A/HRC/7/16 page 11 attention of relevant world conferences and relevant treaty bodies including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.18 E. The human right to water and sanitation 26. As stated by the Special Rapporteur throughout his mandate, access to water is a prerequisite to the realization of a range of human rights, including the right to adequate housing. A house is not liveable without access to potable water. As a human right, the right to water should entitle everyone, on the basis of non-discrimination, to sufficient, safe, physically accessible and affordable water, which is of an acceptable quality, for personal, domestic and subsistence uses. In his 2003 report,19 the Special Rapporteur emphasized the importance of water and sanitation in the context of the right to adequate housing. 27. While the CESCR general comment on the right to water20 and current Human Rights Council debates have been landmarks in the recognition of the right to water as a human right, the poor and other marginalized groups have the greatest difficulty in accessing sufficient and safe water and adequate sanitation. In many slums and informal settlements around the world, having no water connection means that residents have to pay higher prices to buy water. In rural areas, women and children often have to walk great distances in search of water to meet minimum household needs. Diseases associated with contaminated drinking water and unsanitary living conditions are among the leading causes of ill-health, and a significant contributor to infant and child mortality in developing countries.21 28. The consequences of inadequate or no access to water are particularly devastating for women and children. When water is not readily available, they are the ones that have to spend a large amount of time finding and fetching it. Inadequate access to water in rural areas also leads to a vicious circle of lower agricultural yields for subsistence and income generation, deepening poverty. This has a detrimental impact on health, security and education. 29. Lack of sanitation facilities affects both men and women, but sanitation needs and demands differ with gender. Women have particular privacy, dignity and personal safety needs and concerns. The lack of sanitation facilities at home can often force women and girls to use secluded places outside, exposing them to the risk of sexual abuse. 18 See, for example, the contribution of the Special Rapporteur to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (A/CONF.189/9). 19 E/CN.4/2003/5. 20 General comment No. 15 (2002) on the right to water (articles 11 and 12 of the Covenant). 21 See Miloon Kothari, “Privatising human rights - the impact of globalisation on adequate housing, water and sanitation”, Social Watch (2003), available at http://www.socialwatch.org/en/informesTematicos/66.html.