Thematic Report to the 78th session of the UN General Assembly: "The Rights to Water and Sanitation as a Tool for Peace, Prevention and Cooperation"

May 3, 2023 | United Nations
View Original

Over half the world's population depends on transboundary aquatic ecosystems, making their management critical for global peace and security. This population's access to safe drinking water depends directly on the state of these aquatic ecosystems. Toxic or insufficiently treated wastewater discharges can erode or break the potability of water downstream. As a result, the actions taken in one country can have significant implications for people in other countries sharing the same aquatic ecosystems. When States fail to protect their river basins and aquatic ecosystems, social or inter-territorial conflicts may occur over scarce resources involving communities, productive sectors, and private actors. When ecosystems are transboundary, these conflicts can negatively affect relations between countries. However, water diplomacy provides an opportunity to transform these potential conflicts and their impact on the human rights to water and sanitation into opportunities for cooperation between countries that share river basins and aquatic ecosystems.Key information sought To facilitate the reception of inputs, the Special Rapporteur prepared a list of key information which he considers essential for the report. The list could be answered entirely or partially according to the expertise and experience of those actors willing to contribute to the Report.Next Steps Your contribution should be sent by no later than 26 May 2023.  Instructions Please send your contributions in English, French or Spanish in Word or PDF format to hrc-sr-watsan@un.org AND to Daniela Chavez Mendoza daniela.chavezmendoza@un.org. Please indicate “Input Water and Peace Report” in the email subject line; limit your contributions to a maximum of 2,500 words and if necessary, provide links to relevant documents or attach annexes.  Treatment of inputs/comments received: All submissions will be published on the website of the mandate. Non-state actors could request the confidentiality of the submission. Responses should be submitted by 26 May 2023  Email address: hrc-sr-watsan@un.org and to daniela.chavezmendoza@un.org.  Email subject line:Input Water and Peace Report  Word limit:limit your contributions to a maximum of 2,500 words and if necessary, provide links to relevant documents or attach annexes.  File formats:Word, PDF  Accepted languages:English, Spanish, French