Transboundary waters management vital for peace and security: UN expert

NEW YORK (19 October 2023) Transboundary waters are critical to achieving peace and security, particularly in the face of climate change, a UN expert said today.

“Lack of clean water leads to despair, degradation of trust in institutions, mass migration, violence, and destabilisation of entire regions. Climate change is exacerbating these risks, threatening the lives of billions, said Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. “We must understand that, just as storms and hurricanes do not recognise national borders, neither do rivers in terms of risks and impacts from droughts and floods.”

One hundred and fifty-three countries share river basins and aquatic ecosystems, accounting for 60% of the available water flows on the planet, making collaborative transboundary water management vital for the human rights to drinking water of millions, Arrojo-Agudo said.

In his report to the 78th UN General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur showcased transboundary agreements that promote cross-border community participation as examples of how the effective participation of right holders, non-discrimination, transparency, access to information and accountability could prevent conflict and support the fulfilment of the right to water of all.

Arrojo-Agudo urged countries to move from the traditional view of water as a mere resource.

“This approach fosters competition and confrontation,” he said. “We need to move to an ecosystem and human rights approach that benefits everyone living within these basins, regardless of their country.”

“I strongly believe that the Security Council should prioritise working in transboundary water management as an avenue to promote peace and security,” said Arrojo-Agudo. He also commended basin and other multilateral efforts that significantly contribute to the broader cause of peacebuilding.

“This transition is a global imperative to guarantee the security of hundreds of millions of people and achieve peace in the world,” he said.

“Water as the blue soul of life is and must always be an argument for peace and cooperation; using it to generate conflict or as warfare strategy should be prevented,” the UN expert said.

Mr. Pedro Arrojo Agudo (Spain) is the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, appointed by the Human Rights Council in September 2020. He is Emeritus Professor of Economic Analysis at the University of Zaragoza and previously served as an elected member of the Spanish Parliament during its eleventh and twelfth legislature from 2016 to 2019.

The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.