In 2022 the Social Forum took place on 3 and 4 November in Room XX at the Palais des Nations in Geneva and online. In accordance with resolution 47/20 of the Human Rights Council, it focused on water for human rights and sustainable development: good practices, lessons learned and challenges in the implementation of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028, with a view to making a human rights contribution to the conference on the midterm review of the Decade, to be held in 2023.

Program of work

Word: العربية | 中文 | English | Français | Español | русский

See information of panelists and moderators on Sched page 2022 Social Forum.

Outcome document

Report of the 2022 Social Forum A/HRC/52/73

Videos from the Forum

• Opening remarks (video)
• Keynote panel, general discussion (video)
• (Panel 1) Water for Health: Access to safe drinking water, hygiene and sanitation (video)
• (Panel 2) Water for Development: Valuing water, water-energy-food nexus and sustainable economic and urban development (video)
• (Panel 3) Water for Climate, Resilience and Environment (video)
• (Panel 4) Water for peace and cooperation (video)
• (Panel 5) Governance and participation (video)
• (Panel 6) Partnerships and commitments for action (video)
• closing remarks (video)

Background

Access to safe, affordable and reliable drinking water and sanitation services are basic human rights. They are indispensable to sustaining healthy livelihoods and maintaining people’s dignity. Human rights to water and sanitation are essential for eradicating poverty, building peaceful and prosperous societies, and ensuring that “no one is left behind” on the road towards sustainable development.

Despite the recognition of the critical importance of water and sanitation for the realization of all human rights, the reality is that 3 in 10 people in the world have no access to safe drinking water and 6 in 10 lack safely managed sanitation services. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore that the existing inequalities in access to water and sanitation can aggravate the risks for infection and deaths from the pandemic.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, countries were not on track to achieve the SDG 6 by 2030 and the pandemic and multiple crises have pushed further back on the progress. The UN's latest analysis shows that governments must significantly increase their efforts to quadruple the current rate of progress in order to put the SDG 6 on track.

In recognition of the urgency to accelerate the progress, the United Nations 2023 Water Conference is being convened in New York during 22-24 March 2023 in order to take concerted action to achieve the internationally agreed water-related goals and targets, including those contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The 2022 Social Forum is convened as a contribution to the UN 2023 Water Conference, to be held during 22-24 March 2023 in New York. As a unique space for interactive dialogue between the United Nations human rights machinery and various stakeholders, including the contribution of civil society and grass-roots organizations, the 2022 Social Forum will focus on good practices, lessons learned and challenges in the implementation of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028 with particular attention to greater participation of grass-roots organizations and of those living in poverty, particularly women, especially from developing countries.

Accreditation

More information about participation is available on the Social Forum index page. All participants are required to register through the registration page of the event (open until 2nd November 2022). A link to join the meeting remotely will be sent ahead of the session to registered participants. Please note that the link is unique to each participant and cannot be shared.

Side events

If you wish to organize a side event, please send your proposal in a concept note to ohchr-socialforum@un.org by 30th September at the latest. We will respond to you with more details.

• The implementation of the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants as a leverage to promote the realization of the right to water: Experiences and challenges (In Spanish and in English)
  Organized by the Permanent Mission of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, La Via Campesina, CETIM, FIAN International, Geneva Academy of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (3 Nov. 2022 | Room XXVII)

• Water and Human Rights Unlocked: A Guide for Water-intensive Industries
  Organized by Notre Dame Law School, US (4 Nov. 2022 | Room XXVII)

• Good practices sharing towards better youth inclusion within the water sector and international decision-making instances: Ensuring youth's free, active, and meaningful participation in solving rising water risks in a changing climate and strengthening community action 
  Organized by the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW) (3 Nov. 2022 | Room XXVII & online) 

• Emotion: Water in Motion. An Open Dialogue on Our Connection to Water 
  Organized by Ms. Mukta Dhere & Ms. Charlotte Qin, youth Geneva-based artists (4 Nov. 2022 | Room XXVII)  

Further information

• Opening remarks by the High Commissioner Volker Türk
• Flyer with information and registration link on the 2022 Social Forum
• OHCHR water and sanitation (webpage)
• OHCHR and the right to water and sanitation (webpage)
• UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation (webpage)
• Progress report 2010-2020 of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation A/HRC/45/11
• UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation Special thematic report on climate change and the human rights to water and sanitation
• UN Special Rapporteur on Sustainable Environment as a Human Right (webpage)
• UN Special Rapporteur on Sustainable Environment as a Human Right report on Human Rights and the Global Water Crisis
• Sustainable Development Goal 6 (webpage)
• UN 2023 Water Conference (webpage)
• Vision statementUN 2023 Water Conference
• Second International High-Level Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028 (webpage)
• 2022 UN World Water Development Report
• World Water Development Report 2019: Leaving No One Behind