water and sanitary facilities. Lack of hygiene and water facilities can also lead to health complications, meaning higher levels of absence and drop-outs from school.

Education on water, hygiene, sanitation, menstruation, health, etc., means that individuals have the knowledge to decide and understand if the facilities available are of a high enough standard. Therefore, individuals can advocate for themselves and others, challenging restrictions and limitations to their fundamental rights. Education on water, hygiene, and sanitation is also crucial when it comes to making proper use of available facilities and lead to improved hygiene behaviours.

THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The right to education is contained in many different international and regional instruments including article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

The rights to water and sanitation are rooted in article 11 of the ICESCR on the right to an adequate standard of living, and article 12 on the right to health.

The Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has elaborated in its general comments elaborates the very content of the rights to education and to water. For example, General Comment 13 provides that states must take immediate steps, to the best of their available resources, to satisfy the minimum core of the right to education which importantly requires that sanitation facilities and safe drinking water be available in all educational institutions. They also must take steps for the progressive realisation of these rights to ensure they are upheld fully, and address violations.

VIOLATIONS

The available data states that 570 million children lack access to basic drinking water services in school, 620 million schoolchildren lack access to basic sanitation, and 900 million schoolchildren lack access to hand-washing services. Certainly, the COVID-19 crisis has only highlighted the poor sanitary conditions and lack of access to water in many schools.

Marginalised groups and individuals already vulnerable to violations of human rights because of gender, gender identity, ethnicity, poverty, disability, and geographical location are most affected by lack of water and sanitation facilities in educational spaces. This creates a cycle whereby marginalised individuals remain continuously more likely to human rights abuses particularly because education is essential for the enjoyment of other rights.

In 2016 a reported 335 million girls attended school without proper hand-washing facilities for menstrual hygiene, significantly increasing chances of infection. A lack of women’s only toilets can lead to embarrassment, distress, and safety concerns due to the stigma attached to menstruation. Availability of sanitary products is also a common reason for menstruation-related absence, with research into period poverty in the UK finding that almost half of women under 21 have had to miss at least an entire day of school due to menstruation, and 10% reported being absent because they are unable to afford sanitary wear.

Furthermore, hygiene education issues bring out issues of inclusiveness: many educational facilities do not consider the difficulties faced by transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex individuals when using toilets. They are vulnerable to assault, bullying, and humiliation.

Moreover, most educational institutions in developing countries do not make considerations for those with disabilities when designing water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, nor the risks faced by this group.

Access to water and sanitation is generally worse in primary schools, which is especially alarming given that in developing countries diseases related to water, hygiene and sanitation are a primary cause of mortality in those under five years of age.

Geographical and urban-related disparities should also be noted: people in rural areas are less likely to have access to water and sanitation in places of learning. In poorer nations, most primary schools lack basic water and sanitation. In low-income countries, 45% of primary schools have a basic water supply compared to 78% in lower-mid-income countries. We can compare this to European primary schools where 100% of primary schools have basic drinking water, toilets, and hand-washing facilities.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The report serves as a call to action for states to work towards stopping violations of these interrelated rights. It suggests that each state begins by recognising the rights to education and water, and then elimination structural or legislative barriers that prevent enjoyment of these rights. Comprehensive national assessments should be undertaken, and national action plans should be adopted based on these results.

Erin graduated from the University of Glasgow and is currently studying a masters in Human Rights Law at the University of Strathclyde. She is particularly interested in using human rights law to tackle climate change at an international and local level, and the effect of climate change on vulnerable groups.

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