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	States urged to support rights to water and sanitation by Amnesty / Green Cross International   30 July 2010   Amnesty International has called on all UN members to uphold the rights to water and sanitation, after the General Assembly voted in favour of recognising the rights.   The resolution was supported by 122 countries while 41 countries abstained from voting and none voted against.   “After this promising first step, all states must now take the opportunity to protect the life and health of millions and unreservedly support the rights to water and sanitation,” said Amnesty International’s specialist on the right to water, Ashfaq Khalfan.   “There is no legal reason why countries could not support the resolution, the right to water is already part of international law and there is also a strong legal basis for the right to sanitation,” said Ashfaq Khalfan.   “Women who risk their lives when they go to public toilets at night and people whose children die due to lack of clean water should be able to hold their leaders to account over clean water and sanitation,” said Ashfaq Khalfan.   The UN says nearly one billion people lack access to safe drinking water, while more than 2.6 billion people have no access to basic sanitation.   The vote comes after every state in the Asia-Pacific region, South Asia, Africa and South America, at several summits over the past 5 years, recognised the rights to both water and sanitation. All member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Council of Europe have also recognised the right to water.   July 2010   The Right to Water by Mikhail Gorbachev.   The United Nations estimates that nearly one billion people live without clean water and 2.6 billion without proper sanitation. Water, the basic ingredient of life, is among the world’s most prolific killers. At least 4,000 children die every day from water-related diseases. In fact, more lives have been lost after World War II due to contaminated water than from all forms of violence and war. This humanitarian catastrophe has been allowed to fester for generations. We must stop it.   Acknowledging that access to safe water and sanitation is a human right is crucial to the ongoing struggle to save these lives; it is an idea that has come of age. This month, for the first time, the U.N. General Assembly has voted on a historic resolution declaring the human right to “safe and clean drinking water and sanitation.”   So far, 190 states have acknowledged — directly or indirectly — the human right to safe water and sanitation. In 2007, leaders from the Asia-Pacific region recognized safe drinking water and basic sanitation as human rights and fundamental aspects of security. In March, the European Union affirmed that all states must adhere to their human rights commitments in regard to safe drinking water.   Recognizing water as a human right is a critical step, but it is not an instant “silver bullet” solution. This right must be enshrined in national laws, and upholding it must be a top priority.   Failures to provide water and sanitation are failures of governance. Recognizing that water is a human right is not merely a conceptual point; it is about getting the job done and actually making clean water widely available. We must clarify the obligation of governments to finance and carry out projects that bring these services to those who need them most.   Developing countries that have incorporated the right to water in their legislation, like Senegal and South Africa, have been more effective in providing safe water than many of their neighbors.   Recent U.N. statistics show that the world is not on track to meet, the Millennium Development Goal for sanitation, it will be missed by 1 billion people. At current rates, some parts of Africa are at least a century away from providing safe water and sanitation to all. A “water apartheid” has descended across the world — dividing rich from poor, included from excluded. Efforts to redress this disparity are failing.   Expanding access to water and sanitation will open many other development bottlenecks. Water and sanitation are vital to everything from education to health to population control. As population growth and climate change increase the pressure for adequate water and food, water will increasingly become a security issue. As global temperatures rise, “water refugees” will increase. Water touches everything, and strong collaboration among all sectors of society — governments, activists, farmers and the business and science communities — is needed to increase its availability.   Making access to water and sanitation a daily reality is good business, and good for the world economy. According to the U.N. Environment Program, a $20 million investment in low-cost water technologies could help 100 million farming families escape extreme poverty. Dedicating $15 billion a year to the water and sanitation millennium goals could bring $38 billion a year in global economic benefits. That’s a pretty good rate of return in today’s financial climate. It is within our grasp for the first time.   There is tremendous political will and popular momentum behind formally declaring safe water and sanitation as human rights. We must translate our enthusiasm into solid, binding legislation and action at the national and international levels.   The United Nations General Assemby voted by an overwhleming majority to now recognise the universal right to safe water and sanitation. The actions and voices of millions of citizens brought the global movement for the right to water this far. I hope that more people will join us to help bring a world where everyone’s right to safe water and sanitation is not just recognized but is also fulfilled.   * Mikhail Gorbachev is a founding member of Green Cross International and is on its board. Visit the related web page
