October 29, 2003
Awakened Woman's Circle is working for peace
A Congressional Resolution on Water
Many of you will be aware of the serious ramifications of water privatization in Africa and elsewhere. We in the Africa Trade Policy Working Group have been at work with colleagues elsewhere to raise the issue of water as a human right, and now Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-IL) has introduced an important resolution in the House.
Below is a draft of the congressional resolution, which is being readied for introduction. This is a key opportunity to bring our support to bear on an issue that is valuable for WOA's economic justice agenda.
Rep. Schakowsky is sending a letter to a select group of her colleagues in the House NEXT WEEK asking them to join her as original co-sponsors on the resolution copied below. Her letter will include a list of religious, social justice and civil society organizations that support her effort. Please consider offering an endorsement from your communion or office.
To sign-on send an e-mail to cmep@citizen.org. In the subject line, type "Congressional Resolution on Water" In the body of the e-mail list your organizational and contact information.
Thank you!
Leon P. Spencer
DRAFT U.S. CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTION ON WATER FOR PEOPLE AND NATURE
Whereas, freshwater is a finite natural resource and belongs to the earth and all species for all time. It, therefore, forms part of the common heritage of human beings and all living things and must remain a public trust to be protected and nurtured by all peoples, communities and nations, and the governing bodies that represent them at the local, state, national and international level;
Whereas, available freshwater represents less than half of 1-percent of the world's total water stock; global consumption of water is doubling every 20 years - more than twice the rate of human population growth; and 31 countries currently face water shortages with another 17 likely to be added to this list by 2025;
Whereas, according to the UN more than one billion people on earth already lack adequate access to safe drinking water; 2.5-billion people have no access to proper sanitation and more than 5 million people (mostly children) die each year from water-related diseases,10 times the average number of people killed in wars annually;
Whereas, women hold the primary responsibility for household labor and childrearing and therefore play a key role in ensuring the provision of water on a household and community level. Decisions about the conservation, distribution and management of water are vital and fundamental to the lives and livelihoods of all people, male and female, in all localities, municipalities and regions of the world, and therefore should be subject to the provisions of transparent, participatory and accountable democratic governance;
Whereas, unsustainable agricultural practices, including large-scale irrigation, pesticide and agrochemical usage, lead to depletion of aquifers, falling water tables and ground and surface water pollution, while also threatening the long-term sustainable livelihoods of all farmers. If continued, these practices virtually assure an eventual environmental crisis and resulting drop in food production that could jeopardize the human right to food and food sovereignty;
Whereas, millions of people worldwide face serious threats to their livelihoods and cultures due to large dam projects. An estimated 40-80 million people have been forcibly evicted from their lands to make way for dam construction which has led to human rights violations, impoverishment and environmental degradation;
Whereas, the Geneva Convention of August 1949 (Protocol 1, Article 54) states that in wartime it is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population such as drinking water installations, supplies and irrigation works;
Whereas, international development targets calling for universal access to water and sanitation services to be achieved by 1990 and 2000 remain unmet, and current Millennium Development Goals now call for reducing by one-half the number of those without safe drinking water by the year 2015;
Whereas, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has adopted the General Comment on the right to water, which states that the human right to drinking water is fundamental for life and health, and sufficient and safe drinking water is a precondition for the realization of all other human rights;
Whereas, the United Nations has proclaimed 2003 the International Year of Freshwater and has issued a comprehensive assessment of the world's water, stating that shrinking freshwater resources pose a serious threat to public health, political security and the environment;
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that the Congress:
1. Affirms the goals of the UN International Year of Freshwater, and further affirms the UN Committee on Economic Cultural and Social Rights position that access to clean and affordable water is a fundamental human right. Also affirms that the U.S. government firmly commits itself to meet the Millennium Development Goals especially as they pertain to universal access to water and sanitation;
2. Affirms that every human being has the right to clean and affordable water. Government policies should ensure that all individuals have equitable access to a water lifeline to meet basic human needs and that no one is cut-off from water due to inability to pay. In addition to ensuring basic human needs, water management priorities should reflect the goals of safeguarding ecosystems and sustaining water resources.
3. Affirms that water is a global public good. Water should not be treated as a private market commodity under circumstances where this would threaten the ecosystem, infringe or limit public access to and/or control of freshwater resources.
4. Affirms the role and responsibility of governments to safeguard public services such as water and sanitation services and recommends that the WTO General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS), as well as other international, regional and bilateral trade agreements, should exclude negotiations on all services related to the provision of water for human use, including wastewater and sanitation services.
5. Upholds the principle that all members of society, especially local civil society organizations, including women, religious organizations, environmental groups, indigenous peoples, farmers, workers, disabled people, teachers, youth, labor and citizens' associations, should directly and meaningfully participate in overseeing decisions about the conservation, distribution, use and management of water in their communities, localities and regions;
6. Affirms that access to international loans and debt reduction programs should not be conditioned on implementing increased cost recovery policies. U.S. Executive Directors of International Financial Institutions (IMF, World Bank and regional development banks) should not approve loans that require increased cost recovery, full cost recovery, or water privatization and public/private partnerships that result in increases in consumer water fees for those who earn less than the minimum wage or fall below the national poverty line, as a condition for accessing credit;
7. Affirms that, as reported by the World Commission on Dams, large dam projects largely fail to live up to expectations and devastate communities and ecosystems. U.S. Executive Directors of International Financial Institutions should oppose any loans, credits or project support funds for any dam, unless it complies with all the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams;
8. Assures that, in line with the Geneva Convention of August 1949 (Protocol 1, Article 54), drinking water installations, supplies and irrigation works are banned as military targets during any and all hostilities;
10. Ensures that adequate U.S. federal and state funding be made available to maintain access to clean and affordable water services for all and to rehabilitate and expand the public water and sanitation infrastructure. Federal and state funding should not be conditioned on the consideration of public/private partnerships or other forms of privatization. Federal and state policies should ensure that direct and indirect sources of water pollution, including factories, refineries, commercial agriculture and wastewater treatment plants, are adequately regulated and those responsible held accountable for the pollution they cause;
11. Affirms policy priorities such as the following to improve the conservation and stewardship of our water resources:
- Adopt or amend water management laws to require operation of dams in ways that preserve natural river flows and flood regimes; establish environmental flow requirements for rivers;
- Protect watersheds, floodplains, wetlands and other natural resource assets;
- Invest in community-based watershed restoration and rainwater harvesting projects, and establish conservation incentives and goals for urban, industrial, and agricultural water users;
- Support initiatives to spread low-cost drip irrigation and microsprinkler packages, and develop more productive rain-fed cropping systems;
- Plant crops appropriate to the region which thrive on available rainfall with need for only minimal irrigation backup.
- Introduce water pricing structures, such as volumetric rates (above a lifeline) that discourage wasteful and inefficient use;
Leon P. Spencer
Executive Director
Washington Office on Africa
212 East Capitol Street
Washington, DC 20003, USA
202 547 7503
woa@igc.org
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