There is now a fierce and deepening political conflict over the
Ministerial Declaration of the World Water Forum in Istanbul (March
16-22), mainly around the recognition of the right to water, but also
about which water policies
are needed to implement the right to water. A bloc of Latin American
governments is demanding that the Ministerial Declaration should
recognise the right to water and endorse a number of other progressive
water policy approaches (water as a public good, water out of trade
agreements,
democratisation of water management, public-public partnerships,
etc.). Another key demand is that the World Water Forum should be
transferred to the UN system.
During negotiations in Paris that finished yesterday, however, all of
these demands were rejected, mainly by the US but also by EU
governments. The EU seems split over the inclusion of the right to
water; Spain, Germany and Netherlands apparently do support this
demand (but as far s I know not the others).
It would be very valuable if you could contact 'your' government and
ask encourage them to support the right to water and the other
important demands mentioned above. This conflict over the future
direction of international water policies should also be of interest
to the media.
The demands drafted by Uruguay, fully supported by Uruguay,
Ecuador, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, and apparently
also Spain (this is not clear) belove. If these demands do not get included
in the Ministerial Declaration, then these (and hopefully other)
governments will present it as Complementary Declaration (a form of
counter-declaration).
COMPLEMENTARY DECLARATION
We, the Ministers or our representatives herein signing, declare the
following before the participants of this Forum, the international
community and the peoples of the world:
? Access to water with quality, quantity and equity and access to
sanitation services, constitute fundamental human rights. The States,
with the participation of the communities, must carry out efforts at
every level to guarantee this right for their peoples. Therefore, we
agree to continue to make every effort within the framework of the
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and other
international forums to recognize and ensure this right is made
effective.
? We manifest our profound concern about the possible negative impact
that any international instrument, such as the Free Trade and
Investment Treaties, could have on water resources. We reaffirm the
sovereign right of the peoples to exclude water, in all its uses and
services, from commercial agreements.
? We reiterate the call on all governments and peoples to convene the
upcoming VI World Water Forum in the framework of the international
multilateral system, based on the principles of full participation and
inclusion.
? States will place priority on the use of water and water supply for
their populations.
? We exhort the international community to meet the commitments,
repeatedly made, to support efforts made by countries to ensure access
to water and sanitation services, promoting agreements and
public-public cooperation.
? We will promote the declaration of the public dominion of water in
every arena.
? We ratify what is expressed in ?Charter of Economic Rights and
Duties of States,? approved by the United Nations General Assembly
December 12, 1974, which establishes: ?Every State has and shall
exercise full permanent sovereignty, including possession, use and
disposal, over all its wealth, natural resources and economic
activities,? adding that ?In the exploitation of natural resources
shared by two or more countries, each State must co-operate on the
basis of a system of information and prior consultation in order to
achieve optimum use of the resources without causing damage to the
legitimate interest of others.?
? Those using the service and civil society will participate in all
water planning, management and control bodies.
? The states and communities will promote public-public cooperation
processes to make possible participation and exchange, excluding any
profit.