A/HRC/42/47 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 10 July 2019 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-second session 9–27 September 2019 Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Human rights to water and sanitation in spheres of life beyond the household with an emphasis on public spaces Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation Summary Access to water and sanitation in spheres of life beyond the household, particularly in public spaces, is an essential element of the human rights to water and sanitation. However, service provision and monitoring are often neglected in such places. As a result, potential violations of human rights occur frequently and disproportionately impact persons that live in vulnerable situations, such as the homeless. In such cases, the violations of the rights to water and sanitation determine the violation of several other related rights. The failure of States to include access to water and sanitation in public spaces and in other spheres of life beyond the household within their policy and planning is also inconsistent with the commitment they have made to the Sustainable Development Goals. GE.19-11760(E) 