Water for Peace: Geneva Water Hub’s 2025 Impact Report Now Released
Geneva Water Hub Releases 2025 Annual Impact Report: Advancing Peace Through Water in a Fractured World
The Geneva Water Hub has published its 2025 Annual Impact Report, highlighting a defining year of action at the intersection of water, peace, international law, and diplomacy.
In a global context marked by escalating conflicts, climate shocks, and mounting pressure on multilateral cooperation, the Hub remained firmly anchored in scientific evidence, international law, and human dignity. Throughout 2025, it strengthened its science–policy approach, translating research into tangible impact on the ground and influence at the highest diplomatic levels.
Turning Shared Water into Shared Stability
Across four regions and three continents, the Geneva Water Hub worked to transform shared water resources into opportunities for cooperation and conflict prevention.
In Mauritania, local dialogue processes at shared water points improved social cohesion in refugee-hosting areas. In West Africa, support to the Pôle Eau Dakar helped consolidate a regional hub for Water and Peace diplomacy, backed by long-term European Union funding. Transboundary cooperation efforts focused on the Al-Hawizeh/Al-Adhim marshes, combining legal, scientific, and socio-economic analysis to identify pathways for resilience and cooperation.
Meanwhile, new research initiatives, including a CHF 750,000 Swiss National Science Foundation project on transboundary water governance, strengthened the link between scientific knowledge and diplomatic practice.
Protecting Water from Armed Conflict
In 2025, the Geneva Water Hub further advanced global efforts to ensure that water can never be used as a weapon of war.
As Secretariat of the Global Alliance to Spare Water from Armed Conflicts (GASWAC), the GWH contributed to discussions at the UN Security Council and to the UN Secretary-General’s Annual Report on the Protection of Civilians. The Alliance expanded its membership and helped shift international discourse toward recognising attacks on water infrastructure as direct threats to civilian safety.
Through legal guidance, military dialogues, and capacity-building initiatives, the GWH also strengthened operational understanding of how international humanitarian law protects water systems during armed conflict.
Shaping Global Policy and Governance
The GWH continued to embed Water for Peace within global policy frameworks.
Through the Group of Friends on Water and Peace in Geneva, diplomatic dialogue expanded ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference. An innovative Interactive Map of the International Court of Justice advisory proceedings on climate change and human rights transformed over 1,500 pages of legal submissions into a practical tool for diplomats.
Research from the Hub informed major international processes, including preparations for the UN Water Conference 2026, the UN-Water 2025–2028 Strategy, and the EU’s Blue Diplomacy and Water Resilience initiatives.
Training the Next Generation of Water Diplomats
Education and capacity development remained central to the GWH’s mission. In 2025 alone, its programmes reached over 200 participants from 27 countries, equipping practitioners, diplomats, military advisors, and young professionals with the tools to negotiate, protect, and govern shared water resources.
From executive trainings in Geneva to online courses on the legal protection of water in armed conflict, the GWH continued building a global community of water practitioners committed to peace.
Mobilising Resources for Long-Term Impact
During Fiscal Year 2024/25, the Geneva Water Hub managed CHF 3.1 million across its programmes and mobilised significant additional funding for projects in West Africa, Gaza, Sudan, Afghanistan, and along the Mekong River.
“By using politics to address water challenges, and water to address socio-political challenges, the Geneva Water Hub will continue to open doors and build pathways for peace,” writes Director General Prof. Mark Zeitoun in the foreword to the report.
The 2025 Annual Impact Report demonstrates that even in times of fragmentation, water can serve not as a source of division, but as a catalyst for cooperation, protection, and durable peace.
With the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the University of Geneva, and the Geneva Graduate Institute.
Read the full 2025 Annual Impact Report below.
