For Immediate Release
March 17, 2009
Barlow says Harper must recognize the right to water to deserve UN Security Council seat
OTTAWA, March 17 - Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians
chairperson and senior advisor on water to the President of the United Nations
General Assembly, says the Harper government's goal of a seat on the UN
Security Council should be denied until Canada formally recognizes water as a
human right.
Ms. Barlow is currently in Istanbul for the week-long World Water Forum
at which government ministers from 120 countries will discuss global water
issues.
The Harper government has made securing a seat on the 15-member UN
Security Council for the 2011-12 term a top foreign policy priority. The
election will take place in October 2010. Canada is vying for this seat
against Portugal and Germany, countries which already endorse the right to
water.
"Recognizing water as a human right is vital to ensuring that governments
address the reality of more than a billion people who are currently without
access to clean water," says Barlow.
Canada and the United States have been the strongest opponents of the
right to water at the United Nations. There is speculation that US President
Barack Obama will change the American position on the right to water, but
there is no indication to date that Prime Minister Harper intends to change
his government's position on the issue.
"Unsafe water and sanitation are the source of 85 per cent of all disease
and one in every six people on Earth has no access to clean drinking water,"
says Barlow. "A UN covenant on the right to water would serve as a common,
coherent body of rules for all nations, rich and poor, and clarify that it is
the responsibility of the state to provide sufficient, safe, accessible and
affordable water to all of its citizens."
By 2025, the United Nations estimates that 2.8 billion people in 48
countries will be living in areas facing water stress or scarcity.
"It would be wonderful to see Canada on the UN Security Council helping
to address the critical global challenges of our day," concludes Barlow. "But
if the Harper government fails to act on the global water crisis, then it
simply does not deserve to take that seat."
-30-
For More Information: Dylan Penner, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685
