Remembering Catarina de Albuquerque: A Champion for the Right to Water and Sanitation

The global water community has lost one of its most passionate and visionary leaders. Catarina de Albuquerque was a trailblazing human rights lawyer, advocate, and changemaker. Her passing leaves a profound void, but also a remarkable legacy that continues to shape the water and sanitation sector today and into the future.

A Tireless Advocate for a Fundamental Right

As the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation (2008–2014), she was instrumental in the historic 2010 recognition by the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council that access to water and sanitation is a human right, a moment that transformed global development policy and inspired a new era of accountability and inclusion.

Catarina’s influence didn’t stop at recognition. She believed that human rights must live in people’s daily realities, in every glass of clean water, every toilet with dignity, and every community empowered to hold its leaders accountable. Her handbook, Realising the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation, remains a cornerstone reference, translating lofty principles into concrete actions for governments and practitioners around the world. It embodies her conviction that rights must be practical, measurable, and enforceable - not just aspirational.

The Impact of Recognising the Right to Water and Sanitation

Recognising water and sanitation as a human right transformed access to these essential services from a matter of policy choice or charity into a legal and moral obligation, requiring governments to act with urgency and accountability. This shift elevated water and sanitation to a position of national and international priority, embedding them into constitutions, development plans, and budgets as fundamental rights that must be realised for all.

The rights-based approach also redefined the sector’s understanding of equity, ensuring that the most marginalised and vulnerable communities are not left behind. Instead of focusing on the easiest or most cost-effective areas to serve, governments and service providers are compelled to prioritise those who have been historically exclude; people living in poverty, in informal settlements, or in remote rural areas. It also transformed the business model for service provision. People were no longer seen merely as consumers but as rights holders, while governments and utilities become duty bearers. This changed how tariffs are designed, how participation is encouraged, and how accountability is maintained.

In terms of financing, recognizing water and sanitation as a human right strengthens the case for sustained public investment and targeted subsidies. Governments were now expected to mobilise the maximum available resources to progressively realise these rights, while international partners share responsibility for supporting that effort. Financing approaches were pushed to be equitable and transparent, prioritising those most in need rather than relying solely on market-based mechanisms.

Finally, the human rights framework embeds accountability at every level. It provided citizens and civil society with the means to hold governments and service providers responsible for their commitments through political, social, and legal channels. This ensured that access to water and sanitation is not a privilege granted at will, but a right that can be claimed, monitored, and defended. Together, these principles have transformed the way the world delivers water and sanitation. They represent a legacy of justice and dignity that Catarina championed throughout her career — one that continues to shape the sector she helped redefine.

A Legacy of Courage, Conviction, and Compassion

Catarina’s energy was infectious. She brought warmth and humanity into policy spaces, bridging worlds that too often remain separate: law and development, politics and empathy, human rights and infrastructure. Those who had the privilege to worked with her will no doubt remember not only her intellect and determination, but also her deep kindness and belief in people’s power to create change. As the water and sanitation sector mourns her loss, it also celebrates her immense contribution. Catarina’s life reminds us that change begins with conviction — the courage to speak truth to power, the patience to build consensus, and the determination never to give up on fairness and dignity.