UN 2023 Water Conference

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Background on the UN 2023 Water Conference

On 22-24 March 2023, the United Nations will hold the first global conference on freshwater in almost 50 years. The UN 2023 Water Conference aims to address the lack of progress made in tackling the global water crisis since the first UN conference on freshwater in 1977. The conference will serve as a mid-term review of the Water Action Decade and is designed to ensure that countries deliver on promises made. The conference will be action-oriented and inclusive, with multiple plenary meetings and interactive dialogues. The outcome of the conference is a Water Action Agenda that aims to fast-track water action, with contributions from all sectors of society.

New York Water Week

Alongside the UN 2023 Water Conference, the Government of the Netherlands and the City of New York will organize New York Water Week, a public event that will take place in-person and online, featuring a broad range of water-related topics. Anyone can apply to host a session as part of the program, and the organizers hope for a vibrant mix of film screenings, art, debates, and hackathons, with many sessions contributing to the Water Action Agenda.

Commitment

Water can lead us to peace. It can help build trust across all levels and scales, keep the doors open for dialogue even during conflict, and resolve tensions to enable prosperity. The Geneva Water Hub is therefore committed to Advancing Water for Peace, and intends to achieve profound and far-reaching impacts that go beyond the goals stipulated in the SDGs.

Advancing water for peace is expected to lead to:

  • Widespread recognition of the potential use of water towards peaceful ends, in peacebuilding efforts, humanitarian relief, and development agendas 
  • Greater recognition of the merits of using science as the basis of water-related decisions at the political level
  • More effective multilateral action, by developing ways to promote water for peace through networks at multiple levels
  • Advancement of the knowledge of the interplay between international water law, human rights law, international humanitarian law, international environmental law and international economic law for better protection and management of water resources.
Meet our team in New-York

The following people will be present in New-York at different stages and events.

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Prof Mark Zeitoun

Director General of the Geneva Water Hub, Professor of Water Security at the University of East Anglia

 

Contact Prof Zeitounif you want to exchange on the strategic position and direction of the Geneva Water Hub in the years to come.

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Prof Christian Bréthaut

Scientific Director, Associate Professor at the University of Geneva

 

Contact Prof Bréthaut if you want to exchange on the research and science-policy work of the Geneva Water Hub.

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Prof Laurence Boisson de Chazournes

Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva; Professor, Chair “Avenir commun durable”, Collège de France; Member of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace.

 

 

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Prof Danilo Türk

Lead Political Advisor of the Geneva Water Hub, Former President of the Republic of Slovenia, Chairman of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace

 

 

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Noura Kayal

Lead Diplomatic and International Relationship Specialist at the Geneva Water Hub

 

Contact Mrs Kayal to inquire about the Geneva Water Hub's diplomatic relations and policy and advocacy work.

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Erik Schnetzler

Visiting Fellow at the Geneva Water Hub, Mercator Fellowship Programme on International Affairs recipient

 

Contact Mr Schnetzler if you want to exchange on topics related to outreach, youth engagement, and Blue Peace.

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Dr Mara Tignino

Lead International Water Law Specialist, Platform for International Water Law, Geneva Water Hub, Reader at the Faculty of Law, University of Geneva.

 

Contact Mrs Tignino if you have questions about international water law, the norms applicable to water in armed conflicts, the human rights to water and sanitation, and the peaceful settlement of water disputes.

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Jean Willemin

Senior Programme Manager at the Geneva Water Hub

 

Contact Mr Willemin if you want to learn more about the work of the Geneva Water Hub focused on the Sahel region.

Events

The Geneva Water Hub will play an active role in the UN 2023 Water Conference by advocating for the use of water as an instrument of peace and cooperation.

Interactive Dialogues

"Interactive Dialogue 4 - Water for Cooperation"

Thursday 23 March, 15:00 EST/GMT+5, UN HQ, Conference Room 4

His Excellency Mr. Danilo Türk, Lead Political Advisor - Geneva Water Hub, President of Club de Madrid, and Former President of Slovenia will be a panelist in the Interactive Dialogue Number 4 on Water for Cooperation. Mr. Türk's extensive experience and expertise in this area will undoubtedly make a valuable contribution to the dialogue.

More information about the event here.

Side Events

"Water, Peace, and Security in Africa"

Wednesday 22 March, 11:00-12:15 EST/GMT+5, UN HQ, UN HQ, ECOSOC Chamber

Water, Peace and Security are interconnected and interlinked, as water is a driver of conflict in many parts of the world while transboundary and sub-national water cooperation also serves as a conduit for peace and security. This is particularly relevant for Africa where water use and allocation have been a source of increased tension or have served to strengthen cooperation in various river basins or transboundary waters across the Continent.

More information about the event here.

"Sparing water systems in armed conflicts"

Wednesday 22 March, 11:00-12:15 EST/GMT+5, UN HQ, Conference Room 6

Organizers: Togo, Finland, Slovenia, Switzerland, Geneva Water Hub,UNICEF, ICRC

More information about the event here.

