A/HRC/45/10 What constitutes “resources”? A. 19. The starting point for clarifying the maximum of available resources is a determination of what is meant by the term “resources”. The human rights to water and sanitation have specific implications for budgetary allocations and public finance, since large-scale water and sanitation systems often require public finance and subsidies. 12 The primary resources for the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation are usually considered to be financial resources, including revenues collected from water and sanitation services, through tariffs, taxes and transfers. The architecture of financial resources also includes budgetary allocations, expenditures and domestic and international macroeconomic policies. Therefore, the maximum of available resources touches upon a wide range of aspects, including debt, tax evasion and corruption. As the Special Rapporteur has clarified, various costs associated with water, sanitation and hygiene are not only direct costs but also costs related to time and to the burden caused by inadequate governance.13 20. Contrary to widespread understanding, the word “resources” does not refer solely to financial resources; other types of resources, such as natural, human, technological, institutional and informational resources, that are available to States are crucial in achieving the rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.14 Specific examples of non-financial resources include information platforms. For instance, the Government of Finland provides water and sanitation operators free-of-charge access to risk management software for water and sanitation safety plans. 15 Another example is the Rural Water and Sanitation Information System, which is a joint initiative of 11 States in Latin America and a tool for sharing updated and comparable information on the rural water supply and sanitation services. 16 21. Economic, social and cultural rights, particularly the human rights to water and sanitation, require a combination of financial and non-financial resources given that those rights are contextual and dynamic. To only require States to utilize the maximum of their financial resources is a simplistic approach that is limited and fails to recognize the importance of a wide range of other types of resources. Often, the non-mobilization of financial resources impedes the creation of an enabling environment in the water and sanitation sector. This, in turn further impedes the optimal usage of financial resources. As such, the scope of resources should be broadly understood to allow for the inclusion of a qualitative dimension to the obligation to use the maximum of available resources and for a comprehensive approach to the progressive realization of rights. B. How can States maximize the availability of resources? 22. States should maximize their financial resources by making efforts to create more resources to ensure the enjoyment of human rights to water and sanitation. In general, financial resources can be made available through public finance, which includes a range of possible sources, such as government revenue, official development assistance, borrowing, monetary policy and financial regulation.17 The obligation to maximize available resources requires States to adopt fair and redistributive taxation and tariff policies and to create a greater pool of resources without affecting the affordability of services for people in poverty. One way to do this is through cross-subsidization, which can be regulated by legislation. Central Governments can also make financial resources available to local governments through budget allocations, grants, State aid and other forms of financial 12 13 14 15 16 17 6 A/HRC/30/39. Ibid., paras. 13–24. Robert Robertson, “Measuring State compliance with the obligation to devote the ‘maximum of available resources’ to realizing economic, social and cultural rights”, Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 16, No. 4 (November 1994), pp. 693–714. Submission from Finland. Submission from Colombia. Diane Elson and others, “Public finance, maximum available resources and human rights”, in Human Rights and Public Finance: Budgets and the Promotion of Economic and Social Rights, Aoife Nolan and others, eds. (Hart Publishing, 2013).