A/HRC/15/31 policies. That section also raises issues regarding institutional capacity and the regulation of informal small-scale providers. Finally, the last section turns to questions of accountability and enforcement. A. Decision-making 32. The human rights framework sets certain standards with regard to, inter alia, transparency and participation. These requirements apply starting with the process of decision-making on the nature and modalities of service provision, the bidding process and entering into contracts in the case of private sector participation, and a continuous assessment of the actual and potential impact on human rights. 33. In the case of informal service provision, there has not been an intentional decision to involve non-State service providers, but rather these structures have evolved over time responding to a need in areas not connected to the utility network. In this regard, the issues for States to consider is whether and how to integrate this type of provision into the formal system and how to exercise oversight over a sector largely operating on its own terms, questions that will mainly be addressed in section B below. 1. Democratic, participatory and transparent processes 34. The decision whether to delegate service provision must take place in the context of a sound overall strategy that lays out how the State aims to achieve universal access to sanitation and water. Both the strategy and the decision on delegation have to be adopted in a democratic, participatory and transparent process. In the view of the independent expert, the participation of all concerned must be active, free and meaningful.29 To enable genuine participation, this requires disclosure of adequate and sufficient information and actual access to information, referring in particular to the instruments that delegate service provision. In the case of State-owned companies, management will usually be delegated via legislation, decrees or contracts, while the authorities will often enter into contracts with private providers. The creation of a wider enabling environment for meaningful participation must be ensured, as well as specific opportunities for participation and reinforcement of the capacities of individuals and civil society to enable them to participate, monitor, evaluate and report on possible human rights abuses. 35. Democratic decision-making implies that Governments must not be pushed into the decision to delegate service provision by donor conditionalities. Such conditionalities may limit independent decision-making in developing countries and thus undermine democracy and the capacity of local authorities to address and solve local problems. States must not limit their regulatory and policy space and must safeguard the ability to protect human rights (A/HRC/14/27, paras. 20-25). The decision for, or against, delegating service provision to non-State actors should always be taken in the light of the local circumstances. In that regard, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights considers that the “international financial institutions [...] should take into account the right to water in their lending policies, credit agreements, structural adjustment programmes and other development projects […], so that the enjoyment of the right to water is promoted”,30 which, in the opinion of the independent expert, also applies to the right to sanitation. 29 30 12 See the Declaration on the Right to Development (General Assembly resolution 41/128, annex, art. 2, para. 3). General comment No. 15, para. 60.