Sanitation, human rights, and disaster management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to link debates around the international law on human rights and disaster management with the evolving debate around the human right to sanitation, in order to explore the extent to which states are obliged to account for sanitation in their disaster management efforts. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on analysis of existing laws and policy relating to human rights, sanitation and disaster management. It further draws upon relevant academic literature. Findings The paper concludes that, while limitations exist, states have legal obligations to provide sanitation to persons affected by a disaster. It is further argued that a human rights-based approach to sanitation, if respected, can assist in strengthening disaster management efforts, while focusing on the persons who need it the most. Research limitations/implications The analysis in this paper focuses on the obligations of states for people on their territory. Due to space limitations, it does not examine the complex issues relating to enforcement mechanisms available to disaster victims. Originality/value This is the first scholarly work directly linking the debates around international human rights law and disaster management, with human rights obligations in relation to sanitation. The clarification of obligation in relation to sanitation can assist in advocacy and planning, as well as in ensuring accountability and responsibility for human rights breaches in the disaster context

Mitigating humanitarian crises during non-international armed conflicts:the role of human rights and ceasefire agreements

Situations of humanitarian crisis are often caused by armed conflicts. Given the prevalence of non-international armed conflicts today, ways of ameliorating these situations are at the forefront of concerns. The international humanitarian law rules governing non-international armed conflict remain much less developed than those for international armed conflicts. This is exacerbated by the lack of direct human rights obligations for non-state armed groups, which makes governing the behaviour of non-state parties to non-international armed conflicts (non-state armed groups) even more challenging. Although several initiatives have been taken to encourage non-state actors to mitigate situations of humanitarian crisis, the role of human rights law is in need of further clarification. The paper aims to assess what role human rights may have in improving humanitarian crises, suggesting one specific way: The paper will first discuss the international laws applicable to situations of non-international armed conflict, before critically analysing some of the initiatives that have already been taken to govern the behaviour of non-state armed groups. Part 3 will assess the possibility of using cease-fire agreements to impose specific human rights obligations on all parties to a non-international armed conflict. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn in Part 4 as to the role that human rights and ceasefire agreements could have during humanitarian crises

Codesigning health and other public services with vulnerable and disadvantaged populations: Insights from an international collaboration

Background Codesign has the potential to transform health and other public services. To avoid unintentionally reinforcing existing inequities, better understanding is needed of how to facilitate involvement of vulnerable populations in acceptable, ethical and effective codesign. Objective To explore citizens’ involvement in codesigning public services for vulnerable groups, identify challenges and suggest improvements. Design A modified case study approach. Pattern matching was used to compare reported challenges with a priori theoretical propositions. Setting and participants A two‐day international symposium involved 28 practitioners, academics and service users from seven countries to reflect on challenges and to codesign improved processes for involving vulnerable populations. Intervention studied Eight case studies working with vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in three countries. Results We identified five shared challenges to meaningful, sustained participation of vulnerable populations: engagement; power differentials; health concerns; funding; and other economic/social circumstances. In response, a focus on relationships and flexibility is essential. We encourage codesign projects to enact a set of principles or heuristics rather than following pre‐specified steps. We identify a set of principles and tactics, relating to challenges outlined in our case studies, which may help in codesigning public services with vulnerable populations. Discussion and conclusions Codesign facilitators must consider how meaningful engagement will be achieved and how power differentials will be managed when working with services for vulnerable populations. The need for flexibility and responsiveness to service user needs may challenge expectations about timelines and outcomes. User‐centred evaluations of codesigned public services are needed

Exploring synergies between human rights and public health ethics: A whole greater than the sum of its parts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The fields of human rights and public health ethics are each concerned with promoting health and elucidating norms for action. To date, however, little has been written about the contribution that these two justificatory frameworks can make together. This article explores how a combined approach may make a more comprehensive contribution to resolving normative health issues and to advancing a normative framework for global health action than either approach made alone. We explore this synergy by first providing overviews of public health ethics and of international human rights law relevant to health and, second, by articulating complementarities between human rights and public health ethics.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>We argue that public health ethics can contribute to human rights by: (a) reinforcing the normative claims of international human rights law, (b) strengthening advocacy for human rights, and (c) bridging the divide between public health practitioners and human rights advocates in certain contemporary health domains. We then discuss how human rights can contribute to public health ethics by contributing to discourses on the determinants of health through: (a) definitions of the right to health and the notion of the indivisibility of rights, (b) emphasis on the duties of states to progressively realize the health of citizens, and (c) recognition of the protection of human rights as itself a determinant of health. We also discuss the role that human rights can play for the emergent field of public health ethics by refocusing attention on the health and illness on marginalized individuals and populations.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>Actors within the fields of public health, ethics and human rights can gain analytic tools by embracing the untapped potential for collaboration inherent in such a combined approach.</p

