Smart Water Magazine mourns the passing of Catarina de Albuquerque, who died on October 7, 2025. 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). Since 2018, she served as CEO of Sanitation and Water for All (SWA), leading the global partnership with passion and purpose. 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. Her career combined academic work, legal expertise, and high-level diplomacy. She was instrumental in securing the UN’s 2010 recognition of water and sanitation as human rights.
Tributes from around the world have emphasized her remarkable contributions. 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. Her words in 2020 still capture the essence of her vision — cooperation, equality, and persistence: “If you want to go fast, you go alone, but if you want to go far, you go together.”
Smart Water Magazine extends its deepest condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues. Her legacy will continue to inspire all those working to make the human rights to water and sanitation a reality for everyone.
