A/HRC/42/47 C. Affordability 46. The provision of water and sanitation services in public spaces should be affordable for users. In many States, it is typical for fees to be charged to users in order to allow them access to public toilets and water points, with these fees often being utilized to offset the costs of operating and maintaining the facilities. Some public spaces are poorly provided with water mains or sewerage, making the provision of such facilities more costly than it would be in residential areas or business districts. There is room for creativity in the choice of technology involved to keep costs under control. One example is the use of ventilated improved pit latrines by the United States National Parks Service in Yosemite National Park, which were originally developed for low-income groups in Zimbabwe. 37 While human rights law does not preclude States from charging for access, it obliges them to ensure that any fees which are charged are economically viable for all users and do not compromise users’ ability to realize other human rights. 38 47. It is clear that many people who rely on public spaces for their access to water and sanitation simply do not have the necessary means to pay for access fees. Considering their financial vulnerability and the difficulties in implementing individual subsidies for access, the requirement to ensure affordability should encourage States either to significantly reduce the cost of access fees to levels that are affordable for all or, ideally, remove access fees for those users altogether and find alternative methods of ensuring the sustainability of provision. 48. In Paris, self-cleaning toilets in public spaces such as roads, parks and squares have been free to use since 2006 when the authorities renegotiated contracts with operators of the facilities in order to reduce costs and therefore promote sustainability. 39 In India, the NGO Sanitation and Health Rights in India has sought to mitigate the prevalence of open defecation in the country through the construction of public toilets, particularly in rural areas that have been neglected by government initiatives. These toilets with 16 cubicles and a biogas digester cost US$ 30,000 to construct but no user fees are charged, in order to encourage use, with construction and maintenance instead being inventively funded by the human waste generated by them. The waste produces energy to power a generator, which in turn runs a water filtration pump. Sanitation and Health Rights in India sells around 100,000 litres of filtered water per month, which generates enough income to guarantee the maintenance and upkeep of the toilets, as well as the construction of other facilities. 40 D. Quality and safety 49. States must provide and maintain water and sanitation facilities in public spaces to proper standards of cleanliness and technical safety. Sanitation amenities must be hygienic, properly cleaned and maintained, and safe for users. Efforts must also be taken to keep humans, animals and insects away from the human excreta produced in public toilets, so as to prevent the spread of disease. Water provided in public spaces must be safe and free from pathogens and harmful impurities that might affect users’ health.41 50. In public spaces, failure to provide access to water and sanitation that is safe and of sufficient quality can have a highly detrimental impact on health and hygiene outcomes. These negative effects are, for instance, noticeable in places that are utilized by traders for the sale of food to the public, where the absence of good-quality water and safe sanitation can be hazardous to both vendors and their customers alike. In Ghana, market traders sometimes only have access to poor quality and unhygienic water and toilets in the vicinity 37 38 39 40 41 Sandy Cairncross and Richard Feachem, Environmental Health Engineering in the Tropics (Chichester, United Kingdom, John Wiley and Sons, 1983). See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 15, para. 12 (c) (ii). See, for example, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4654694.stm. See www.pri.org/stories/2016-07-05/doctoral-student-building-public-toilets-india-also-provideclean-drinking-water and www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41680867. See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 15, para. 12 (b). 13