Independent Expert on the Human Rights to Water And Sanitation (IE – Dr. Catarina de Albuquerque) Mission to the United States, Feb/Mar 2011
The UN IE will be in the U.S. from February 22 – March 4th, 2011. The IE will visit affected communities and officials in Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and California. Dra. Catarina de Albuquerque will travel with Ms. Yoonie Kim, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Ms. Lucinda O’Hanlon is the staff for the IE, and is coordinating the mission for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Public hearings will be held in Washington, DC, MA, and CA. Affected community representatives from communities in Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, California, Maine, and Massachusetts will present testimony in person.
A non-recognized tribe in CA, whose lands were flooded by Lake Shasta, will also give testimony, and the IE will visit their lands in Redding, CA. The IE will visit communities in the Central Valley in CA, on Cape Cod, in Boston, Edmonston Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The IE will visit a community in Edmonston, MD, that has a cutting edge “blue / green” infrastructure project – Mayor Adam Ortiz will explain how doing lower scale, green infrastructure has created more jobs, made sanitation more affordable, helped to address environmental problems. She will also visit homeless encampments. Many more groups will submit written testimony. The IE will also meet with officials at the federal, state and municipal levels, civil society NGOs, academics, and others to hear information about discrimination in the sector.
UUSC public policy staff is working with allies to hold a Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing (by cameral, bi partisan US Congressional commission) during the mission in Washington, DC.
Submissions to the IE:
Written submissions to the IE on the topic of the mission can be made to:
iewater@ohchr.org (encouraged) or addressed to
Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
ESCR Section
Human Rights Council and Special Procedures Division
OHCHR
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 90 06
Testimony to the IE:
The IE will receive testimony from affected communities, their representatives and civil society in the three jurisdictions she will visit. However, they will only last for 2 hours each, so we strongly encourage you to submit information to the independent expert in writing in advance, keeping in mind the focus of the mission. This information could include the principle challenges you perceive in ensuring safe access to drinking water and sanitation, proposals of issues or situations requiring special attention by the Independent Expert, and recommendations of how to improve the situation.
Washington, DC:
Public testimony will be taken at the United Nations Information Center in DC, located at 1775 K Street, Washington, D.C.
- 22 February at 16:00 (4PM), affected communities and NGOs working on environmental issues.
- 23 February at 16:00 (4PM), affected communities and human rights NGOs working on economic, social and cultural rights as well as issues related to non-discrimination.
- 24 February at 16:00 (4PM), professional associations and academics working on water and sanitation.
Please RSVP name of your representative, name of organization, local contact information, and topic of testimony to: Lucinda O’Hanlon, at iewater@ohchr.org.
Massachusetts:
- 25 February at 15:00 (3 PM), place TBD affected communities and NGOs working on the human right to water and sanitation, drinking water quality, and green infrastructure / water.
- 26 February at 11:30 AM, Cape Cod, place TBD, affected communities and NGOs
Please RSVP name of your representative, name of organization, local contact information, and topic of testimony to: at iewater@ohchr.org, with cc: Patricia Jones, UUSC, at pjones@uusc.org.
California
- 28 February at 15:00 (3 PM), Capitol Complex TBD
Please RSVP name of your representative, name of organization, local contact information, and topic of testimony to: Lucinda O’Hanlon, at iewater@ohchr.org, cc: Debbie Davis, Environmental Justice Coalition on Water, at deborah.s.davis@gmail.com.
Washington, D.C.
- 3 March at 10:00 AM, Lantos Commission for Human Rights, hearing, location TBD (not public testimony, but public welcome).
