A/HRC/45/10/Add.3 B. Recommendation on policies and programmes RECOMMENDATION 2: Incorporate the normative content and principles of the human rights to water and sanitation for policies and programmes on water, sanitation and hygiene (A/HRC/39/55/Add.2, para. 82(b)). 10. The National Water Programme of Mongolia is currently in its second period (2016 – 2021). The Programme aims to provide safe and clean water to the population, meeting the standard of health and hygiene to at least 60 per cent of the rural population and 70 per cent of the urban population and to connect 30,000 households to central water distribution pipes (A/HRC/39/55/Add.2, para. 19). With approximately one year left until the end of the second period, the Special Rapporteur’s recommendation to incorporate the normative content and principles of the human rights to water and sanitation to the Programme is premature to be assessed at this time. Therefore, the Special Rapporteur wishes to focus on how the Government can assess and evaluate the Programme from a human rights perspective. 11. The final evaluation of the National Water Programme is scheduled to be presented to the National Security Council, a state consultative body to the Office of the President, in June 2021. The evaluation criteria listed in the Programme that are relevant to the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation include the number of people provided with water that meets the standard of quality, and increase in access to sewerage, among other criteria related to availability of water, such as the number of reservoirs built and in use.4 From the perspective of the human rights to water and sanitation, those criteria are limited in that they only address the elements of availability and quality of the normative content, and exclude affordability, accessibility, acceptability, privacy and dignity. While the identified criteria will enable the Government to take stock of the “vertical progressive realization” of the human rights to water and sanitation, in which efforts are made to improve services for the largest number of people, they are not likely to capture “horizontal progressive realization”, where priority is put on reducing inequalities in access and providing services to groups that face additional barriers to access to water and sanitation (A/HRC/45/10). 12. In addition to identifying inequalities, monitoring according to the human rights framework should take into account non-quantitative criteria, including institutional and legal framework as well as In particular, the right of equality and non-discrimination, access to information, participation, accountability and sustainability, must be addressed as part of the evaluation process. Additionally, the maximum available resources allocated and spent to realize the human rights to water and sanitation is a key element for this evaluation. The Special Rapporteur notes that the evaluation criteria for the National Water Programme include “the improvement of the legal environment of the water sector and reduction of violations, gaps and duplication” as well as “improved level of water supply and professional training in the water sector”.5 The Special Rapporteur commends this attention to the legal environment and technical resources related to water and sanitation provisions. He recommends that the Government include evaluating how the Programme and the relevant actors – including State and non-State actors - have complied with human rights standards and principles. 4 5 4 Government of Mongolia, National Water Programme, 2010, 14. Ibid., 15.