A/HRC/12/24 page 22 65. States must realize their human rights obligations related to sanitation in a non-discriminatory manner. They are obliged to pay special attention to groups particularly vulnerable to exclusion and discrimination in relation to sanitation, including people living in poverty, sanitation workers, women, children, elderly persons, people with disabilities, people affected by health conditions, refugees and IDPs, and minority groups, among others. Priority should be given to meeting the needs of these groups and, where necessary, positive measures should be adopted to redress existing discrimination and to ensure their access to sanitation. States are obliged to eliminate both de jure and de facto discrimination on grounds of race, colour, sex, age, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, physical or mental disability, health status, or any other civil, political, social or other status. 66. States are also obliged to ensure that concerned individuals and communities are informed and have access to information about sanitation and hygiene and are enabled to participate in all processes related to the planning, construction, maintenance and monitoring of sanitation services. Full participation, including representatives of all concerned groups is key to ensuring that sanitation solutions answer the actual needs of communities and are affordable, technically feasible, and culturally acceptable. Participation is also crucial for achieving community ownership and dedication in order to bring about the required behavioural changes. All people must have full and equal access to information concerning sanitation and its effect on their health and environment. Information should be made available through various media and should be translated in all relevant languages and dialects to ensure the greatest possible circulation. 67. It is important to state clearly what is not required when considering sanitation in human rights terms: • States are not obliged to provide everyone with access to a sewerage system. Human rights law does not aim to dictate specific technology options, but instead calls for context-specific solutions. • States are not obliged to provide individual facilities in every home. This will also depend on the context - sometimes a safe and otherwise adequate facility in the close proximity would suffice as an intermediate step towards full realization of related rights. • States are not obliged to construct toilets, rather they must create an enabling environment. In fact, it is often argued that demand-led sanitation projects enjoy considerable success. Only in certain conditions, such as extreme poverty or natural disasters, when people, for reasons beyond their control, are genuinely unable to access sanitation through their own means, is the State obliged to actually provide sanitation services. • States are not obliged to provide sanitation free of charge - those who are in a position to pay must contribute financially or in kind, for example by offering labour for the construction of sanitation systems. Only when people are genuinely unable to pay for sanitation is the State obliged to provide sanitation services free of charge.