	Every Day should be ‘Nelson Mandela Day’ by United Nations General Assembly South Africa   July 18, 2010   This year the world will celebrate the first "Nelson Mandela International Day", which the United Nations has decided will be observed every year on his birthday to recognise his great struggle for peace and freedom for his people.   UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s said Nelson Mandela is a towering figure. He embodies the highest values of humanity, and of the United Nations. His life, his strength and his decency are an example to us all. He fought his oppressors for years. And then he forgave them.   As he constantly reminds us, he is an ordinary man. But he has achieved extraordinary things. Nelson Mandela’s accomplishments came at great personal cost to himself and his family. His sacrifice not only served the people of his own nation, South Africa, but made the world a better place for all people, everywhere. Today, on the first Nelson Mandela International Day, we thank him for everything he has done for freedom, for justice and for democracy. He showed the way. He changed the world.   The General Assembly overwhelmingly decided in November 2009 to declare the 18th of July, Mr. Mandela’s birthday, as the “Nelson Mandela International Day” to commemorate his long-standing commitment to promoting conflict resolution, race relations, human rights, reconciliation and gender equality.   The Assembly’s President, Ali Treki, said that the celebration of the Day should also serve to remind the international community of the imperative for social equality and justice and the pursuit of peace through dialogue. “It is a call to action to make the world a better place, one day at a time,” he said.   Celebrating the first annual Nelson Mandela International Day, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mshsabane, addressed the UN General Assembly calling the day an affirmation of the positive role the United Nations and the people of South Africa played in fighting for justice and human rights around the world. The United Nations had been at the forefront of the campaign against apartheid, and she noted that South Africa was “a product of international solidarity”.   It was the Millennium Development Goals that paid tribute to Mr. Mandela’s hopes and dreams by providing the international community with an opportunity to create a world built on peace, human rights and sustainable development, Ms. Nkoana-Mshsabane said, urging everyone to make “every day Nelson Mandela day”.   South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup in 2010, the first time such an event had ever been held on African soil, was also a tribute to Mr. Mandela’s dream of a united world, she said. Thanking the international community for its support and confidence, she heralded the celebration of diversity, from all strata of society who had met on the soccer field, and the Heads of State whose presence there had confirmed that this Cup was indeed a world celebration of the values of reconciliation.   She said that by observing Mandela Day, the United Nations mission was remembered and reaffirmed for all to continue working for world peace. “Ubuntu — I am because you are,” Ms. Nkoana-Mahsabane said in her native tongue, as she encouraged all to make a change in someone’s life.   Speaking on behalf of the host country, the United States’ representative decried the “false science” of apartheid and hailed the magnitude of the South African victory. Mr. Mandela, she continued, “overcame apartheid, not by force, but by example”, and though he might have been a captive, he had never been a prisoner. “Apartheid collapsed because Mandela convinced his jailers to surrender their key,” she stated. By transforming the oppressor and lifting up the oppressed, Mr. Mandela remained a symbol and example that the humanity shared by all could transcend injustice. She celebrated that South Africa, once the epitome of racism, had become a paragon of reconciliation.   Egypt’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that many liberation movements in Africa, motivated by Mr. Mandela’s persistence, had achieved independence from foreign domination. Mr. Mandela’s efforts to enhance cooperation at the international level and to promote dialogue, mutual understanding and enlightened education were of equally great importance, particularly as they were meant to enhance the framework of partnership and cooperation with the people, civil society, and national institutions.   The representative of Congo, on behalf of African States, said that Mr. Mandela understood that freedom over the longer term had to be based on the virtues of justice and firmly entrenched in the principles of truth and equity. It was from that fertile ground that tolerance and pardon allowed the new African State to rise and blossom. Mr. Mandela was now the living legacy of mankind as a whole, and his struggle for the noble cause had spread that influence to the far ends of the earth. The life of Nelson Mandela had remained a source of inspiration to men and women everywhere who loved freedom and peace.   Speaking on behalf of the Asian States of the great personal sacrifice Mr. Mandela and his family made for the causes of peace, justice and human rights, the representative of Brunei Darussalam said Mr. Mandela had shown the world that anything was possible and that one person could make a difference. His example would inspire generations to stand up for the greater good and to work to improve the lives of others, in the ongoing fight for equality and social justice. Quoting Mr. Mandela, he said that “Much more work is to be done and it is in our hands to make the world a better world.” On behalf of the Asian States, he wished Mr. Mandela a happy ninety-second birthday.   The life and triumphs of Nelson Mandela would be remembered long after the world had forgotten the evils of apartheid, said Belarus’ speaker, on behalf of Eastern European States. She then read Mr. Mandela’s own words: “`I have walked the long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibility, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.’”   The representative of Saint Lucia, speaking on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, noted that there were few people in the world who were “unreservedly revered by all races and ethnicities” or cherished so much as Nelson Mandela. He also recalled the 27 years of imprisonment Mr. Mandela endured, beginning at the age of 45 and ending at the age of 72, when he was released. He reminded the Assembly that Mr. Mandela had refused early release unless it was unconditional, a reflection of Mr. Mandela’s “indomitable spirit”.   Noting that the Latin American and Caribbean Group too experienced many similar travails, he said that Mr. Mandela’s life, his response to adversity, and his humanity was a beacon, not only in their own struggles, but in the struggles for all peoples suffering repression. “What this man said was merely punctuation for what he did,” he said, heralding an “ordinary man who has behaved in an extraordinary way”.   Speaking on behalf of the Western European and Other States Group, the representative of Belgium said that the world honoured a man who was a leading advocate for democracy and peace, a role which had been recognized in many awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize. Throughout the years, Mr. Mandela had shown that caring for others, either one to one or community to community, went a long way in making the world a better place. International Nelson Mandela Day was a call to people everywhere to embrace his values and ideals and to follow his example. Visit the related web page
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