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Special Rapporteur calls for urgent action against financialisation of life

Special Rapporteur calls for urgent action against financialisation of life

18 March | Speaking about the elephant in the room - Special Rapporteur calls for urgent action against financialisation of life and water

 

Ahead of World Water Day, Mr Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation is organising a debate this 18 March 2021 to draw attention on the growing financialisation of life, which severely affects the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights and to propose a way forward to counter the situation. Our Executive Director Magdalena Sepúlveda will moderate the event, which is a continuation of GI-ESCR’s event 'Enough is enough’ held in October 2020, the first-ever event gathering eight UN experts on the topic of privatisation of public services.

The meeting will allow to pinpoint the problems related to the financialisation and commodification of water, the volatility of prices of basic food commodities, the financialisation of housing, and the financialisation and commodification of nature. It also aims to call for urgent attention to these threats and pave a way forward.

Event’s details

What?

Speaking about the elephant in the room - Human rights under the pressures of speculative strategies - Debate in anticipation of the World Water Day

Organised by Mr Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation

when?

18 March 2021, from 5 PM to 6 PM (Central European Time).

Stay tuned!

You can follow the event on Twitter and other social media through teh digital campaign #Water2me

Panel participants

  • Mr Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation

  • Léo Heller, former Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation (2014-2020)

  • Mr Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing

  • Mr David R. Boyd, Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment

  • Ms Maude Barlow, Canadian author and activist, co-founder of the Blue Planet Project.  Formerly a Senior Advisor on Water to the 63rd President of the United Nations General Assembly (2008-2009).

  • Mr Juan Laborda, Associate Professor in Financial Economics and Derivatives, University Carlos III in Madrid, Spain. He has been Chief Economist and Chief of Global Macro Strategist in different financial institutions.

moderator

  • Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) and former Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

Further information

World Water Day, celebrated globally on 22 March every year since 1993, is an annual United Nations Observance focusing on the importance of freshwater. It celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

The theme of World Water Day 2021 is “valuing water”. Beyond the issues of pricing, this topic includes the environmental, social and cultural value people place on water. For instance, in daily life, water can mean health, hygiene, dignity and productivity. In cultural, religious and spiritual places, water can mean a connection with creation or community. And in natural spaces, water can mean peace and preservation. Water means different things to different people in different settings.

Taking place on social media, the digital campaign #Water2me aims to generate conversations – to gather as many opinions and comments from people around the world about water and what it means to them. The aim is to understand how people value water – whether it is economically, socially, culturally or in other ways – how it plays a role in their lives, how important it is to them and what their hopes and concerns are for these services, which are basic human rights. Peoples’ views will then be presented to decision-makers at a series of water events in 2021, giving an unprecedented insight into the public impact of water and sanitation policy.

Joining his voice to amplify the digital campaign, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation, Mr. Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, encouraged the public to organize activities that promote education, awareness and social mobilization to inspire change (see his messages: http://linktr.ee/srwatsan_water2me). Since “it is not the same to use water to fill a pool as it is to guarantee the minimum essential amount of water that every person, family or community they need for a dignified life”, the Special Rapporteur believes that in determining the value of water, we must distinguish and prioritize between four distinct uses of water:

·         “Water for life”: water required to sustain human life and dignity, such as the vital minimum amount necessary for a dignified life, as a human right, should be of the highest priority.

·         “Water for public interest”: water used for activities and services of general interest for the society, such as domestic water, sanitation services and small-scale agricultural activities beyond the basic requirements of human rights. It involves both the entitlement and rights of people, but also corresponding duties.

·         “Water for the economy”: water used for legitimate activities for economic development should not take priority over “water for life” and “water for public interest”.

·         “Water for crime”: water used for illegitimate activities that affect and violate human rights as well as the sustainability of the environment should be condemned and sanctioned.

On the occasion of the World Water Day, the Special Rapporteur would like to explore further the impact of the financialisation of life on the way we value water, and indeed a range of human rights, which we consider essential for life.

Related event

Click on the image or on this link to access information on GI-ESCR’s related event ‘Enough is enough’ ’ on privatisation of public services.

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Our work recognises that the climate emergency is both an existential threat and an opportunity to reimagine societies built on social, gender, economic and environmental justice. We ground our advocacy in feminist and intersectional principles, prioritising the agency and perspectives of communities in the Global South who have contributed the least to the climate emergency yet face its most devastating consequences. Central to our approach is the understanding that energy is not merely a commodity but a fundamental human right; essential for dignity, health, education, work and the realisation of countless other rights. We challenge approaches to the energy transition that risk replicating the harmful patterns of fossil fuel extraction and, instead, advocate for transformative policies that ensure human rights and gender equality as central to building climate-resilient societies rooted in dignity, justice and planetary well-being.

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We will continue to challenge approaches that treat energy transition as merely a technical shift, instead positioning it as an opportunity to reimagine economies and societies rooted in dignity for all, with particular attention to communities in the Global South who have contributed least to the climate emergency yet are most exposed to its worst effects.

We will connect community-level evidence and the lived experiences of those on the frontlines of extractive policies to national reform and global norm-setting, breaking down silos between human rights, gender, and climate movements, and advancing a shared vision that recognises just transitions as not only fundamental to achieving climate-resilient and sustainable societies, but as transformative pathways that advance social and gender equality, redistribute power and resources equitably, and ensure that energy systems serve the public good rather than profit.

We will mainstream rights-based and genderjust transition priorities in key multilateral spaces (particularly, within the Just Transition Work Programme and the to-be-developed Just Transition Mechanism, within the UNFCCC) to guarantee that just transitions are advanced at all levels.

