A/HRC/15/31 through social policies, that makes them affordable to all people, including those living in extreme poverty. 48. Linked to the question of affordability of services is the issue of disconnections. When water disconnections take place despite people’s inability to pay, individuals must still have at least access to minimum essential levels of water.42 2. Complying with human rights standards in the operation of services 49. While it is the obligation of the State to put into place the necessary regulations, providers also have responsibilities in the operation of services. As outlined above, they must exercise due diligence to become aware of, prevent and address adverse impacts on human rights. To meet this responsibility, service providers should take certain measures, such as ensuring that the water they provide is of safe quality, ensuring the regularity of supply, not discriminating in their operations, adopting fair procedures in cases of disconnections due to non-payment and refraining from disconnections when people are unable to pay and the disconnection would leave them without access to minimum essential levels of water. 50. However, the overall policy framework governing these issues is within the purview of the State. Often, these decisions apply to a broader context than the area of operation of the provider in question. And most importantly, service providers lack the legitimacy to take such decisions. Yet, service providers should consider the human rights implications of different policy decisions, in particular, they should be aware of adverse implications of their activities. They can be expected to engage with the State authorities to ensure they are not indirectly contributing to human rights abuses. For instance, while non-State service providers do not determine tariff structures unilaterally, they can be involved and make suggestions on how to ensure that services are affordable, also to the poorest. Moreover, they can and should offer flexible payment schemes adapted to the needs of people living in poverty, such as phased connection charges, payment in instalments and grace periods. 3. Institutional and regulatory capacity 51. Effective regulation depends on the capacity to carry out regulatory functions. Regulation must be independent and shielded from political interference and capture by specific groups or politicians. A transparent and comprehensive regulatory framework helps to reduce the potential for abuse. Regulatory and institutional models may differ: some countries have independent regulatory agencies at the national level, while others largely regulate private sector participation by contract. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but regulation has to be approached in a flexible manner and be adapted to local circumstances, needs and challenges such as the degree of decentralization. The essential point is that institutions must be in a position to carry out regulatory functions independently. 52. Even the best contracts and regulatory frameworks will not serve any purpose if they are not monitored and enforced. Monitoring compliance with the established standards is therefore essential. Benchmarking – against the best performing company, a model company, across different regions, or comparable cities – might be a suitable instrument to assess whether standards are met.43 It is critical that Governments have the commitment and the capacity for enforcement. The regulator must be endowed with the power to enforce existing regulations and the contractual agreements. Mechanisms for contract enforcement 42 43 See for example section 61(1A) of the Water Industry Act of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which prohibits disconnections of water supply due to non-payment of charges. OECD, Private Sector Participation (see footnote 8 above), p. 51. 17