Tag Archives: Geneva

May 1, 2014 · 11:03 pm

WaterLex: A New Role for Me, Working on Water Law and Human Rights

Image: WaterLex

Image: WaterLex

Realizing that access to clean water and adequate sanitation should be a human right helped inform my decision to take on the role of head of communication for a Geneva, Switzerland-based international NGO I’ve written about in the past, WaterLex.* This blog will remain independent from the organization, but there are times when the goals of each will overlap, given the story in question, and especially pertaining to what “the human right to water” actually means.

Here’s one theoretical example of a situation, among many, where WaterLex might step in and I might be moved to write about it here: A country insists it complies with the 2010 Human Right to Water and Sanitation because some of its citizens have a source for clean water within 200 meters of their homes. In discussions, it becomes clear that those citizens are in urban and suburban areas, not rural ones. In rural areas, where most poor residents are concentrated, houses are more separated by space and geographical structures, such as hills and valleys. Given that reality, the country’s regulators assume a policy of allowing more than 1,000 meters between homes and a freshwater source is adequate. However, that assumption violates protocols governing  the human right to water and sanitation.

The mission of WaterLex is to make the human right to water and sanitation central to countries’ law and policy frameworks, by educating lawmakers and pursuing other measures. Ultimately, the mission works toward alleviating situations of chronic water stress for future generations.  You’ll see more about that on these pages as well as those at waterlex.org and other sources.

Read More:

 WaterLex website

Related Posts:

 WaterLex Helps Put the Human Right to Water Into New Legal Frameworks

If You Could Advise the UN on Water, What Would You Say?

Water’s Place Among Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals

The Intersection of Environmental Issues and Human Rights

 *(Please note: Every mention of WaterLex will carry a note of affiliation. e.g., the author is head of communication for WaterLex.)

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March 25, 2014 · 11:51 am

Water’s Place Among Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals

Image: GWP.org

Image: GWP.org

I attended the recent briefing, “Targeting water in the post-2015 development agenda,” at the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Co-organized by UN-Water, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation, the event hosted international mission staff as well as members of the press, academics and others. It focused on how water issues are being addressed within the evolving debate on potential sustainable-development goals (aka SDGs), in the framework of the post-2015 development agenda. The briefing’s documents and presentations are now available online.

The idea that water should have its own complex SDG, rather than being dispersed among other goals, seemed to be widely held and agreed upon at the event. Incorporating water issues into other goals without having a separate item for it could result in water-related issues evaporating in the mix.

“Because water is  everywhere, water ends up being nowhere,” said panelist Jack Moss, senior water advisor at AquaFed: The International Federation of Private Water Operators. Water’s fearsome power in nature is not reflected in its (lack of) strength as a factor in economies, he added.

Panelists agreed that water is too often taken for granted, and not often-enough planned for in proactive and constructive ways. In other words, you consider it separately to help ensure it gets paid for.

“Any time an issue is cross-cutting, like water, you can be sure that some of your targets will be lost in other targets,” said Lesha Witmer, a steering committee member and co-coordinator of The Butterfly Effect coalition of NGOs. “If you have a dedicated goal, it can’t *not* be represented in a country’s national budget.”

The UN-Water paper “A Post-2015 Global Goal for Water: Synthesis of key findings and recommendations from UN-Water” was also presented during the event. In the 41-page report, you can see the goal taking shape. The goal, “securing sustainable water for all,” becomes mightily complex when put in the context of the world, its growing human population, economic development, pollution, climate change, public health and myriad other factors.

The Swiss government has taken a leading role on water issues, and its Swiss Position Paper on Water in the Post-2015 Agenda advocating for an explicit water goal was also presented at the briefing.

See documents and presentations from the briefing.

Related posts:

At the Point of ‘Peak Water,’ Our Foreseeable Future Grows Shorter

UNICEF Says Put Down Your Cell Phone for a Few Minutes to Help Kids Get Water

Mapping the World’s Most Water-Stressed Countries

Unchecked Emissions Will Drain Water Resources, Warns Leaked UN Report

The Intersection of Environmental Issues and Human Rights

 

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Filed under Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Europe, Events, Human rights, Middle East, NGOs, North America, Oceania, Research, South America, Sustainability, United Nations, Water Resources

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February 26, 2014 · 7:03 pm

Water Resources Spotlight: Green Growth Knowledge Platform

Image: piazzaffari.info

Image: piazzaffari.info

Last month the launch of the Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) coincided with the opening of the organization’s office at the International Environment House in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan. 22. It was a stellar opportunity for me to get out of the house, but I missed it. So I doubled back and talked by phone with the group about its efforts.

What’s the point of GGKP? As Benjamin Simmons, the organization’s head. puts it in this succinct-yet-comprehensive overview: “Our aim is straightforward: to give policy makers, academics, experts and other professionals easy access to the most relevant green growth studies, policy analysis, guidance and data.”

It’s all about putting the best information about sustainable development and ways of reaching the goal of a “green economy” in front of the right people.  The link in the previous sentence goes to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which boils down the definition of green economy to its essence: It’s low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. 

“The first part of our mission is about catalyzing research in and  around green growth,” said Amanda McKee, GGKP’s communications and outreach officer, based in Washington, D.C. “The second part of our mission is to make all the research acceptable to policy makers and practitioners.”

The data in the platform covers a lot of ground. The resource library contains about 600 publications organized by sector (e.g., water) and cross-cutting theme (e.g., gender), McKee said, adding that data is also organized geographically, representing 193 countries (see the Green Growth Map).

