Access to water a fundamental human right

Nationalist MP Joseph Falzon on January 24 addressed the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, which was debating Europe's contribution to improving water management.

Following the debate, the Assembly adopted a resolution stating that access to water should now be recognised as a fundamental human right, adding that this recognition would enable ordinary citizens and civil society to hold governments to account if they fail to provide it.

In his address, Mr Falzon said that water is intrinsically linked to other fundamental rights such as the right to life, the right to food and the right to health among others, which would be impossible to realise without water.

"This sends a strong message to encourage governments to improve their efforts to meet basic needs and accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Although most of the countries have access to water, it is our joint and shared responsibility to ensure that access to water will be provided to all undeveloped countries," Mr Falzon said.

He added that at the Malta CHOGM the Millennium Goals were discussed in each respective dimension. The link between sustainable development and human rights is a clear one. The protection of human life and living standards is a precondition for economic development based on social equity and respect for the environment - "damage to the environment can impair and undermine all the human rights spoken in human rights instruments".

Mr Falzon said: "It is unacceptable that 1.2 billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water and 2.6 billion lack access to basic sanitation. Moreover five million people die from water-borne diseases each year."

He urged the Council of Europe to support consideration of the right to water as a fundamental human right.

National water management is also an important aspect to be considered in detail, he continued. "We should look and insist on environmental sustainable water management in both urban and rural areas... The effective use of water in every country is a very crucial task. A good strategy should be developed both on national and international levels in order to have a common integrated approach.

"It is also worth mentioning the other sectors relating to water management such as health, the energy required for the provision and distribution of water for consumption, the energy which can be generated from water and effective technology.

"Ensuring water quality and appropriate management will play a very important role in the future sustainability of Europe's environment and key economic sectors such as agriculture and tourism This is especially important as water is still being wasted through inappropriate irrigation practices and huge water losses in the distribution systems."