Access to Clean Water is Most Violated Human Right

On 28 July, for the first time ever, the general assembly of the United Nations will hold a
historic summit on the human right to water.
It will consider and debate a resolution supporting the right to "safe and clean drinking water
and sanitation" that was presented on 17 June by Pablo Solon, the
Bolivian ambassador to the UN, and co-sponsored by 23 other countries.
The desired outcome of the day is consensus on recognising the human
right to water. However, some
governments are withholding consensus and it appears likely that the
resolution will have to be put to a vote, a process that has the
potential to divide the world body along north/south lines.

When
the 1948 universal declaration on human rights
was written, no one could foresee a day when water would be a contested
area. But in 2010, it is not an exaggeration to say that the lack of
access to clean water is one of the greatest human rights violation in the world.
Nearly 2 billion people live in water-stressed areas of the world and 3
billion have no running water within a kilometre of their homes. Every
eight seconds a child dies
of a waterborne disease, in every case preventable if their parents had
money to pay for water. And it is getting worse as the world runs out of clean
water. A new World Bank reports says that by 2030, global demand for
water will exceed
supply by more than 40%, a shocking prediction that foretells of
terrible suffering.

For several years, international and
local community groups fighting for water justice have been calling for a
UN commitment that clarifies once and for all that no one should be
denied water for life because of an inability to pay, especially in the
light of the water markets now being set up, allowing the wealthy to
appropriate dwindling water supplies for private profit. The fact that
water is not now recognized as a human right has allowed decision-making
over water policy to shift from the UN and governments to institutions
such as the World Bank, the World Water Council and the World Trade
Organisation, which favour market solutions.

Support for
the human right to water has been steadily growing in recent years but
several wealthy countries - notably the UK, US, Canada and Australia -
have emerged as negative forces, finding excuses not to support the
resolution in its current form. The new Conservative government of David
Cameron is already on record that it will oppose this resolution unless
it is amended to remove sanitation and only refer to "access" to clean
water, not the human right to water itself. Canada hides behind the
false claim that such a resolution might force it to share its water
with the US; Australia has gone the route of water markets and so is
unlikely to sign onto a commitment that would favour public ownership of
water; and it disappointedly appears that the Obama administration is
not charting a new course for his country when it comes to human rights
obligations at the UN.

Nevertheless, there is great hope
that 28 July will see a historic commitment of the nations of the world
to once and forever recognise that every human on earth has the right to
safe, clean drinking water and the dignity of good sanitation services.
Will the crisis be solved the day after a successful vote on the human
right to water? Of course not. The work to provide clean water in a
world of diminishing supplies is just beginning.

But every
now and then, humanity takes a collective step forward in its evolution.
Such a time has come again and we must be up for this challenge.