A/HRC/42/47/Add.5 14 per cent of the national population, rising to 34 per cent in rural areas, practiced open defecation. 2 However, more complete and updated information, from 2017 and the same source, but using the stricter definition of access to services adopted by the Sustainable Development Goals targets and indicators, highlights that 90 per cent of the population had access to “at least basic” services for drinking water. While there is no information on the access to “safely managed” services, data reveals that 79 per cent of the national population had water on their premises, with a significant gap between the urban population (93 per cent) and the rural population (47 per cent). Regarding sanitation services, while the 2017 data highlights that 72 per cent of the population has access to at least basic sanitation, when this is disaggregated it shows that 77 per cent have access to “latrines and others” as their source of improved sanitation, 5 per cent have access to septic tanks, and only 1 per cent to sewer connections.3 The report further highlights that 11 per cent of the national population still practices open defecation, with this increasing to 33 per cent in rural areas. Those figures were 22 and 42 per cent in 2000, respectively. 8. The data collected by the JMP does not include information on the number of people in Botswana who have access to ‘safely managed’ water and sanitation services. The additional SDG 6.1 and 6.2 benchmarks of ‘safely managed’ water and sanitation services, introduced by the report, require the provision of “drinking water at home that is free from contamination and available when needed, and toilets from which excreta are treated and disposed of safely.” 4 Furthermore, no data is available regarding the proportion of the population with access to basic hygiene services. The lack of data itself is a worrying sign of great challenges faced by Botswana in order to reach out those who are being left behind and to meet SDG 6.1 and 6.2. Observations during the visit indicate that there is potentially a significant difference between the achieved coverage of improved water and sanitation, and that of ‘safely managed’ water, sanitation and hygiene management in Botswana. III. Legal, institutional and policy frameworks 9. The legal, institutional and policy framework is a precondition to an enabling environment for the progressive realization of the human rights to water and sanitation. The framework must be in place in order to create the conditions for the inclusion of all members of the population of a given country in the enjoyment of these rights and to target those in most vulnerable situations with higher priority. A. Recommendation on international and national laws RECOMMENDATION 1: “Sign and ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol, guarantee the human rights to water and sanitation and prioritize water supply for personal and domestic uses in national legislation.” (A/HRC/33/49/Add.3, para. 72(g)) 10. During the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Botswana, it was noted that the State has yet to sign and ratify the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (the ICESCR) and its Optional Protocol (A/HRC/33/49/Add.3, para. 7). 11. At the time of the visit, the Government explained that “Botswana is not oblivious to the importance to the treaties it has not yet ratified. It progressively works on the realisation of issues of concern therein, especially where they are considered paramount by the global village. While Botswana is not a State Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights … various provisions of the Constitution and other pieces of legislation implicitly recognise them. The ratification by Botswana of recommended treaties 2 3 4 UNICEF & WHO, ‘Progress on sanitation and drinking water – 2015 update and MDG assessment.’ (Geneva, 2015) http://files.unicef.org/publications/files/Progress_on_Sanitation_and_Drinking_Water_2015_Update_ .pdf, page 58. ibid, page 79. ibid, page iii. 3