Overview of international law regulations and Vietnamese law regarding the right to access clean water

Abstract

The right to clean water or the right to water is recognized and protected under international and national laws, including Vietnam. Unfortunately, many people still face challenges in accessing safe and clean water. As a human right, water should be of acceptable quality and quantity and easily accessible. Governments have a role in ensuring their citizens enjoy their right to safe and clean water. Vietnam is no exception to the challenges facing many countries in ensuring their citizens have access to safe and clean water. Even though Vietnam is a signatory to international treaties recognizing water as a human right, it still faces difficulties in ensuring all the people of Vietnam enjoy this right. The 2017 Law on Water Resources and the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection of Vietnam have partly solved the problem related to the right to clean water in a time of water pollution. The article used the method of synthesizing, analyzing and comparing international and national provisions on the right to clean water in the time of environmental pollution to propose some solutions related to the right to clean water.