2025 Impact Report
Transformer l'eau partagée en stabilité partagée
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.
Parallèlement, de nouvelles initiatives de recherche, dont un projet du Fonds national suisse de la recherche scientifique doté de 750 000 CHF sur la gouvernance transfrontalière de l’eau, ont renforcé le lien entre les connaissances scientifiques et la pratique diplomatique.
Protéger l'eau des conflits armés
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 Geneva Water Hubcontributed 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 Geneva Water Hub also strengthened operational understanding of how international humanitarian law protects water systems during armed conflict.
Façonner les politiques et la gouvernance mondiales
The Geneva Water Hub 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.
Les recherches menées par le Hub ont éclairé d'importants processus internationaux, notamment les préparatifs de la Conférence des Nations Unies sur l'eau de 2026, la stratégie ONU-Eau 2025-2028 et les initiatives de l'UE en matière de diplomatie bleue et de résilience face à l'eau.
Former la prochaine génération de diplomates de l'eau
Education and capacity development remained central to the Geneva Water Hub’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 Geneva Water Hubcontinued building a global community of water practitioners committed to peace.
Mobiliser les ressources pour un impact à long terme
Au cours de l’exercice 2024/25, le Geneva Water Hub a géré 3,1 millions de francs suisses à travers ses programmes et a mobilisé d’importants fonds supplémentaires pour des projets en Afrique de l’Ouest, à Gaza, au Soudan, en Afghanistan et le long du Mékong.
“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.
Le rapport annuel d’impact 2025 démontre que même en période de fragmentation, l’eau peut servir non pas de source de division, mais de catalyseur de coopération, de protection et de paix durable.
Avec le soutien de la Direction du développement et de la coopération (DDC) suisse , de l’ Université de Genève et de l’ Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement de Genève .
