Right to Water

Water is precious and sustains all life on earth. Access to water is a fundamental human right. However, over one billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and more than one million children die each year of diseases caused by unsafe water and lack of sanitation. As water scarcity grows, so too will these numbers.

People around the world are joining the movement to reverse these trends. Friends of the Right to Water is a network of groups and activists from around the world working toward the following goals:

Ensuring that affordable access to clean water be secured and protected as a basic human right around the world;

Ensuring that water systems be locally, publicly and democratically owned and controlled, in a transparent manner; and

Preventing governments, the private water industry, international financial institutions and others from interfering with the human right to water.

As Friends of the Right to Water, we are implementing an important strategy toward the realization of these goals. We are building a strong and unified voice to call for an international treaty protecting the human right to water.

To join Friends of the Right to Water, click here to sign the Endorsement Statement.

Right to Water downloads (PDF format):

Why the time has come for a UN Convention on the Right to Water
The right to water is a woman's right
Right to water handbill
On the Threshold of a Global Water Crisis: Maude Barlow's speech to the water rights conference in Mexico City (March 2006)
The Right to Water: The Campaign for a United Nations Treaty
Key Principles for an International Treaty on the Right to Water
Assessing the Green Cross proposal for a UN convention on the right to water - Legal analysis suggests that while the Green Cross campaign includes some progressive elements, it would undermine, not strengthen, protection for the international right to water.
Summary of Green Cross critique
General Comment No. 15 - The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted this important statement on the Right to Water.
This 2008 ACF (Action contre la faim/Action against hunger) positioning paper consolidates and clarifies ACF’s approach to water, sanitation, and hygiene through a comprehensive understanding of the UN's Human Right to Water (HRTW). This was undertaken to increase the impact and sustainability of ACF’s programs in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector, and to use the HRTW as an advocacy tool in the service of saving lives by combating hunger and disease amongst vulnerable groups.