Most Americans expect that clean and affordable water will be available from their taps at all times. However, an increasing number of people in the U.S. now realize that access to safe water cannot be taken for granted. This problem has been a long-standing challenge in developing countries, prompting consideration of water as a human right under international law. This lecture charted the rise of the human right to safe drinking water & sanitation under international law and explored how access to water has become a critical environmental and civil rights issue in the U.S. The talk also discussed strategies that communities both here and abroad are using to advocate for access to safe and affordable water.

This was the inaugural Duke Human Rights Center and John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute Annual Lecture, which followed the year-long theme of water here at FHI. "Access to Safe Water | A Human Rights and Civil Rights Perspective," was presented by Sharmila K. Murthy. Sharmila L. Murthy is an Associate Professor at Suffolk University Law School, where she teaches and writes on issues of property law, environmental law, international environmental law, poverty, and human rights.