Catarina de albuquerque biography of barack
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I'm praying that she sends us gifted new leaders, ready to pick up the mantle of her work, until all of us, everywhere, have the clean, running water and safe sanitation we need to thrive.
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Catarina de Albuquerque served as a diplomat for the Government of Portugal for over a decade, before subsequently working as an independent expert for the Swiss Development Agency, the European Commission, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
While receiving the latter, she shared how her experiences at a young age impacted her career path : “As a teenager I did volunteer work in the then-existing Lisbon slums. Her work uncovered the lived experience of people without access to water; she spoke with moral clarity on the need to resolve this global challenge; and she galvanized world leaders into formally recognizing the human right.
Catarina knew that defining water and sanitation as a human right would change everything.
visiting not only low- and middle-income countries with water access challenges, but also the United States, becoming the first major international figure to spotlight the crisis on Native reservations.
Years later, after transforming my undergraduate research into a seminal law review article on the human right to water and launchingDigDeep to serve remote parts of South Sudan and Cameroon, I found myself following in Catarina’s footsteps — shifting my focus away form the global challenge to focus on the US.
At the time, no one knew the size or scope of our domestic water crisis: more than 2 million Americans scraping by without a tap or a toilet, despite living in the wealthiest democracy on earth.
Our paths first crossed in 2013, when I reached out to Catarina and her colleague Inga Winkler to collaborate.
This profound legal instrument created a mechanism for individuals to challenge human rights violations at the UN level, giving real teeth to economic and social rights.
As CEO of the Sanitation and Water for All – a UNICEF-hosted global partnership (SWA) partnership she continued to strategically mobilize high-level political will and financing, ensuring that policies prioritised the poorest and most marginalized, embodying the principle to leave no one behind.
For us, the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN), especially the Leave No One Behind Theme, Catarina provided the intellectual architecture necessary to fulfill our mandate.
This was a critical shift, forged by her bold conviction, that moved the issue from a development challenge to a State obligation under the international human rights framework.
Catarina didn’t just advocate for recognition; she focused on accountability.
- She ensured these rights were explicitly incorporated into the global development agenda, successfully driving their inclusion in Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”
- Her diplomatic force was also evident in her work presiding over the negotiations for the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR).
Inspired by her fearless leadership and strategic brilliance, we celebrate the progress she secured and press forward, with determination and wisdom, until the shared vision of universal water access becomes a reality for everyone, everywhere.
Written by Euphresia l, RWSN Leave No One Behind theme co-Lead, with inputs from Dr Amita Bhakta PhD, Sandra van Soelen, and Temple Chukwuemeka Oraeki, LNOB co-Leads.
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Author: RWSN Secretariat
RWSN is a global network of rural water supply professionals.
She served two terms in this important role and was instrumental to the UN General Assembly’s recognition of access to water and sanitation as human rights in 2010. Catarina de Albuquerque (1970–2025) was a tireless expert who leveraged her wisdom, courage, and political will to change the world’s most basic equation.
Catarina’s career was a masterclass in strategic advocacy, dedicated to transforming an ethical concern into a concrete, legally binding global objective.
For us, her most monumental achievement was her brave assumption of the role as the first UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation (2008–2014).
Then she blessed our efforts. SWA described her as “a fierce champion of the human rights to water and sanitation”, whose “unique energy left a lasting impact on everyone around her.”
At Smart Water Magazine, we had the honour of featuring Catarina de Albuquerque on the cover of our October 2020 issue, where she reflected on the power of collective action in the water sector: “In this time when multilateralism seems under attack, it’s a privilege to witness first-hand the power of cooperation — as water doesn’t care about borders.”
In that interview, she also reminded us that achieving universal access to water and sanitation goes beyond infrastructure: “A systems approach is about politicians putting in place the systems and services that make everything work — regulation, legislation, tariffs, capacity building, access by marginalized groups.”
Born in Lisbon in 1970, she held degrees from the University of Lisbon and the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Études Internationales in Geneva.
She was the one who shattered the ceiling and demanded accountability, showing women how to transform technical expertise into unassailable rights-based mandates.
Visit https://www.rural-water-supply.net/ to find out more View all posts by RWSN Secretariat
Catarina de Albuquerque, global champion of the human rights to water and sanitation, passes away
Smart Water Magazine mourns the passing of Catarina de Albuquerque, who died on October 7, 2025.
The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, highlighted her “significant role, both nationally and internationally, in promoting human rights and sustainable development”.
Catarina de Albuquerque’s passing is an immense loss to the global water and sanitation community. This protocol allows people to bring complaints to the UN, in cases of alleged violations of economic, social and cultural rights by UN member states.
In 2008, the Human Rights Council named de Albuquerque as the first UN Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Her career combined academic work, legal expertise, and high-level diplomacy. :/)
As I immersed myself in the water world, I became captivated by Catarina’s moral clarity and courage. A pioneering advocate for the human rights to water and sanitation, she leaves behind a lasting legacy of leadership, compassion, and impact.
A Portuguese lawyer and human rights expert, Catarina de Albuquerque was the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation (2008–2014).
Her unwavering commitment lights the path ahead, and her words continue to set our highest standard:
“I encourage you to continue the critical work you are all doing in recognising water, sanitation and hygiene as fundamental for all.” – Catarina, 2020
We honour her memory not through sorrow, but through renewed purpose, transforming grief into greater effort, deeper dedication, and higher quality in all we do.
You are not merely inheritors of problems; you are the architects of the future legal reality for water and sanitation. Our local experience is the unshakeable moral anchor that must drive global social justice.
Catarina’s greatest gift was not the victory itself, but the enduring reminder that our work is never done.
Catarina de Albuquerque is an award-winning lawyer and human rights activist, celebrated for her involvement in the field of sanitation and water. Her contributions resulted in the introduction of a 6th Sustainable Development Goal from the UN, dedicated specifically to water and sanitation. She has also served as a Senior Legal Adviser at the Office for Documentation and Comparative Law, an independent institution under the Portuguese Prosecutor General’s Office.
Catarina de Albuquerque (1970–2025)
It is with heavy hearts that we pause, not to let grief diminish the force of her legacy, but to honor the fierce, unyielding presence of a foundational architect of human right to water.