Policy legalization of water and sanitation in Johannesburg, South Africa

• In Event: 2154 - Human Rights Paper Session

Abstract

The severity and persistence of poor living conditions in the developing world has fueled efforts over the last decade to reframe basic human needs as human rights. As a result, legal adjudication of economic and social rights has increased in recent years. Rights, and their associated legal mechanisms, seem to offer leverage that “development” alone has lacked; yet significant gaps remain in understanding how (and whether) law and rights transform the social reality faced by marginalized populations. Meanwhile, sustainability challenges have also spurred litigants to turn to courts in defense of the environment. Water and sanitation sectors have seen a rise in both of these types of litigation (human rights claims and environmental cases), sometimes with conflicting outcomes. This paper analyzes the role of legal mechanisms for realizing human rights and sustainability goals in water and sanitation sectors in Johannesburg, South Africa. Interviews with legal actors (lawyers, judges), public administrators, and activists, as well as legal and policy research, reveal the extent to which—and effectiveness with which—courts, lawyers, and law influence public policy. Evaluation of legal approaches to development and environmental protection is important, as citizens in South Africa and other countries increasingly turn to courts to promote social and environmental goals.

Author

• LaDawn Haglund, Arizona State University