“I look forward to learning about how the Malaysian water and sanitation sector, after having started a reform in the mid-2000’s, is organised to provide equal access to water and sanitation for the entire population in Malaysia,” said Leo Heller.
“I would like to further learn about the crucial role of the recently established Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources and how the federal and local governments cooperate in ensuring access to those services in Peninsular Malaysia and the federal territories as well as in East Malaysia, namely, the States of Sabah and Sarawak.” The Special Rapporteur will assess whether the entire population in Malaysia has sufficient, hygienic and safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water and sanitation services, without discrimination.
The UN independent expert will travel to Gua Musang, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Miri, Putrajaya and Sandakan.
In a recent report, the Special Rapporteur focused on the human rights to water and sanitation of forcibly displaced persons, in particular, the internally displaced, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented populations and migrants in vulnerable situations.
A news conference to share the expert’s preliminary findings will be held **in Kuala Lumpur **on 27 November, at 11am at the JW Marriott Hotel.
Access is strictly limited to journalists.
Mr. Léo Heller_ (Brazil) is the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, appointed in November 2014.
_ _Learn more: http://www.ohchr.org/SRwaterandsanitation _ Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, Country Page – Malaysia For more information and media requests, please contact: _During the mission: Ms. Ahreum Lee +41 79 201 0119 / __ahreumlee@ohchr.org_ _For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact: Mr. Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 /jlaurence@ohchr.org) _ This year, 2018, is the _70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948.

Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, waits to give his speech against the Energy Transfer Partners’ Dakota Access oil pipeline during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland September 20, 2016.
Denis Balibouse/Reuters Despite the controversy surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline, it commenced operations on June 1 under an executive order from Donald Trump.
But many members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe say the pipeline, which snakes through their only water source, is a death sentence.
To Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the $3.8 billion project, it’s a necessary part of the US energy network.
In a ruling issued June 14, Judge James Boasberg said that the agency in charge of the pipeline didn’t adequately consider some matters important to the Standing Rock tribe, such as how an oil spill might affect the tribe’s fishing and hunting rights, and whether the tribe would be disproportionately affected by a leak.
Legal battle In July of last year, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe filed a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers claming that the legal and environmental review process for the pipeline was rushed and undertaken largely without the tribe’s input.
Judge Boasberg’s recent ruling appears to lend some support to that claim, but he also determined that the agency "largely complied" with environmental law when approving the pipeline.
Jan Hasselman, an attorney for Standing Rock, told the Associated Press that Boasber’s decision is enough to "reset the clock to where we were last fall," when the tribe demanded a comprehensive environmental study of the pipeline and asked the Army Corps of Engineers to consider alternate routes that would not threaten their water supply.
Energy Transfer Partners said in a statement to AP that it believed the Corps "properly evaluated both" of the issues that Judge Boasberg said were not adequately addressed, including how an oil spill might affect the Tribe.
"If this leaks, it is going to spill into the river.