Water as a Human Right
Leo Heller, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation
Matrix is located on the 8th floor of Barrows Hall, on the UC Berkeley campus, near Telegraph and Bancroft Avenues, just up the hill from Sather Gate. There are entrances at both ends of the building, but only one of the elevators on the eastern side goes directly to the 8th floor. You can alternatively take the stairs to the 7th floor and walk up the stairs.
Mr. Léo Heller, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Declaration 64/292 The Human Right to Water and Sanitation, will present a public lecture.
The exploration of this right was the subject of a Matrix-sponsored research team between 2014-2015, coordinated by an inter-departmental team that included Charisma Acey (City and Regional Planning), Helene Silverberg (Political Science), Isha Ray (Energy Resources Group), and Charlotte Smith (Public Health).
Heller is the second Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. He was appointed by the Human Rights Council in November 2014, having started his mandate on 1 December of that year. Heller is currently a researcher in the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil. Previously, Heller was Professor of the Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil from 1990 to 2014. During his career in the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Heller held several positions, including the Head of the Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Associate Provost of Graduate Studies, Dean of the School of Engineering, and coordinator of the Graduate Program in Basic Sanitation, the Environment, and Water Resources.
Heller has extensive experience in formulating policies, teaching, and researching in the field of public policy and management and of environmental health related to water and sanitation. He has coordinated large interdisciplinary research groups, and he is the author of several books, book chapters, and journal articles on technological, health, and policy dimensions of water and sanitation. He has a long tradition of working together with and taking part in social movements related to the human rights to water and sanitation, especially in Latin America.
He holds a BA in civil engineering; MSc in water, sanitation, and the environment; and PhD in Epidemiology, with a thesis on the association between water and sanitation and health outcomes. He also carried out post-doctoral research at the University of Oxford (2005-2006), focusing on the theoretical aspects of public policy and management in the water and sanitation sector.
This event is free and open to the public. It is co-sponsored by the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.