"Human Right To Water" Recognition In Comparative Perspective On Canada And China

In July 2010, UN General Assembly declared that safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. It requires national obligation to fulfill right to water, which indicates that every country should respect its proper value. However, global governance on human rights can only be parallel, horizontal. International law has been paid more attention and has gained more respect by modern civilized nations, but the law has no exact binding effect. According to Kenneth Waltz along with other realist scholars, international relations are anarchic, so is global governance framework for human rights. In addition, due to the special natural properties of water and unbalanced distribution of water resources, the recognition and protection of right to water become intricate multiple game within such a global political structure. This is the greatest obstacle to whole global realization of human right to water.Canada is a water-rich country, the abundant resource can easily meet the demands of its limited population, but serious wastes and government's inaction of water-saving advocacy, highlight the lack of awareness of public resources. China is relatively water-poor country with very uneven geographic distribution, while the level of water governance needs to be optimized and regulations to be improved, but a sense of water saving is widely spread, and Chinese government has been committed to addressing water supply to all people, especially constructing facilities in dry areas. By comparing the different situations between these two countries, we can tentatively conclude that water resource is an important objective factor while realizing human right to water, but not the decisive one. Organized governance by administrations and the good efforts by policy-makers can exert huge influence on the process of development of right to water.Under the United Nations Convention on Human Rights, right to water belong to the category of economic, social and cultural rights. Compared to Western countries which focus more on civil and political rights, China and other developing countries are more concerned about the country's economic development. Therefore in the global political environment, the understanding to right to water differentiates between countries due to the complexity of different backgrounds and interests. However, political philosophy in well-developed areas is still dominant which affects the behavior of developing countries. China should digest these dynamics and divergences, constantly provide constructive visions on this issue, improve legislation in order to promote the realization of this fundamental right, in which becoming a role model international arena.