A/HRC/45/10 for these services must not limit people’s capacity to acquire other basic goods and services guaranteed by human rights.36 40. It is inadequate to set a generally applicable affordability standard at the global level, as any such standard would be arbitrary and cannot reflect the challenges people face in practice and the context in which they live, including how much they need to spend on the realization of other human rights. The human rights framework stipulates, however, an important set of parameters for the process of setting affordability standards, one that gives rise to the following questions: (a) What are the specific economic circumstances in which the individuals and groups concerned live? (b) What impact does the cost of water and sanitation have on the enjoyment of other rights? (c) Do national policies and programmes include specific and targeted measures to protect people living in poverty, such as subsidies, protection floors and social tariffs? Do those measures have sufficient specificity and sensibility to target those most in need? 41. A minimum obligation that cuts across the normative content is the prohibition on disconnecting water and sanitation services when users are unable to pay for those services. Disconnecting individuals and households from water and sanitation supplies because they do not have the financial means to pay for them is a violation of the human rights to water and sanitation. States have an immediate obligation to enact legislation, policies or regulatory frameworks to prohibit the disconnection of services due to the inability to pay. For instance, in Italy disconnecting residents living below the national poverty line and public institutions is specifically prohibited.37 4. Safety 42. States are required to take measures to prevent the transmission of diseases through water, sanitation and hygiene. The Special Rapporteur notes the WHO guidelines for drinking-water quality. 38 On the basis of these global guidelines, each State identifies standards and parameters to regulate water quality, depending on the context and priority in terms of water quality, as well as measures for quality control and surveillance. Parameters for testing should be contextualized in relation to the main environmental and economic drivers of water contamination in each State. Regarding the safety of sanitation, the adequate disposal of excreta, wastewater and sludge needs to be regulated and implemented in order to protect people’s health and safeguard the right of sanitation workers to just and favourable working conditions. 43. It is incumbent on States to plan the baseline of policies, regulations and interventions for the safety of water and sanitation services, to ensure that these services do not contribute to the spread of diseases. As part of setting up the baseline, and in order to ensure minimum safety, the following questions should be considered: (a) Are there laws or regulations that establish drinking water standards in line with the most recent international guidelines? (b) Is there a government body, within the health sector, with the mandate to comply with water quality surveillance? (c) controls? Are there clear requirements for water providers to conduct water quality (d) Are there laws or regulations on the safe disposal of excreta, wastewater and sludge? Is there a government body with the mandate to oversee such safe disposal procedures? 36 37 38 A/HRC/30/39, para. 25. Submission from Italy. WHO, Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, 4th ed. (2017). 11