A/HRC/42/47/Add.4
applying chlorine by drip methods to water contained in reservoirs. Furthermore, in order to
minimize the spread of possible contagious diseases in the environment, sewage and grey
waters are treated prior to their evacuation and discharge. According to the Government,
the joint actions carried out by the institutions in charge of the technical part of water
distribution (ANDA), the monitoring of the quality of drinking water (MINSAL) and the
entity in charge of the administration of water resources (MARN) are enabling such efforts
to produce positive results. Furthermore, the General Directorate of Penitentiary Facilities
has taken various concrete actions to improve and repair water systems in various prisons in
the country, such as acquiring and installing water purification filters, cleaning and
sanitizing cisterns, constructing wastewater treatment systems with the purpose of
improving water quality for prisoners and administrative and security staff, thus helping to
avoid the proliferation of gastrointestinal diseases.
65.
The Special Rapporteur notes efforts made by the Government to improve water
availability and accessibility and to ensure water quality and wastewater treatment in
various prisons around the country. He is however concerned about the lack of policies
guaranteeing the human rights to water and sanitation for inmates, the lack of concrete and
targeted measures to provide or improve sanitation facilities in prisons and the small or
restricted scale of projects implemented. He also notes that efforts undertaken by the Justice
and Public Safety Ministry only target new penitentiary facilities.
PROGRESS ON-GOING: The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to
adopt policies and legislative measures ensuring that all inmates have access to
sufficient safe drinking water and to adequate sanitation facilities, and to continue
undertaking projects in other penitentiary facilities around the country in order to
implement his recommendation in the entire penitentiary system of El Salvador.
E.
Recommendation on indigenous peoples
RECOMMENDATION 19: “Develop legislation under which the rights of indigenous
peoples, including the rights to water and sanitation, may be better protected and
implemented.” (A/HRC/33/49/Add.1, para. 96(n)).
66.
The Special Rapporteur underlined in his country visit report that indigenous people
likely represent between 10 and 12 per cent of the population. He further mentioned that
according to the World Bank, in 2003 61.1 per cent of indigenous peoples lived in poverty
and 38.3 percent in extreme poverty. Following the Special Rapporteur’s visit to El
Salvador, the Human Rights Committee expressed in its 2016 Concluding Observations,
concerns that legislation does not recognize the right of indigenous peoples to obtain title to
land, and that there is no specific legislation to grant property titles to these peoples.
67.
The Government indicated in its reply that it is developing a special legal framework
to protect and implement the rights of indigenous peoples. The Government indicated that
the 1961 Law of the National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers establishes among
ANDA’s obligations the concept of universalization, and not exclusion, of people from
accessing drinking water. Furthermore, the Government noted that the establishment in
2011 of the Direction of Attention to Rural Systems and Communities (Gerencia de
Atención a Sistemas y Comunidades Rurales), the main objective of which is to support the
Administrative Boards of rural water systems, contributes to a large extent to the protection
of the rights of indigenous peoples. The Government also referenced the National Health
Policy for Indigenous Peoples, presented in November 2018 which highlights the
importance of guaranteeing access to water for human consumption to indigenous peoples.
Additionally, in November and December 2018, the Public Policy and the National Action
Plan for Indigenous Peoples were launched. The Public Policy contains an Economic
Development Strategy, which includes provisions for: indigenous peoples as beneficiaries
of land transfer programs, collective land tenure, and legal aid for protection and
regularization of indigenous land ownership. In its Social Development Strategy, the Public
Policy includes a special programme for the installation and improvement of drinking water
infrastructure in indigenous communities, and a technical programme for access to drinking
18
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