All States Must Acknowledge the UN’s Recognition of Water as a Human Right

Meera Karunananthan

It is crucial now that we use this opportunity to hold governments accountable to the international commitment to recognize water and sanitation as human rights.

In an impassioned speech to the UN General Assembly on July 28, Bolivian Ambassador to the UN, Pablo Salon highlighted the dire situation of the global water crisis by snapping his fingers three times to indicate that a child dies every three and a half seconds from drinking dirty water. He urged the world take action by voting in favour of a resolution presented by Bolivia and co-sponsored by 35 states calling on the General Assembly to recognize the human right to water and sanitation.

Representatives of powerful states more inclined to call the shots had their noses out of joint due to the fact that such a significant resolution had been introduced by 35 countries from the global south. Despite opposition from the U.S., the U.K. and their allies, the resolution passed with the support of 122 countries representing more than 5 billion of the world’s population.

To have water and sanitation recognized as a universal human right by the highest international authority was nothing short of a coup for global water justice activists who have worked together for over a decade in the face of water shortages, corporate takeover of community water resources, privatization of services leading to rate hikes and cut offs for the poor. It was a momentous occassion for environmental advocates, small farmers, indigenous communities, labour activists, anti-poverty groups and others who had been calling for a global solution to the water crisis.