March 19 2009
Istanbul, Turkey
International water justice activists converged at the People's
Water Forum today to affirm the human right to water and present
diverse visions of existing public and community-led water management
practices that protect water for people and nature, and can ensure
water access for all regardless of their ability to pay.
Maude
Barlow, Senior Advisor on Water to UN General Assembly President Miguel
D'Escoto, delivered a statement from him. D'Escoto was clear: "Water is
a public trust, a common heritage of people and nature, and a
fundamental human right. We must challenge the notion that water is a
commodity to be bought and sold on the open market. Those who are
committed to the privatization of water are denying people a human
right as basic as the air we breathe."
A
diverse group of water justice activists also presented their
forward-looking visions. Mary Ann Manahan, of Focus on the Global South
in the Philippines said "Access to water and sanitation is not only
about efficiency and effective delivery but about justice, gender
equity, human dignity and ultimately, democracy."
Sebahat
Tuncet, a member of Turkey's Parliament, issued a strong statement
against the construction of large dams, condemning especially the Ilisu
and Munzur dams and others under consideration for construction
throughout the region.
Adriana Marquisio, a member of Public
Services International and President of Uruguay's Public Water Union,
urged that water be managed publicly and not for profit. "But let us be
clear," she added, "that the meaning of 'public' extends beyond state
control. Public management must recognize alternative, community-led
structures of governance."
Philipp Terhorst of Transnational
Institute, speaking for the European Water Network, criticized the
recent EU Parliament?s resolution that fails to recognize the human
right to water.
Also speaking at the conference was Al-hassan
Adam, Coordinator of the Africa Water Network, who condemned the
repression of activists, which, he said, reflects the larger exclusion
of the majority of people from basic human rights.
These
speakers represent a wide spectrum of visionary leaders offering
practical, equitable, and just solutions to the world's current water 
