Responsible water management: International and national legal and strategic frameworks

Abstract

The subject of this paper is the international legal and political framework of the right to water and relevant regulations in the Republic of Serbia, and the focus is on the state's responsibility for water management in accordance with the realization of the common good. The starting point of the paper is the position that access to water is a human right and that water can be managed only by the state and exclusively in the general interest. The first part of the paper discusses the risks of marketization, privatization and commodification of water for the realization of the right to water and the protection of this vital natural and strategic resource. The second part summarizes the activities of the United Nations related to the recognition of the right to water as a basic human right and the obligations of states in this sense. The third part analyses the normative and strategic framework of the Republic of Serbia in this area from the perspective of the right to water and responsible state management. Deficiencies in terms of the compliance with international human rights standards and the risks that the current regulation can produce for the population, water resources and the state are pointed out. No effective instruments have been envisaged for the protection of water from pollution, nor against commodification and marketization, while the privatization of water and public companies in this area threatens the sovereignty of the state over its natural resources. The goal of the paper is to point out the importance of establishing national regulations that will ensure sovereign and responsible management of water resources and protection of the right to water.