Catarina de Albuquerque was an award-winning  lawyer and human rights activist, celebrated for her involvement in the field of sanitation and water. She was the first United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, and worked for the recognition of water and sanitation as human rights. After receiving recognition from the UN General Assembly, she ensured the implementation of these rights via the creation of a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on water and sanitation while working for the UN partnership, Sanitation and Water for All (SWA).

Born in Lisbon in 1970, she held degrees from the University of Lisbon and the Geneva Graduate Institute ('96). 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. Her portrait is part of the Hall of Inspiring Stories prepared as part of the Institute's 100th anniversary, coming in 2027.

Tributes from around the world have emphasised 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 community.