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The independent expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, submits this report to the Human Rights Council in accordance with Council resolution 7/22. The report focuses on the human rights obligations related to sanitation. After reviewing the inextricable links between sanitation and a range of human rights, the independent expert concludes that an analysis of sanitation in a human rights context must go beyond linking it to other human rights, because this would fail to fully capture all of the dimensions of sanitation. She suggests that, although there is an ongoing discussion on whether sanitation should be recognised as a distinct right, recent developments at the international, regional and national levels demonstrate a trend towards recognition; specifically, considering the right to sanitation as an explicit component of the right to an adequate standard of living. While opinions may differ on whether to recognise sanitation as a distinct right, the independent expert asserts that there are clear human rights obligations related to sanitation because it is inextricably linked to, and indispensable for, the realisation of many other human rights. She outlines a definition of sanitation in human rights terms, and explains the human rights obligations related to sanitation, as well as the content of those obligations. The report ends with conclusions and recommendations.