A/HRC/12/24 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. This report is presented by the independent expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 7/22, which tasks her with further clarifying “the content of human rights obligations, including non-discrimination obligations, in relation to access to safe drinking water and sanitation”. She decided to focus the first year of her mandate on clarifying the human rights obligations related to sanitation. 2. From 27 to 28 April 2009, the independent expert organized an expert consultation on the human rights obligations related to sanitation, with experts in human rights law and in the area of sanitation from all regions of the world. On 29 April, she held a public consultation on the same topic which was attended by numerous States, civil society organizations and other actors. The perspectives and expertise offered during these meetings were extremely helpful to the independent expert in drafting the present report. 3. The report examines sanitation in the context of human rights and identifies human rights obligations related to sanitation. It begins by highlighting the enormity of the sanitation crisis, then briefly examines existing definitions of sanitation, and goes on to explain the inextricable links between sanitation and a wide variety of human rights. The report subsequently offers a definition of sanitation in human rights terms, explores the scope and content of human rights obligations related to sanitation, and finishes with conclusions and recommendations. II. THE SANITATION CRISIS 4. The current sanitation crisis has dire implications for the lives and livelihoods of billions of people around the world, yet it remains one of the most neglected issues at the international and national levels. The United Nations estimates that about 2.5 billion people still lack access to improved sanitation and 1.2 billion practice open defecation.1 An estimated 1.6 million people, mostly children under the age of 5, die each year from water and sanitation-related diseases;2 research suggests that poor sanitation may be linked to as much as a quarter of all under-five deaths.3 5. Recognizing the fundamental importance of sanitation for human development, the Millennium Development Goals aim to halve the proportion of people without access to basic 1 See the WHO and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) report on “Progress on drinking water and sanitation: special focus on sanitation” (2008), p. 2. 2 See http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/documents/WaterComplete-lowres.pdf. 3 See WaterAid, “Tackling the silent killer: the case for sanitation”, p. 7 (2008).