The Human Right to Water Under the Conditions of Trade Liberalisation and Privatisation A Study on the Privatisation of Water Supply and Wastewater Disposal in Manila a study on behalf of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation by Nils Rosemann Abstract Water is an essential for human beings to survive and develop. About 3bn people of a world population of 8.5bn will suffer from water shortage by 2025. 83% of them will live in developing countries, mostly in rural areas where even today sometimes only 20% of the population have access to a sufficient water supply. This actual lack of water is opposed to the theoretical conclusion that there is enough ground water existing in all regions of the world to guarantee an adequate water supply for all people. The following study concludes that water shortage and the unequal distribution of water are global problems rather than regional problems that require international solutions. It describes three predominant levels and scopes of action which may serve to do away with the global trend to“divide” water between the developing and the developed world. These are: the normative provisions of the United Nations with respect to the Millennium Development Goal, the demand to consider water supply and wastewater disposal a human right, and development cooperation and its financing. The study points out that, by recognising the human right to water, decision makers and actors whose decisions have an impact on the access and accessibility of water are responsible of satisfying the needs to the greatest possible extent. 1