ACCESS TO DRINKING WATER AS A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT:

THE CASE OF MOZAMBIQUE

Abstract

Water is a universal natural resource, indispensable to human life. Without it there is no life. Since the right to life is internationally recognized and protected on a universal scale, it is right that the right to water should also be enshrined. The sustainable use of water by States includes the creation of all conditions for its free access, by all citizens, without any kind of restriction or discrimination, in defense of human dignity. The general objective of this article is to discuss how access to drinking water has been in Mozambique as a fundamental human right. The specific objective is to analyze and discuss the extent to which free access to drinking water has been guaranteed by the Mozambican State to all citizens, without exception or discrimination. We propose to answer the following starting question: is it correct for the Mozambican State to exempt itself from its duty as a State as a provider, assuming itself as an entrepreneurial State? The commercialization of drinking water creates two types of consumers: (1) those in rural areas – who benefit from a regime of free and free access to the precious liquid, and (2) those in urban areas – who are subject to payment for the water they consume. This article was written using a qualitative approach, through research with descriptive and exploratory purposes, through the method of secondary data collection, that is, a broad bibliographical, documentary and legislative observance. We conclude that in Mozambique, the assumption of the role of State-entrepreneur, instead of State-provider, limits free access to drinking water, as a fundamental human right.