Podcasts, discussions and interviews on working with human rights at local level

#MRR talk brings together practitioners so we can all learn about the practical use of human rights to advance water and sanitation services. Every second month, we speak about a dedicated topic in an interactive podcast – see the recordings below. Every other month, we organise an open hour, where you can tune in live to discuss with your peers and a panel of experts waiting for you.

Episode 6: Working on the long game

Understanding & addressing root causes for the lack of services in informal settlement

It is estimated that informal settlements are home to more than one billion people in cities across the world. These marginalised communities lack all types of adequate services, including water and sanitation, housing, education, and health. The exclusion from the more regular and formal structures of the cities is political: Informal settlements often go uncounted, face the threat of forced eviction, and are denied adequate services.

With our guest Jacqueline Cuyler (she/her), we will explore the multi-faceted nature of this marginalisation: Its reasons, its human rights implications, and what it means for organisations working on WASH in informal settlements.

Episode 6, 29 November, 10am CET

Our guest:

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Jacqueline Cuyler (she/her) is the operating director and co-founder of 1to1 Agency of Engagement which focusses on technical support to informal communities in South Africa. She has experience working in many varied forms of design, construction and communication throughout Southern Africa, including work in the mining towns of North Western Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as support for urban upgrading for youth violence prevention projects in Kinshasa.

Podcast episode 4: UN resolutions and what's in it for you

Episode 4 of MRR talk focussed on the use of United Nations (UN) resolutions on the human rights to water and sanitation by civil society organisations. Tseguereda Abraham and Hannah Neumeyer explored the topic and were joined by guests from CSOs around the world.
Our speakers:
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Tseguereda Abraham is currently Head of Advocacy and System Strengthening in WaterAid Ethiopia and in that role was also based in Sierra Leone and Rwanda. From August 2022, she will be the Senior WASH Manager – Governance, Rights and Accountability in WaterAid UK. She has experience applying a multitude of rights-based and other advocacy tools in the WASH sector and beyond and at local and global level.
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Hannah Neumeyer. She leads the Make Rights Real consortium and is the Head of Human Rights at WASH United. A lawyer by training, she has worked on the application of economic, social and cultural rights in development cooperation for many years – both on human rights protection and on how human rights can be used to realise services for all.

Podcast episode 3: Your questions answered

For episode 3 of MRRtalk, we wanted to know which questions you need answered to enable you to more effectively motivate officials, to demand more action or to push for change. Thank you for sharing your questions. Listen to the recording of MRRtalk episode 3 to get answers to your questions.
Our speakers:
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Mohamad Mova Al’Afghani is Director of the Center for Regulation, Policy and Governance (CRPG), Indonesia. He obtained his PhD in Water Law from the University of Dundee, UK. As regulatory consultant, Mova provides advice to various government institutions, UN agencies, development agencies and development banks. He also works with civil society on environment and natural resources issues, especially relating to water, dangerous chemicals and mining governance.

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Hannah Neumeyer. She leads the Make Rights Real consortium and is the Head of Human Rights at WASH United. A lawyer by training, she has worked on the application of economic, social and cultural rights in development cooperation for many years – both on human rights protection and on how human rights can be used to realise services for all.

Podcast episode 2: Spotlight on strategies

Have you ever thought that human rights might be too confrontational for you to use? Or that civil society needs to confront government more? Or both? There is of course no single right answer to these questions. The right strategy depends on the context, the people and the organisations involved.

In #MRRtalk episode 2 “Spotlight on strategies”, we explored the different strategies civil society organisations use to push government institutions to realise water and sanitation services for all.

Our guests:

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Partha Sarathi Kuntal, Programme Coordinator, WASH SDG Programme at DORP in Bangladesh. He will share experiences with constructively engaging local government officials, combined with community based monitoring.
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Alana Potter, incoming International Coordinator of End Water Poverty. Based in South Africa, she will share stories of legal activism spanning from community mobilisation to protest and strategic litigation.

PLUS // Interviews with detailed information on specific strategies

Using monitoring tools in support of working with human rights, with Sabiha Siddique, Simavi

Legal activism as strategy to push government to realise water and sanitation services for all, with Alana Potter, EWP

The #ClaimYourWaterRights campaign, with Sam Taylor, EWP

Podcast episode 1: Get ready for human rights work

Just about everyone knows water and sanitation are human rights. And most people working in civil society organisations think these rights are somehow important to their work. But many wonder how they can work with human rights in practice.

Listen to #MRRtalk episode 1 to hear about practical steps civil society organisations have taken to work with human rights, and how this helped them to achieve impact.

Our guests:

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Bikash Kumar Pati, Programme Coordinator at WaterAid India. In this Make Rights Real talk, he explains the story of JEETA, the Joint Endeavour for Emancipation Training and Action for Women. JEETA works with marginalised communities in rural Odisha, India.

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Malesi Shivaji is the CEO of KEWASNET, the Kenyan network of WASH sector civil society organisations. As an advocate and civil society leader, he has seen first hand how civil society organisations have changed to get ready for human rights work.

PLUS // Interviews with additional information

How to get ready for human rights work, with Malesi Shivaji, KEWASNET

Support (local) government to address systemic challenges to the realisation of water and sanitation services for all, with Anupama Rout, JEETA

NEW // MRR talk: Open hour​

Voice your opinion. Ask your question. Listen in. In “MRR talk: Open hour”, a panel of renowned experts on working with rights is there to engage with you – and you can exchange with your peers too.

The next MRR talk: Open hour will be in August.

Meet our experts:

Sareen Malik, Executive Secretary, African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW).

Lajana Manandhar, Regional Coordinator Freshwater Action Network South-Asia (FANSA) and Executive Director, Lumanti. 

Mohamad Mova Al’Afghani, Director, Center for Regulation, Policy and Governance (CRPG).

Alana Potter, International Coordinator, End Water Poverty (EWP).

Malesi Shivaji, CEO, Kenya Water and Sanitation Civil Society Network (KEWASNET).

Hannah Neumeyer, Coordinator, Make Rights Real consortium (MRR).

Laura van de Lande, Manager, Make Rights Real consortium (MRR).

The Make Rights Real talk format

Make Rights Real talk has two different formats: In our interactive podcasts, practitioners from civil society organisations explore a dedicated topic in detail. Live-listeners can share their experiences or ask questions. In our MRR talk: Open hours, we bring together a panel of renowned experts and practitioners to create an open space for exchange on working with human rights in practice at the local government level.
Our podcasts so far at a glance:
Have an idea for a topic? Get in touch!

United Nations resolutions on the human rights to water and sanitation

Use this map to see how many resolutions your country has supported at the UN – and more!
Countries recognise and define the human rights to water and sanitation in UN resolutions. This map shows all 15 UN resolutions on the rights adopted since 2010 – and which countries explicitly supported them.