"Leaving no one behind"

Thursday 23 March, 8:00-9:15 EST/GMT+5, UN HQ, Conference Room 9

One billion people and over 100 million refugees and forcibly displaced live in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings and climate-change affected countries. Meeting SDG 6 for all calls for new ways of working. Observing International Humanitarian Law (IHL), renewed commitments and “joined-up” action by communities, governments, humanitarian and development actors are required, coupled with effective leadership and coordination to drive policy change and leave no one behind. This session challenges the global community to commit to game-changing action.

More information about the event here.

"Sharing Water in Fragile Contexts: Lessons from the Sahel"

Thursday 23 March, 9:30-10:45 EST/GMT+5, UN HQ, Conference Room 7

Organizers: Republic of Senegal, Pôle Eau Dakar, Geneva Water Hub, Senegal River Basin Development Organization (OMVS), Niger High Authority for the Consolidation of Peace (HACP) Niger, AU High Representative for Mali and the Sahel (MISAHEL), ICRC, World Bank, Interpeace and more partners.

More information about the event here.

"Water security and Peace building in Africa: challenges and opportunities for African basin organizations"

Thursday 23 March, 10:00-11:15 EST/GMT+5, UNEP/New York Office

African transboundary basin organizations crystallize all the stakes in the fight against climate change and peace building around a resource to which
300 million Africans do not have access: water.

More information about the event here.

"Committing to advance transboundary water cooperation worldwide for sustainable development, climate action, stability and peace"

Thursday 23 March, 18:30-19:45 EST/GMT+5, UN HQ, UN HQ, ECOSOC Chamber

The side event will highlight commitments made to the Water Action Agenda by countries and stakeholders, including basin organizations, aiming to improve transboundary water cooperation. Highlighted commitments will address different dimensions: Legal and institutional, Data, information, knowledge and technical support, Capacity development and Funding and financing.

More information about the event here.

"Towards an inclusive, pre-emptive, and positive hydro-diplomacy"

Thursday 23 March, 18:30-19:45 EST/GMT+5, OUTSIDE UN HQ (Location TBD)

With conflicts over water gaining in prominence and intensity, the need to develop tools and practices ensuring peaceful collaboration and integrated co-management on transboundary water resources has become ever more pressing – this issue very much stands at the crossroads of Goals 6, 16, and 17 of the SDGs.

More information about the event here.

"Water Leadership: Uniting for a Sustainable World"

Friday 24 March, 10:00-13:400 EST/GMT+5, UN HQ, Conference Room 2

The Special Event on Water Leadership: Uniting for a Sustainable World will focus on developing mechanisms and opportunities to ensure that the voices of youth, women, local authorities, Indigenous Peoples, and discriminated and marginalized communities, are appropriately reflected and integrated into all aspects of water leadership at the local, regional and global levels. All people are impacted by, and impact on, our planet. Thus, all people must have a role in contributing to a sustainable future.

More information about the event here.

"Water for Nature, Nature for Water: Integrated Policy Solutions and Commitments for Sustainable Development and the Conservation, Restoration and Management of Freshwater Biodiversity"

Fraiday 24 March, 11:00-12:15 EST/GMT+5, Conference Room C

The event will present international and national legal tools and local customary norms to mainstream the protection of rivers and other water-related ecosystems in decision-making and announce commitments for the Water Action Agenda.

More information about the event here.

"The Fouta Djallon Highlands : Visions & Actions to safeguard the Water Tower of West Africa"

Friday 24 March, 14:00-15:15 EST/GMT+5, UN HQ, Conference Room 8

This conference will alert on the dangers which weigh on the massif of Fouta Djallon in Guinea, source of the West African rivers but also to propose concrete solutions, with a program of preservation.

More information about the event here.

Virtual Events

"Prevention and management of water conflicts in Mexico: novel approaches to the Land-Water- Human Rights - Health nexus"

Friday 24 March, 11:00-12:30 EST/GMT+5, 10:00-11:30 CDMX

Organizers: Mexican Environment Ministry (SEMARNAT), Geneva Water Hub, Mexican Water Technology Institute (IMTA)

More information about the event here.

Publications

The following publications will be supporting our messages in New-York.

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A Matter of Survival (2017)

The final recommendation Report of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace.

"A Matter of Survival", the final recommendation Report of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace was launched in Geneva on 14 September 2017. The Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace has concluded that the global water challenge is not only about development and human rights but it is also about peace and security. Therefore, it needs to be addressed urgently in an integrated and comprehensive way at all levels,ranging from the U.N Security Council and other multilateral organisations to grass-root level institutions. It needs a response in terms of new thinking, new practices and new institutions in diplomacy, international law, data management, finance, security management, technology, climate change, pollution control among other spheres. Link to the publication.

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The Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure (2019)

For the use of parties to armed conflicts, international organizations, and other practitioners working in the contexts of armed conflicts, including in pre- and post-conflict situations.

The Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure gathers for the first time the rules on the protection of water infrastructure during and after an armed conflict under different branches of international law, namely international humanitarian law, human rights law, international environmental law and international water law. In addition to setting forth existing binding obligations, it supplements them by providing further recommendations and good practices. Link to the publication.

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A Study of National Legal Frameworks Related to the Protection of Water During Armed Conflicts (2023)

A Follow-Up Study to the Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure.

The report assesses the extent to which existing national legal frameworks adhere to international law regarding the protection of water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure during and after armed conflicts (See our report "The Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure"). It incorporates the growing body of knowledge on the protection of water resources under the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, and as part of the environment. The objective is to provide guidance to parties to armed conflicts and a wide range of stakeholders who play different roles in promoting compliance with the relevant norms, including military experts, humanitarian organizations, and advocacy groups. With the aim of promoting greater respect for and implementation of international law, the report clarifies areas of uncertainty, identifies good practices, and makes recommendations which facilitate compliance with the rules of international law. Link to the publication.

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Les stratégies de financement liées à l'eau dans la région du Liptako-Gourma (2022)

Les enjeux de la coopération entre l'humanitaire, le développement et la paix

La priorisation de l’eau dans l’agenda international de réponse à la crise sécuritaire au Sahel constitue un enjeu majeur porté par des organisations et des experts dans les domaines de la paix, du développement, de l’humanitaire et de la sécurité. Cette étude sur les engagements budgétaires liés à l’eau dans les zones limitrophes du Liptako-Gourma vise à fournir une vue d’ensemble sur l’état des financements dans le domaine de l’eau et ses usages productifs. Cet état des lieux des stratégies de financement permet d’engager un dialogue, sur les réponses à apporter à la crise sécuritaire, structuré autour des trois enjeux : 1) la reconnaissance du rôle des acteurs locaux, 2) le renforcement des institutions endogènes de la région, 3) les mécanismes de coordination et de financement des acteurs du développement et de l’humanitaire. Des nouvelles formes de coopération dans le domaine de l’eau sont à développer pour oeuvrer à la résolution durable des crises au Sahel. Link to the publication (only available in French).

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Tools for transboundary management and water uses (2021)

In the greater Geneva area

The publication "Tools for transboundary management of water and water uses in the greater Geneva" produced in partnership with the Geneva Canton aims at presenting and analysing an exhaustive catalogue of 39 tools of cross-border management of water resources and use in the Geneva basin. We analyse the measures applied to water management and their history as well as different policy tools related to the environment in the broad sense in the context of Greater Geneva in order to support international dialogue around such tools for better management of transboundary waters. Link to the publication.

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Round table report on local actors and water as a vector of peace in the Sahel (2021)

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2-4 June 2021

L’accès à l’eau, en tant que ressource vitale pour les besoins de base, et comme clé d’accès aux ressources naturelles exploitables par les populations, est un enjeu majeur pour mener une diplomatie en faveur de la paix et de la cohésion sociale entre les communautés. Une telle approche requiert d’inclure les acteurs locaux dans la définition des problématiques et des réponses à la crise, à travers des pistes de solutions durables pour lesquelles ils sont en position de jouer un rôle majeur. C’est l’objectif poursuivi par cette table ronde des acteurs locaux sur l’eau comme vecteur de paix au Sahel, qui s’est tenue à Ouagadougou, au Burkina Faso, entre le 2 et le 4 juin 2021. Link to the publication (only available in French).

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Reflections: Understanding Our Use and Abuse of Water

Prof Mark Zeitoun, 2023

Water is central to all life, but we use it to destroy. Water can nourish, but we use it to starve. It can cleanse and unify, but we ensure it contaminates and divides. The consequences of continuing to desecrate or beginning to restore water's inner grace are tremendousand will reflect as much on us as portend our future. Drawing upon twenty-five years of professional work as a water engineer, negotiator, and scholar, the Geneva Water Hub General Director Prof Mark Zeitoun provides a unique insider's account of this phenomenon. The publication is available here.

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Missing the “Peace” piece of the Water Puzzle

Global Observatory for Water and Peace Brief for the UN 2023 Water Conference

This Global Observatory for Water and Peace (GOWP) brief sets out the merits of a fundamental rethinking of the approach of the global community to water as a vehicle of peace. It entails recognizing the interconnection between water and peace as an over-arching framework for achieving the goals of the UN 2023 Water Conference and the Agenda 2030, and to ensure social stability and the preservation of peace as a matter of well-being and prosperity. The publication is available here.

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First Annual Report of the Global Observatory for Water and Peace (GOWP)

The GOWP initiates and facilitates dialogue, marshals supporting research and creates momentum towards the use of water as a catalyst for peace.

The following document presents the perspectives of the actors brought together through the Global Observatory for Water and Peace (GOWP). As the introduction to this collection details, the GOWP initiates and facilitates dialogue, marshals supporting research and creates momentum towards the use of water as a catalyst for peace. Through this report, the Observatory is also a global stage upon which different actors can demonstrate how they do exactly that. The publication is available here.