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For Immediate Release
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Dylan Penner, 613-795-8685,dpenner@canadians.org
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UN President Endorses Right to Water

NEW YORK

A high level endorsement of the right to water from United Nations
President Miguel d'Escoto Brockman, on the 60th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is being met with praise from
Maude Barlow, a leading Canadian water rights advocate.

"We should recognize that the right to water is a human right, and
water cannot therefore be treated as a commodity that is bought and
sold," said President d'Escoto in his speech. "The right to water
should unite us in building a new model of sustainable human
development."

"President d'Ecoto's endorsement of water as a human right is a call to
action," says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of
Canadians and recently appointed Senior Advisor on Water Issues to the
President of the General Assembly of the United Nations. "This is a
wonderful opportunity to advance a more democratic and transparent
method of policy making around water at the global level than now
exists. Water is a commons, a public trust, and a human right."

Maude Barlow publicly called upon all member states of the United
Nations to take up the challenge of the UN President by swiftly working
towards a UN Convention that safeguards water as a human right.

President d'Escoto's speech can be read in full at: https://www.un.org/ga/president/63/statements/cremarkshumanrights101208.shtml

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