Last week, the Guatemalan government initiated a participatory dialogue to inform the creation of a national water law, a crucial first step toward addressing the country’s water and sanitation crisis.
Guatemala has more freshwater per capita than the majority of countries, yet millions of Guatemalans live without reliable access to safe and sufficient water and sanitation services due to poor resource management, insufficient regulation of commercial water use, weak sanctioning of contamination, and inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure.
A national water law should establish a regulatory system that can guarantee and protect the human rights to water and sanitation.
Indigenous people disproportionately lack access to clean water and sanitation services in Guatemala, contributing to poverty and social and economic marginalization. Additionally, women are often responsible for both collecting water and caring for themselves and their families.
Ana Chacaj Mujía, a 50-year-old Indigenous woman from Santa María Chiquimula municipality, Totonicapán department, told Human Rights Watch she walks an hour round trip to a river three or four times a day to collect water. This demanding work limits Mujía’s ability to undertake other activities, like the farming she does to earn income, but she has no choice. “Without water, you die, there is nothing,” she said.
Guatemala’s Constitution, adopted in 1985, declares water a common good and calls on Congress to pass a law regulating it in accordance with the social interest. Yet nearly 40 years later, Congress has failed to do so. Guatemala is also obligated under international law to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights to water and sanitation.
The water dialogue marks an important step toward meeting these obligations. But for it to succeed, it should be grounded in human rights standards and lead to a law aligned with Guatemala’s international obligations. The government should also facilitate the participation of civil society, scientific and cultural experts, and affected communities, especially rural and under-resourced groups.
In particular, authorities should ensure the meaningful participation of women and Indigenous people, who have long defended Guatemala’s water resources. Under international law, Indigenous peoples have the right to be consulted on laws that affect them.
The government should also implement safeguards to guarantee that identifying information shared through the dialogue process is not used to retaliate against participants, who may fear reprisal following criminalization of other Indigenous leaders and human rights defenders.
