Human Right to Water?

Artwork by: Irem Yilmaz, Age 15, Istanbul, Turkey

This summer the United Nations passed a resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation.  This sparked a controversial debate when 41 countries, including the United States, refused to vote.

Who has the right to water?  Who gets it first? In what quantity?  At what cost?  For what use?  And if we declare a legal ‘right to water’, should we not also include a binding legal clause for ‘sustainable use of that water’?

The World Health Organization has laid out a plan that indicates who, where, and how developing nations may benefit from declaring water as a human right.  However those details are missing  from this resolution.  Some of the issues we believe need to be addressed include:

1)  It is well known that increased access to water also expands irrigation needs for agriculture production, increases livestock herds, increases water needs for energy and industry and increases waste in leaking pipelines.  Who will monitoring sustainability of the water sources; amount withdrawn vs. recharge?

2)  water rights laws:  many countries, including the US has extremely complex and layered water rights laws with numerous competing interests.  How will the resolution tie into existing agreements and how will towns, cities, and countries will resolve competing needs?

3) trans-boundry water agreements:  countries throughout the world have trans-boundry water agreements which are already straining relationships.  Who has prioritization of access?

4)  How will this resolution address sustainability of depleting water resources in a changing climate and the energy sources (and associated CO2 emissions) required for accessing water and sanitation?

5)   what importance will be placed on utilizing existing water sources more sustainably (i.e. rainwater harvesting/water reuse),  education on conservation, and ensuring use of materials that limit waste and leaking?

6)   Who is responsible and how will water levels be monitored to ensure adequate water for sustaining ecosystems?

No one is denying that all humans have the right to water and sanitation; however, this is an issue that cannot be reduced to a simple 2 page resolution.  As John F. Sammis, U.S. Deputy Representative to the Economic and Social Council explained to the UN General Assembly,

“The United States regrets that this resolution diverts us from the serious international efforts underway to promote greater coordination and cooperation on water and sanitation issues. This resolution attempts to take a short-cut around the serious work of formulating, articulating and upholding universal rights. It was not drafted in a transparent, inclusive manner, and the legal implications of a declared right to water have not yet been carefully and fully considered in this body or in Geneva.”

We believe that declaring a universal right to water, when water is not universally abundant, will create local water crises, and worsen the already dire situation for the worlds poorest people.

We want to know what you think, vote on this resolution