2018 United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights

Short description of the presentation:
The problems surrounding the lack of sanitation and the notorious consequences of such inadequacies for women’s rights correlate directly to inadequate investment in universalizing these services. Building water and sewage systems in cities that currently lack sanitation services significantly advances human rights, especially for women. This is what happened to the women of Uruguaiana, a city in Brazil’s southernmost state. The presentation will focus on how investments in sanitation over the last eight years, have been made in a human rights compliant manner, including through mapping and analyzing social vulnerabilities before disbursing, and impact analysis to ensure residents have benefited from the investments made. The presentation will also explain how the active multi-stakeholders engagement made this turnaround possible.

Presentation objectives:
Using the study entitled “Sanitation and the Lives of Brazilian Women” and presenting the case of “Uruguaiana” to showcase how investment in sanitation services significantly advances human rights, especially for women. It will also show how engagement efforts and environmental education contributes to viewing sanitation services as a basic right to which all peoples are fully entitled.