by David Chaproniere

Created on: June 10, 2008

"Basic human rights" is often used to mean freedom of speech and movement, and fair justice, appearing in news media on matters such as repressive regimes (e.g. Burma and Zimbabwe), a nation's action regarded by many as unjust (e.g. Guantanamo Bay), or specific court cases arguing an individual's human rights in a legal context.

As clean water is essential for the good health of the majority of life on Earth, it may seem strange to include it as a human right. It is perhaps indicative of human "progress" that this should be an issue at all, at a time when environmental concerns are being thrust to the fore. Is it, then, humankind's coexistence with nature that is questionable in relation to this right?

"The fundamental human rights on which human survival depends are nature's rights, and it is time we safeguarded them." So states an article in India's The Morung Express ("Nature has rights too", 5 June 2008). It seems we have lost sight of the fact that, in order for the human right of survival to be addressed, nature's rights must also be addressed. The article notes the Stockholm Declaration's acceptance of "the environment as part of basic human rights - the right to life itself", although the article's authors note that violations against nature "are often viewed through the filter of 'environmental damage'" rather than of human rights.

Set against this is the inequality that arises between those who have clean water, and those who have not. Poorer nations in, say, Africa or Asia will more likely come to mind, but Canada's National Post ("Water 'source of fear' for native communities, report says", 22 May 2008) highlights findings by the Polaris Institute, the Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Labour Congress that aborigines are being denied access to clean water: "The deplorable conditions that First Nation people live in would not be accepted in any other part of the country. For many, water has become a source of fear, ... that what comes out of their taps may be making them sick. What is happening should be considered a violation of fundamental human rights in this country."

Perhaps, then, in perceiving clean water as a fundamental human right, we shall address nature's rights and deliver clean water as a natural entitlement to all life on this planet, and not as a human-processed retail commodity.

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