We will also translate our work, through strategic advocacy, into at least two concrete policy wins, whether promoted, adopted, implemented, or scaled, in priority countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, or Kenya), ensuring these policies align with human rights standards, centre gender equality, and reflect the needs and views of affected communities.

We will build momentum for the progressive recognition of the right to sustainable energy to shift dominant narratives away from purely extractive solutions that sideline gendered impacts, community participation, and Global South perspectives.

Economic Justice and Climate Finance

Our work has transformed the global discussion on fiscal policy in a more just, emancipatory and sustainable direction. Our approach has combined both high-level, expert contributions within decisionmaking circles, with bold, impactful work on narrative change with the general public.

We have been instrumental in the inclusion of human rights as a guiding principle of the future United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, a multilateral instrument with the potential of raising approx. USD 492 billion per year in public revenues currently foregone to global tax abuse. In the process leading to the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ decided at FfD4, we proposed and succeeded in creating a specific human rights workstream within the Civil Society Financing for Development Mechanism, which was critical to ensure that explicit commitments on the matter were included in the negotiating outcome. In a context of cutbacks in multilateral institutions, we have amplified the capacities of technical experts, providing rigorous technical support and leveraging our influence to ensure the enactments of groundbreaking standard-setting instruments, such as the 2025 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Statement on Fiscal Policy and Human Rights, and the first ex oficio hearing on the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on Fiscal and Economic Policies to Address Poverty and Structural Inequality, leading to an upcoming thematic resolution on the matter. We have also bridged the silos between multilateral tax discussions and climate finance debates, promoting ambitious financing commitments to increase international and domestic resource mobilisation during COP 28, 29 and 30.

At the regional level, our engagement with fiscal cooperation platforms such as the Platform for Fiscal Cooperation of Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC), where we are member of its Civil Society Consultative Council, and the African Anti-IFFs Policy Tracker, for which we participated in the pilot mission in Ivory Coast together with Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), have been critical in cementing a growing engagement between tax administrations and ministries of finance with international legal experts, exploring actionable and transformative initiatives, such as the taxation of high-net-worth individuals, beneficial ownership registries and corporate countryby-country reports, to be implemented at the international level.

At the local level, our interventions in fiscal reform debates in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Nigeria have contributed to shaping legislative outcomes in a more progressive, rights-compliant direction.

As for our leadership in narrative change, we have a measurable track record in delivering tailored, innovative campaigns which have decisively expanded economic justice constituencies by appealing to a broader tent. In Latin America and the Caribbean, we created the ‘Date Cuenta’ campaign, coordinating over 40 organisations across civil society to deliver plain language, innovative messaging connecting progressive fiscal reforms to the financing of health, education and social protection. ‘Date Cuenta’ generated over 55 original campaign messages that were tailored to the realities of seven priority countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Honduras) and disseminated in Spanish, Portuguese and English. In doing so, we convened more than 65 online co-creation workshops with partners, coordinating a unified communications strategy which combined digital outreach, press and media coverage, and collaboration with influencers. Ultimately, ‘Date Cuenta’ resulted in more than 60,000 interactions on social media, coverage in major regional and international media outlets, including El País, Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg and France 24, and the participation of at least 63 social media influencers through 58 dedicated publications. In collaboration with Fundación Gabo and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, we also organised a two-day workshop in Bogota with 20 journalists from 13 countries, building a regional network trained in a human rights-based approach to fiscal policy that has since generated published media coverage on outlets such as La Diaria, Ciper, El Diario Ar and Milenio. Through ‘Date Cuenta’ and our regional advocacy, we strengthened civil society engagement in key processes, including the Financing for Development track and FfD4, co-organised highlevel dialogues with states and civil society from Latin America and Africa.

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We have translated participatory research into accountability and policy outcomes.

In Ivory Coast, our work with Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains and affected communities since 2023 exposed how privatisation and lack of accountability restrict access to quality healthcare. It contributed to the closure of 1,022 illegal private health centres, an executive instrument strengthening the regulation of private hospitals across the country, and the creation of a permanent complaints management committee in healthcare through a bylaw issued by the prefect of Gagnoa. Partners engaged through this process also advanced concrete improvements at facility level: members of the Gagnoa Midwives Association who took part in the participatory action research pooled resources to renovate the neonatal unit of the Regional Hospital, and the Director of the Gagnoa General Hospital launched an action plan to expand services and improve patient reception, with the facility receiving the award for best hospital in the country in 2025.

In Kenya, our research with the Mathare Education Taskforce documented the absence of public schools and the expansion of private provision, evidencing impacts on households and caregivers and strengthening demands for free, quality public education. This work contributed to stronger community agency and collective organisation, alongside ongoing strategies ranging from communications to litigation to secure a public school in the area, some involving GI-ESCR and others led independently.

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What's next?

In Ivory Coast, we will evaluate and strengthen the complaints management committee and position it as a replicable model for other health facilities. In Kenya, we will support the Mathare community to co-design a model public school for Mabatini and Ngei wards, grounded in human rights standards. Building on our multi-country austerity study, we will drive national advocacy on financing for education and health: advancing reforms in Ghana; launching a fiscal policy and public services financing agenda in Kenya through the CESCR process and targeted coalition work; and, in Nigeria, using the new tax acts in force since 1 January 2026 to catalyse a national accountability campaign for adequately funded, quality public services. In Latin America, we will amplify locally led care pilots across 8 countries and turn lessons into influence—advancing care policies that strengthen care organisations, protect care workers’ rights, support unpaid caregivers, include disability and family networks, and redistribute care more equitably.