The Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation in the rural Bas-Fleuve region of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Exploring the local conceptions of human rights Pascal Sundi Mbambi Rachel Hammonds Localizing Human Rights Working Paper Series No. 5 (2017) General Editors: Koen De Feyter and Rachel Hammonds Antwerp: University of Antwerp 1 Localizing Human Rights Working Paper Series The Localizing Human Rights Working Paper Series consists of studies on the local relevance of human rights, particularly but not exclusively in non-Western contexts. They form part of a long-term interdisciplinary project, combining insights from law, political and social sciences. The Localizing Human Rights Research Programme is coordinated by the Law and Development Research Group at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). General Editors of the Series are Professor Koen De Feyter, Chair of International Law at the University of Antwerp, and Dr. Rachel Hammonds, University of Antwerp. The full reports are available online on the website of the Law and Development Research Group. The Localizing Human Rights Working Paper Series: No. 1: Vandenbogaerde, Arne (2015). The Human Rights Council from Below. A Case Study of the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants. No. 2: Destrooper, Tine (2015). An Analysis of the Human Rights-Based Approach to Development. UNICEF’s Role in the Villages Assainis Program in the Bas-Congo. No. 3: Chen, Jingrong, Desmet, Ellen and De Feyter, Koen (2016). The Right to Education of Rural-Urban Migrant Households in Chongqing, China. No. 4: De Feyter, Koen, Singh, Maheshwar, Kiekens, Dominique, Desguin, Noémi, Goel, Arushi and Saxena, Devanshi (2017). The right to water and sanitation for the urban poor in Delhi. No. 5: Sundi Mbambi, Pascal and Hammonds, Rachel (2017) The human right to safe drinking water and sanitation in the rural Bas-Fleuve region of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Exploring the local conceptions of human rights ISBN 9789057285691 D/2017/12.293/33 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors and editors are grateful to all of the participants in this study, particularly the villagers, local authorities and implementing agents of the Village Assaini (VA) Program in the Bas-Fleuve region. Special thanks are owed to all of the village leaders for their hospitality during our fieldwork and visits. We also thank the Bureau 9, a section of the Provincial Health Division in Matadi, for their guidance and co-operation. Also, a word of gratitude to Prof. Richard Lumbika, from the Centre des droits de l’homme of the Université Kongo, for his guidance and support relating to different elements of the fieldwork. The authors also wish to thank Prof. Ellen Desmet and Dr. Tine Destrooper for their methodological input. Pascal Sundi Mbambi conducted all of the field research related to this project and led the write up of the case study. The analysis of the results was conducted in conjunction with Prof. Koen De Feyter and Dr. Rachel Hammonds of the Law and Development Research Group at the University of Antwerp. In addition, the comments and suggestions made by participants at the Localizing Human Rights Roundtables in Antwerp on 19 and 20 September 2017, contributed to the analysis. 3 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................. 3 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................ 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 10 GENERAL INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 1. RESEARCH CONTEXT, RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK ........... 18 1.1. COUNTRY CONTEXT ......................................................................................................................... 18 1.2. BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH RATIONALE .................................................................................... 19 1.3. LOCALIZING HUMAN RIGHTS THEORY ............................................................................................. 23 1.4. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS ........................................................................................ 25 1.5. OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS .......................................................................................... 26 1.6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................. 27 1.6.1. Justification of the case study: the Village Assaini Program in the DRC ................................... 27 1.6.2. Selection of Villages .................................................................................................................. 29 1.6.3. Ethical Clearance ....................................................................................................................... 29 1.6.4. Data collection methods ........................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 2. HISTORICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT ......................................................................................... 35 2.1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DRC .......................................................................................................... 35 2.2. THE LEGAL CONTEXT ........................................................................................................................ 41 2.2.1. International and regional legal commitments ........................................................................ 41 2.2.2. Moving towards universal recognition of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation ............................................................................................................................................ 43 2.2.3. National legislation ................................................................................................................... 46 2.3. WATER AND SANITATION RIGHTS, THE VA PROGRAM AND THE INTERNATIONAL AGENDA.......... 49 4 CHAPTER 3. RESULTS ................................................................................................................................... 51 3.1. KEY ADMINISTRATIVE FEATURES OF THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT: PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS ENGAGED WITH ENSURING ACCESS TO DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION IN THE KONGO CENTRAL ................................................................................................................................................................ 51 3.1.1. The relationship between the territories and the zones de santé ............................................ 51 3.2. SOCIO-POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE YOMBE ETHNIC GROUP ...................................................... 57 3.3. KEY FEATURES OF THE TERRITORIES AND THE ZONES DE SANTÉ .................................................... 59 3.3.1. The Territory of Tshela .............................................................................................................. 59 3.3.1.1. The zone de santé of Kinkonzi ................................................................................................ 60 3.3.1.2. The zone de santé of Vaku ..................................................................................................... 61 3.3.2. The territory of Lukula .............................................................................................................. 62 3.3.2.1. The zone de santé of Lukula ................................................................................................... 63 3.3.2.2. The zone de santé of Kangu ................................................................................................... 65 3.3.3. The territory of Seke Banza ....................................................................................................... 65 3.3.3.1. The zone de santé of Seke Banza ........................................................................................... 66 3.4. KEY FEATURES OF THE DRC UNICEF VILLAGE ASSAINI PROGRAM ................................................... 68 3.5. SELECTION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGES IN WHICH THE FIELDWORK WAS CONDUCTED . 72 Village 1 (V1) ....................................................................................................................................... 75 Village 2 (V2) ....................................................................................................................................... 78 Village 3 (V3) ....................................................................................................................................... 81 Village 4 (V4) ....................................................................................................................................... 84 Village 5 (V5) ....................................................................................................................................... 87 3.6. FIELD RESEARCH RESULTS ................................................................................................................ 90 3.6.1. Characteristics of the research participants ............................................................................. 90 3.6.2. Access to the field and related challenges