2023 UN WATER STATEMENT

Rights of Water: the missing element for a bold Water Action Agenda 

There is no question that fresh water is necessary for the survival of all living organisms on Earth. Water is an integral part of the ecosystems on which humans, other species, and all living beings depend; and water holds great cultural and spiritual importance for many peoples. 

Water is also placed at the core of socioeconomic well-being and sustainable development. And yet, current laws and policies have failed to stop the poisoning of fresh water sources, the depletion of aquifers, the growth in water-related diseases, or the increasing scarcity and restrictions in access to water for humans and other species. Growing water crises and injustices abound in our world today.

The human right to water is considered, and rightly so, as indispensable for both human dignity and the realization of other human rights. But what about the rights of water? All bodies of water are living entities and should be entitled to flow, to perform essential functions within an ecosystem, to be free from pollution.

We believe that recognizing the rights of water offers a pathway for the conservation or restoration of water sources, ensuring clean, accessible water for humans and other living beings. We must also transform our relationship with water – with rain, rivers, lakes, and the ocean –for mindful and just decisions that recognize the inherent rights of water bodies to exist, flourish, and naturally evolve.   

There is an urgent need to look at water from beyond an economic perspective, and beyond a perspective of property and ownership. The rights of water should underpin any approach to sustainability, restoration, and resilience, and all efforts to uphold the human right to water. By recognizing water as a subject of rights, people will be empowered to hold their governments accountable for the harmful environmental degradation of water bodies.  

 A Water Action Agenda at this moment in human history demands a fundamental shift in our relationship with water. We call on the UN and governments around the world to recognize the rights of water. 

We stand in solidarity with the nations, Indigenous peoples, civil society movements, and local communities who are working actively to embed legal personhood for water through legal and judicial systems, and customary law. In nearly 40 countries worldwide the Rights of Nature has been implemented, with rights and legal personhood being granted to a range of aquatic ecosystems, such as Manglares Cayapas Mataje Ecological Reserve in Ecuador, the Whanganui River in New Zealand, the Atrato River in Colombia, the Muteshekau Shipu (Magpie River) in Canada, the Ní’skà and Ni’ží’dè Rivers in the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma in USA, and Mar Menor in Spain, amongst many others.

Rights of Nature offers a cohesive approach to water sustainability, restoration, and resilience, acting as a bridge between human rights – in particular the human right to water, Indigenous rights, environmental rights (healthy environment) – and biocultural rights. In unifying these different paradigms, Rights of Nature promotes a holistic approach to addressing and achieving the SDGs and much more.

We, the undersigned, call on the UN and governments around the world to recognize water as a rights-bearing entity. Recognizing the legal Rights of Water offers clear legal requirements and pathways for water protection, conservation, and restoration, ensuring clean, accessible water for people and all the living beings who depend on it.  

SIGNED BY: