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24 Neth. Q. Hum. Rts. 557 (2006)
Access to Electricity as a Human Right

handle is hein.journals/nethqur39 and id is 557 raw text is: PART A: ARTICLES ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY AS A HUMAN RIGHT STEPHEN TULLY Abstract This article reviews existing and emergent international human rights law and general international law to identify an individual interest in accessing electricity. The analysis includes the reports of States parties submitted pursuant to several human rights instruments, the opinions of their monitoring Committees, the decisions of national courts and international tribunals, the views of several UN Special Rapporteurs, national legalframeworks and the energy programmes of several States. The emergence of a human right to access electricity under international law is corroborated by the requirements of international humanitarian law, policy trends within the sustainable development agenda and contemporary regulatory efforts to extend electricity services to vulnerable social groups. An authoritative judicial or intergovernmental pronouncement formally recognising this right as an independent one would be timely and appropriate. The paper concludes by suggesting the contours of the right to access electricity and outlining the possible roles and responsibilities of primary actors. 1. INTRODUCTION Electricity access is a prerequisite for satisfying basic human needs, improving living standards, maintaining good human health, alleviating poverty and facilitating sustainable development. Notwithstanding general acceptance that electricity is an essential civic service, approximately 1.7 billion individuals currently lack access with around eighty percent located rurally and ninety-nine percent residing within developing States.' With a view to addressing these circumstances, part one of this article surveys existing international human rights law and practice to identify the existence of a personal and household entitlement to access electricity. Electricity is subject to explicit and implicit treatment within this framework to ensure non- discrimination against women, progressively improve economic, social and cultural 1 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Energy Assessment: Energy and the Challenge of Sustainability, Nairobi, 2000, p. 44. 557 Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, Vol. 24/4, 557-588, 2006. @ Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), Printed in the Netherlands.

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