A/HRC/6/3 page 16 29. CESCR general comment No. 15 stresses that the most critical target is to ensure the affordability of the minimum amount of water sufficient for essential personal and domestic uses to prevent disease.52 Governments have a wide margin of discretion in choosing the most appropriate means to make water affordable. III. NATURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS OBLIGATIONS A. Duty bearers 30. International human rights law places obligations on States to promote and protect human rights. While States carry legal obligations in relation to human rights, either as a result of ratifying human rights treaties or under customary international law, other actors such as transnational corporations and other business enterprises, intergovernmental organizations and individuals also have a role in respecting and promoting human rights. 31. The consultation process raised the question of the responsibilities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises in relation to access to safe drinking water and sanitation. It identified the increasing societal expectation that companies ensure that their operations do not compromise access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The nature and scope of the responsibilities of business enterprises under international human rights law is currently being explored by the Human Rights Council through the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.53 Through the United Nations Global Compact and other voluntary initiatives, a number of companies have also committed to respect and ensure respect for human rights in the conduct of their operations. Submissions received by the private sector during the consultation process also highlight the fact that various private water providers support recognition of access to safe drinking water as a human right. B. Obligations 32. Human rights obligations in relation to access to safe drinking water and sanitation can be derived from various treaties, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (the right to life and the prohibition of torture) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to adequate housing, the right to food and the right to health). 33. The ICCPR requires States parties to respect and ensure civil and political rights and to prohibit discrimination in law or in fact in any field regulated and protected by public authorities.54 Under the ICESCR, States parties have the obligation to ensure that economic, 52 Paras. 12, 27 and 37 (a). 53 See for instance A/HRC/4/35. 54 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 18 (1989) on non-discrimination.