Needs, Rights and Responsibilities in Water Governance: Some Reflections

This article discusses needs, rights and responsibilities with regard to water, drawing on global discourses and cases from South Africa. Taking the New Delhi and Dublin Statements as a point of departure, it describes the prevalent global discourses and sets of dichotomies that have characterised much of the water governance debates, such as human right/economic good, public/private, formal/informal, etc. It explores the boundaries of responsibilities between actors, and argues that, rather than an ‘either/or’ approach, new constellations of governance arrangements need to be sought in urban and rural settings, that acknowledge the differential needs of people and communities. While water is a public, justiciable socioeconomic good, the provision of which should lie ultimately with the government, there are myriad constellations across the spectrum of public to private provision that can meet the challenges. The dichotomies, and in particular the idea of ‘public’ and ‘private’, are only useful to a limited extent, as there are many ‘publics’ and many ‘privates’. The question is not so much who offers the service, but how it is offered or organised, how and by whom needs are defined and contested, to what extent needs are met or not, and how clear lines of accountability are established

Patient perspectives of helpful risk management practices within mental health services. A mixed studies systematic review of primary research

Minimising the harm that patients pose to themselves and others, due to mental health difficulties, is a central component of risk management in psychiatry. However, risk management itself can cause patient harm, but despite this and the potentially informative value of lived experience, little is known about what patients want or expect from risk management. Aim: To review research and explore what patients consider beneficial in risk management practice. Method: A mixed‐studies systematic review utilising PRISMA guidelines, alongside a convergent qualitative design to categorise findings. Results: 12 papers were identified, generating two categories of beneficial practices: interpersonal relationships and communication with clinicians; coupled with patient agency in their own risk management. Discussion: Connectivity appears important. Particularly patients feeling involved, and their voices being heard in both the identification of risks and then shaping risk management practice. Moreover, this included involvement of friends, family, and peers to widen input and supportive networks beyond clinical relationships. Implications for Practice: Risk management needs to be an accessible part of care, which is more inclusive of patient views and needs. The latter might also be aided by drawing on the patient's wider community in order to provide more effective support and risk management

Rights-based Approaches and Bilateral Aid Agencies: More Than a Metaphor?

It could be argued that the rights based approach … is no more than ametaphor; a concept that catalyses a set of values into a phrase that many people can adopt and adapt. It is a general statement in favour of equitable development, involving widespread participation of those with no direct control of, or access to, the power of the state … If we still take rights as a legal concept then much of what passes as rights based is unlikely to be successful because there are often no state bodies committed to meeting the obligations implied. There is also a sense in that the “emperor has no clothes ” as there are too many people arguing about the details of what a rights approach should be and how it should be operationalised.Meanwhile, this is happening in the absence of any clear idea of what it is they are engaging with. (Pratt 2003: 2)

The role of non-governmental organisations in the management of separated and unaccompanied children, following disasters in Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Following disasters, separated and unaccompanied children are among the most vulnerable, therefore international organisations have formed guidelines regarding the management of these children. Guidelines include recommendations for identifying and registering children, tracing family members, reunification and arrangements for interim and durable care. There is a lack of experiential evidence on how these principles are put into practice at operational levels, and whether existing policies were useful. There is a particular lack of empirical evidence from the disaster prone country of Iran. The aim of this study was to describe the role of Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the management of separated and unaccompanied children, following disasters in Iran in order to plan for and provision of future disasters.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>The Iranian Red Crescent Organisation, Committee Emdad Imam Khomeini (a national organisation unique to Iran that is protected by the government and supported by public contributions) and Behzisti (the government welfare organisation in Iran) are the main figures involved in the management of separated and unaccompanied children, following disasters in Iran. NGOs are rarely responsible for caring for unaccompanied children, however they provide valuable support including financial assistance, arrangement of educational and extra-curricular activities and psychosocial support. Following the initial chaos after the Bam earthquake, international guidelines on separated and unaccompanied children were largely followed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Systems for managing separated and unaccompanied children following disasters in Iran, involving NGOs, are emerging. However, most are yet to be formalised.</p

Sendai five years on: reflections on the role of international law in the creation and reduction of disaster risk

This article offers a critical examination of the position of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 within international law. It is argued that any interrogation into the role of international law must begin not with existing disaster risk reduction (DRR) laws and policies, but rather with an enquiry into the nature of disaster risk and the role of international law in its creation and reduction. It is demonstrated how, while areas such as international human rights law can be utilized to enforce obligations in support of DRR, other areas – in particular international investment law – actively work to undermine DRR efforts. In order for international law to be a productive tool in the reduction of disaster risk international lawyers must engage with critical work in disaster studies in order to explore the role that the former has played – and can play – in creating and addressing hazards, vulnerabilities and capacities