June, 23 2010, 09:37am EDT
Report: Water Corporations Use United Nations to Bluewash Abuses
10th Anniversary of PR Initiative Celebrated in New York, Protested Globally
NEW YORK, NY
Corporate Accountability International released a report today,
"Water Governance: For the People or for the Bottom Line?" examining
how a joint United Nations-corporate initiative threatens the way water
resources are managed globally. Its release precedes the 10th
anniversary gathering for the United Nations Global Compact this week.
The Compact's CEO Water Mandate is a voluntary initiative addressing
the human right to water by partnering with corporations contributing
to and profiting from today's global water crisis.
"The United Nations is in a state of conflict. On the one hand, it
tries to promote democratic water governance as the key to solving the
global water crisis," said Kelle Louaillier, Corporate Accountability
International executive director. "On the other, it partners with
corporations that profit from water scarcity and commodification. It's
a recipe for millions going thirsty to satisfy the thirst for profit of
a handful of corporations."
tries to promote democratic water governance as the key to solving the
global water crisis," said Kelle Louaillier, Corporate Accountability
International executive director. "On the other, it partners with
corporations that profit from water scarcity and commodification. It's
a recipe for millions going thirsty to satisfy the thirst for profit of
a handful of corporations."
For the last three years, civil society has called on
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to withdraw United Nations support from
the Mandate. This week a "transparency framework" will be released in
an attempt to placate the Mandate's critics. But as Corporate
Accountability International's report points out, the problem with the
Mandate is rooted in its very structure.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to withdraw United Nations support from
the Mandate. This week a "transparency framework" will be released in
an attempt to placate the Mandate's critics. But as Corporate
Accountability International's report points out, the problem with the
Mandate is rooted in its very structure.
"The core problem is that the Mandate's presence within the United
Nations is itself a fundamental conflict of interest," said Louaillier.
"The United Nation's sponsorship trades accountability for
'partnership,' blurring the lines between the private and public
sector. This institutionalizes - rather than guards against -
relationships with corporations that pose real and potential conflicts
of interest, which is particularly dangerous when it comes to water."
Nations is itself a fundamental conflict of interest," said Louaillier.
"The United Nation's sponsorship trades accountability for
'partnership,' blurring the lines between the private and public
sector. This institutionalizes - rather than guards against -
relationships with corporations that pose real and potential conflicts
of interest, which is particularly dangerous when it comes to water."
"Water Governance: For the People or for the Bottom Line?" draws
attention to recently adopted, strong guidelines protecting against
such corporate conflicts of interest in the global tobacco treaty--one
of the most quickly and widely embraced treaties in United Nations'
history. Corporate Accountability International is calling on the
United Nations to establish clear and enforceable standards across U.N.
agencies that protect the public interest from corporate conflicts of
interest.
attention to recently adopted, strong guidelines protecting against
such corporate conflicts of interest in the global tobacco treaty--one
of the most quickly and widely embraced treaties in United Nations'
history. Corporate Accountability International is calling on the
United Nations to establish clear and enforceable standards across U.N.
agencies that protect the public interest from corporate conflicts of
interest.
"Issues like the global water crisis are too important to be
shaped by the corporate bottom line - the world's people, not the
world's largest corporations should be in the driver's seat," said
Louaillier.
shaped by the corporate bottom line - the world's people, not the
world's largest corporations should be in the driver's seat," said
Louaillier.
Key Recommendations
Governments must safeguard against conflicts of interest,
including avoiding situations when voluntary initiatives or
partnerships undermine governments' effectiveness, objectivity and
credibility.
including avoiding situations when voluntary initiatives or
partnerships undermine governments' effectiveness, objectivity and
credibility.
The United Nations should have stronger standards and safeguards
throughout the institution as a whole to prevent and address corporate
conflicts of interest. The U.N. should not be the institutional home
for initiatives that are conceived of and driven by corporations.
throughout the institution as a whole to prevent and address corporate
conflicts of interest. The U.N. should not be the institutional home
for initiatives that are conceived of and driven by corporations.
Swift and concrete action by the U.N. is needed to address the
concerns raised in this paper. Our recommendations for such action are
as follows:
concerns raised in this paper. Our recommendations for such action are
as follows:
* Have the United Nations establish clear and enforceable
standards preventing corporate conflict of interest, based on the
principles set forth in the FCTC's Article 5.3 that guard against
conflicts of interest and preserve and protect the primacy of human
rights over commercial enterprise.
standards preventing corporate conflict of interest, based on the
principles set forth in the FCTC's Article 5.3 that guard against
conflicts of interest and preserve and protect the primacy of human
rights over commercial enterprise.
* Have the United Nations withdraw its institutional support from the CEO Water Mandate.
Corporate Accountability stops transnational corporations from devastating democracy, trampling human rights, and destroying our planet.
(617) 695-2525LATEST NEWS
Alan Greenspan, Longtime Fed Chair and Ayn Rand Disciple, Meets Ultimate ‘Invisible Hand’
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Jun 22, 2026
Alan Greenspan, whose policies during nearly 20 years as US Federal Reserve chair fueled soaring economic inequality and helped create the conditions for multiple economic crashes, died Monday at age 100 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
While many corporate media outlets published hagiographic obituaries lionizing the "Maestro" who presided over nearly two decades of low inflation, rising stock prices, and American economic confidence, critics focused on Greenspan's role in promoting dangerous deregulation and "easy money" policies that inflated financial bubbles, with sometimes disastrous results.
Robert Reich—who served as US labor secretary under President Bill Clinton during all of Greenspan's tenure—called him "in many ways the most powerful person in America" during that era.
"If any single person was responsible for the financial crisis of 2008, it was Greenspan."
"He maintained an iron grip over the Fed, and almost single-handedly decided on interest rates," Reich wrote. "He essentially fired George H. W. Bush by raising interest rates so high (ostensibly to ward off the inflation then threatening the economy) that the economy took a dive, and voters blamed Bush. This was enough to convince my boss, Bill Clinton, to do exactly what Greenspan wanted—which was to reduce the federal budget deficit and thereby destroy much of the agenda Clinton ran on (and I helped create)."
"I don’t want to speak ill of anyone who has passed. Greenspan was an extremely charming, intelligent, and thoughtful man," Reich added. "But the truth must be told: If any single person was responsible for the financial crisis of 2008, it was Greenspan. That crisis—the worst collapse since 1929, which led to the worst recession in decades, in which millions of Americans lost their jobs, savings, and even their homes—resulted from the deregulation of Wall Street that Greenspan advocated."
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A peer-reviewed study published by The Lancet in July 2025 estimated that proposed cuts to USAID could lead to as many as 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 worldwide, including the deaths of 4.5 million children under the ages of five years old.
Musk, who earlier this month became the world's first trillionaire, wrote in response to Khanna's interview that it was "time to sue this liar."
It's not clear how Khanna's statement could be defamatory given that it was based on research published by a prestigious medical journal.
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.@elonmusk let's debate. You game?
I am for free speech, not lawfare. pic.twitter.com/gThLggxiOW
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) June 22, 2026
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Two people were killed, and six others survived, a strike on Sunday that the US military claimed—without providing evidence—targeted a boat full of "narco-terrorists," but that human rights defenders called another summary execution worthy of prosecution.
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[image or embed]
— Brian Finucane (@bcfinucane.bsky.social) June 21, 2026 at 11:28 PM
According to The Intercept's Nick Turse, who has tracked all of the reported US boat bombings in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, there have now been 66 such strikes, which have killed 215 people and left 12 survivors, based on USSOUTHCOM data.
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