International law on the women's rights to access to water and sanitation : the case of South Sudan

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

There exist major inequalities in regard to access to the available, accessible, affordable, safe, and acceptable water which in particular affects vulnerable groups such as women. Worldwide 2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries. South Sudan is one of these countries with 59% of the population lacking access to safe water. This, in turn, indicates the importance of an international legal framework regulating access to water and sanitation for everyone without discrimination. However, violations of international law are a recurrent matter, and the efficiency of international law can be disputed. The question is, how effective is the law in providing access to water and sanitation for women. The research objective is to examine the effects of international human rights law on women’s access to water and sanitation in South Sudan. The IRAC method will be applied in order to examine the issue of lack of access to water and sanitation, identifying relevant rules and in turn applying these rules to conclude the status of the rights to water and sanitation in international law. In the interpretation of existing provisions of international law, a legal dogmatic method will be applied to determine the meaning and content of the provisions. A theoretical approach will be employed to examine the relevant principles of availability, quality and safety, accessibility, acceptability, and affordability of water and sanitation. Furthermore, it will consist of a secondary data analysis using existing data on women’s access to water and sanitation in South Sudan. The findings indicate inefficiencies in international human rights law and it is concluded that the effects of existing provisions are limited regarding women’s access to water and sanitation in South Sudan.

국문 초록 (Abstract)

이용할 수 있고, 접근이 용이하며, 저렴하고, 안전하고, 수용할 수 있는 물의 접근성에 관하여 특히 여성과 같은 취약 계층에게 영향을 미치는 심각한 불평등이 존재한다. 24억 명의 인구가 물 부족 국가에 거주하고 있으며, 남수단 또한 인구의 59%가 깨끗한 물에 대한 접근성이 부족한 국가 중 하나이다. 이는 결국 차별 없이 모든 인구에 물과 위생의 접근성을 규정하는 국제법적 체계의 중요성을 나타낸다. 그러나 국제법 위반은 거듭되는 문제이며, 국제법의 효율성은 논란의 여지가 있다. 문제는 여성의 건강 상태 개선을 위해 물과 위생에 대한 접근성을 제공하는 법률이 얼마나 효과적인가이다. 이 논문의 연구 목적은 국제인권법의 물과 위생의 권리에 관한 기존 조항을 통해 남수단 여성의 물과 위생의 접근성을 검토하는 것이다. IRAC 방법을 이용해 물과 위생에 대한 접근성 부족 문제를 검토하고 관련 규칙을 확인하고 해당 규칙을 적용하며, 법률적 도그마틱(dogmatic) 방법을 적용한 기존 조항의 해석을 통해 국제법에서 물과 위생에 대한 권리 현황을 결론짓는다. 또한 이 논문은 남수단에서의 여성의 물에 대한 접근성에 대한 기존 데이터를 사용한 2차 데이터 분석으로 구성된다. 이 논문의 발견은 남수단에서 여성의 물과 위생의 접근성에 관한 기존 조항의 효과가 제한적이라는 결론을 통해 국제인권법의 심각한 비효율성을 나타낸다.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Table of Contents
• List of Abbreviations..........................................................................................iii
• Abstract.........................................................................................................iv
• Chapter 1: Introduction.......................................................................................1
• 1.1 Background...............................................................................................1
• 1.2 Literature Review........................................................................................6
• 1.2.1 International Human Rights Law.......................................................................6
• 1.2.2 International Human Rights Law and Women....................................................11
• 1.2.3 Rights to Water and Sanitation in International Human Rights Law.........................17
• 1.2.4 Women’s Access to Water, Sanitation, and Health Status in South Sudan.................19
• 1.3 Research Objective and Research Question.........................................................23
• 1.4 Research Procedure, Method, and Material.........................................................24
• Chapter 2: Rights to Water and Sanitation in International Human Rights Law...............28
• 2.1 Rights to Water and Sanitation as Human Rights.................................................28
• 2.1.1 Rights to Water and Sanitation in Accordance with UDHR.................................28
• 2.1.2 Consensus on the Rights to Water and Sanitation..............................................29
• 2.2 Rights to Water and Sanitation in Accordance with ICESCR.......................................34
• 2.2.1 Rights to Water and Sanitation in Accordance with GC 15...................................34
• 2.2.2 Protection of the Rights to Water and Sanitation in ICESCR.................................36
• 2.2.3 Principles of the Rights to Water and Sanitation and States’ Obligations................40
• 2.2.4 Status of the Rights to Water and Sanitation in Accordance with ICESCR.................44
• 2.3 Rights to Water and Sanitation in Accordance with ICCPR.....................................47
• 2.4 Discrimination Against Women and CEDAW...........................................................50
• 2.5 Human Rights Treaties as Living Instruments.....................................................57
• 2.6 Rights to Water and Sanitation in Accordance with Customary International Law...........61
• 2.7 Enforcement of International Human Rights Law................................................65
• Chapter 3: South Sudan.....................................................................................71
• 3.1 Women’s Access to Water and Sanitation..........................................................71
• 3.1.1 Availability..................................................................................................77
• 3.1.2 Quality and Safety.........................................................................................77
• 3.1.3 Accessibility................................................................................................79
• 3.1.4 Acceptability................................................................................................81
• 3.1.5 Affordability.................................................................................................82
• 3.2 National Legislation, Policies, and Courts..........................................................83
• 3.2.1 Reliance on Customary Law............................................................................83
• 3.2.2 Laws Discriminating Against Women................................................................84
• 3.2.3 The Constitution............................................................................................86
• 3.2.4 Harmonization of International Law.................................................................89
• 3.2.5 South Sudan’s Water Policy............................................................................91
• Chapter 4: The Effects of Human Rights Law on Women’s Access to Water and Sanitation in South Sudan................................................................................................94
• Chapter 5: Conclusion......................................................................................106
• Bibliography..................................................................................................108
• Abstract (Korean)...........................................................................................124