BDNews24 reports that, “The constitution of Bangladesh does not guarantee water and sanitation as a basic right despite a United Nations resolution in this regard, participants observed at a seminar. …WaterAid Bangladesh analysed the legal challenges of the UN declaration (that ‘safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right’) with special reference to Bangladesh with the help of the Dhaka University’s law department.”
“In Bangladesh, currently 35 percent city population lives in slums without access to pure drinking water and in a precarious sanitation system. …People (in Bangladesh) can’t go to the court to claim their right to safe water and sanitation as the constitution doesn’t mandate that’, a teacher of the (law) department Asif Nazrul said. He urged lawmakers to consider the issue while amending the constitution.”
“Speaking at the seminar, chief information commissioner Mohammad Jamir said he would bring the issue to the notice of the parliamentary standing committee on law. ‘Water and sanitation should be regarded as a human right’, he agreed.”
On July 28, 2010, Bangladesh voted in favour of the right to water and sanitation at the United Nations General Assembly.
The news report is at http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=190515&cid=13.
