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Although the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit from Mississippi residents related to lead-contaminated water earlier this month, the right to safe drinking water has been recognized by the United Nations as a universal human right since 2010.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a historic resolution in 2010 recognizing “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights” (A/RES/64/292). To advocate for these rights, the UN appointed a special rapporteur on the rights to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Such access to safe drinking water is considered a vital asset for the survival and coexistence of human societies. The criteria for such access are simple: water must be available, accessible, affordable, safe and acceptable. Most importantly, water is not a product to be traded and should never be considered an “economic commodity.”
Why did the United Nations adopt a human-rights based approach to safe drinking water? Access to safe water is considered by many to be the foundation of a healthy, educated and economically strong community. The right to a dignified life includes the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. For Americans, the basic rights defined in the Declaration of Independence as “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” are impossible without safe drinking water.
Emma Gilligan Credit: Sarah J. SloverUnsafe water spreads diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and typhoid, compromising the physical health of any community. Safe water allows for gender equality and dignity by allowing us to maintain our personal hygiene and prevents women and girls in many countries from walking long distances to fetch water, compromising their safety and depriving them of the time they might be in school or at work.
Safe water also makes it possible for young people, who might otherwise be incapacitated by waterborne illnesses, to attend school.
We are now in the eighth year of the United Nations Water Action Decade (2018-2028) and the World Economic Forum continues to rank the water crisis in the top three global risks. Given the enormity of that threat, the Forum named 2026 the “Year of Water.”
Many Americans take clean water for granted. However, there are 2.1 billion people worldwide still living without access to safe drinking water, and far more drastic actions need to be taken to protect watersheds, design more resilient cities, and improve efficiency to conserve the clean water that exists for consumption and agriculture.
Protecting our natural resources for the sake of the common good, known simply as the “commons,” is central to the sustainability of our shared resources. The stewardship of those resources should not be driven by personal interest, economic gain or political ambition, but by a spirit of shared responsibility and accountability.
The water crisis for those who live in Jackson, Mississippi was avoidable. The actions that led to the contamination of public drinking water was not only a failure of governance but a staggering display of indifference to the health of its inhabitants, the region’s collective natural resources and utilities.
Unlike Montana, Pennsylvania or New York, there is no “Green Amendment” in Mississippi – an amendment to a state constitution’s Bill of Rights that recognizes and protects “the inalienable rights of all people to clean water and air, a stable climate and healthy environments.”
Nevertheless, managing the commons that houses our water supply requires transparent and publicly accountable management – a failure that looms large in the Sterling v. City of Jackson case.
Unlike the case in Flint, Michigan, Mississippi’s 5th Circuit Court rejected the claim that government officials had violated the residents’ right to bodily integrity, as protected under the 14th amendment. Equally egregious was the 5th Circuit’s conclusion that “we find no deeply rooted history or tradition establishing a constitutional right to truthful information from officials during a public health crisis”
The question then remains; who exactly is responsible for the commons and the truth about its condition in the state of Mississippi?
Emma Gilligan is the author of “The Future and You” and a leading expert in international human rights. With over 30 years of experience in the field, she currently serves as a professor of human rights at Indiana University and is co-founder of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine.
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