Water Witness comment on outcomes of UN Water conference

Commenting on the conclusions of the landmark UN Water Conference, which closed today [Friday 24th March] after three days of dialogue, Water Witness International Executive Director, Dr Nick Hepworth said:

“Sadly the outcomes offer little hope to the billions of people around the world living without safe water or being hammered by intensifying floods and droughts.  It sounds like all we’re getting is a new UN Envoy on water, a call for more money for UN Water, a bunch more UN meetings and 600 uncoordinated ‘voluntary commitments’ which threaten to fracture an already fragmented sector.  Trying to solve one of the greatest challenges facing humanity with voluntary commitments is like taking a knife to a gunfight – it simply isn’t good enough, and represents a betrayal of the world’s poor who bear the brunt of the water crisis. 

It’s a dismal outcome from such a historically significant event. Whilst the UN Water Conference wasn’t mandated to establish new binding agreements to hold governments, banks and multinationals to account on water, many of us were hoping that the concluding plenary would set us on a path towards getting those in place.  It looks like the powerful beneficiaries of the status quo have won the day and will benefit from the status quo - of anarchic water use, water grabs, unchecked pollution and the massive levels of corruption in water projects - for a while longer.”

“The establishment of a new scientific panel on water is a positive step forward.  We need better and unequivocal evidence of what’s happening on the ground, and what works and that has been lacking”.

“Civil society, researchers and NGOs will continue to fight for a meaningful outcome, to make sure that the voices of those affected by the water crisis are heard, and to expose and act on water injustice around the world. We need help from the media and people to express outrage at the inaction on water, and to demand accountability and political prioritisation of water from our political leaders.”

Sareen Malik, Executive Secretary of the African Civil Society Network for Water and Sanitation, said:

“There is a grave injustice at the heart of the global water crisis. The richest people on earth are exploiting the water needed by the poorest, leaving aquifers drained, rivers polluted, and communities less able to cope with climate change - also caused by the world’s wealthier nations, many of whom have cut international aid for water.  The abuse and neglect of water in our global economy has to end now.  Without greater accountability, rigour and ambition in the UN Water 2023 outcomes it will fall short of delivering the transformative change needed to secure a more water secure water future for humanity.”