There’s also a collaborative element aimed at filling green-growth knowledge gaps. Currently, committees are looking at four topics: trade and competitiveness, technology and innovation, measurement and indicators, and fiscal instruments.  “If we’re able to generate results from this, we’ll branch out into other topics and launch new committees,” McKee said.

And how will GGKP know if it’s succeeding in its overall mission?

“We’re in the process of developing indicators for measuring success,” McKee said. “In terms of the knowledge-generation aspect, I think the way we’ll measure success is how much of this research is  ultimately picked up by these communities. On the knowledge-management side, a sign of success would be how many policy makers or government officials are making use of resources to put in place green-growth strategies or policies.”

The GGKP was established by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank, where it was initially “incubated,” McKee said. Those steering organizations provide in-kind contributions and part-time staffing to GGKP, while strategic funding comes from the government of Switzerland, which is providing 1.6 million CHF over three years.

GGKP’s main event is its annual conference; the next one, organized by UNEP, will take place in February 2015.  The group sometimes stages side-events at major conferences, like the “open-thinking event on the expansion of green-growth knowledge” planned for UNEP’s inaugural Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) conference coming up in Dubai, UAE, March 4-5, McKee said.

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February 12, 2014 · 4:45 pm

WaterLex Helps Put the Human Right to Water Into New Legal Frameworks

Image: WaterLex

Image courtesy of WaterLex

One of the benefits of living in Geneva, Switzerland, is that I have access to the United Nations and international organizations that work with it. WaterLex, for example, is an international NGO that partners with UN Water. It takes an interesting, forward-looking, “lawyerly” approach to working on issues related to freshwater scarcity. The group, with a staff of seven based here, helps water-governance stakeholders in various countries establish policies and standards that comply with the human right to water and sanitation (HRWS). To do its work, the staff consults with more than 100 international experts in water management, development and law.

Many water NGOs work on access to water, helping people in water-stressed communities survive by delivering clean water, digging wells, installing pumps, and so forth. WaterLex attacks the problem close to its root and in a way that helps enable water security for future generations: It trains lawmakers and others with influence over water resources in a community, or a country, on how to implement new legal frameworks in which the human right to water is central.

WaterLex Executive Director Jean-Benoit Charrin co-founded the organization in 2010, the same year the human right to water and sanitation became fully recognized. I spoke with him on Tuesday at the WaterLex offices down the street from the Palace of Nations (UN). The rest of the staff, a mix of lawyers and operations experts, were away on missions. Although I would have liked to meet them, I’m glad they were off doing their work.

“There are four things we never want to hear people say again,” Charrin said. “That they didn’t know there was a problem. That they know there is a problem, but they don’t know how to deal with it. That they know there is a problem and how to deal with it, but they don’t know how to get the money. And finally, that they know there is a problem but they don’t care.” He paralleled the four statements succinctly with four WaterLex work areas:  providing assistance with information, capacity-building, budgeting, and accountability. Learn more about the group’s work below.

WaterLex tools (naturally, these are also on the Water Resources page):

WaterLex Legal Database on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation

WaterLex Toolkit: Integrating the Human Right to Water and Sanitation in Development Practice

Examples of WaterLex activities:

  • Worked with 10 universities to develop its online Legal Database (link above), a reference tool for policy makers that enables them to harmonize their legal frameworks with HRWS.
  • Trained more than 40 members of the Pan African Parliament on the integration of national legal frameworks with HRWS.
  • Partnered with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to advise the government of Niger on designing a decentralized cooperation strategy that complies with human rights obligations.
  • Drafted a resolution adopted by the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights clarifying legal responsibilities of states in the management of water as a result of human rights commitments.
  • Worked with the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) to develop a toolkit and field training for water program managers in Nicaragua, Moldova and Mozambique.
  • Assisted the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in the design of an Equity Score Card to help governments assess their population’s relative access to safe and affordable drinking water.

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December 10, 2013 · 5:43 pm

The Intersection of Environmental Issues and Human Rights

Image

The Future of Human Rights Forum, based in Geneva, Switzerland, marked International Human Rights Day, aka the 65th anniversary of the UN General Counsel’s adoption of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with a special event: its inaugural forum. The event is meant to bring together various experts, civil society organizations, journalists and members of the public to discuss innovation in response to issues of concern regarding human rights.

As a Geneva-based journalist learning about water and reIated environmental concerns, I attended the forum’s opening remarks and this morning’s discussion, entitled “Placing the Environment on the Human Rights Agenda.” It was interesting to hear the first speaker of the day drop a tantalizing tidbit in anticipation of the panel. John Pace, former head of the Research and Right to Development Branch of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, referred to the relationship between environmental issues and human rights as “a bit of a hot potato for some of us.”

Listening to the panel discussion that followed, I could understand why the topic is controversial, and why it stands to remain so for some time. There is a lot of history behind human rights development and documentation, and finding the best ways to include environmental issues will be tricky. How central can environmental issues be to human rights in general? How do experts get the language right, when modifying documentation, to ensure clarity? Can the the concept of “ecocide” as a crime gain urgency behind a public mandate and become part of the law in more countries?

The panelists: moderator Nicola Spafford Furey, vice president of Earth Focus Foundation; Polly Higgins, chairwoman, Eradicating Ecocide Global Initiative; Gonzalo Ovideo, senior advisor for social policy, International Union for Conservation of Nature; Jorge Vinuales, Harold Samuel Professor of Law and Environmental Policy at the University of Cambridge.

This blog is focused on water, which was not a main topic of the discussion, but it was used as an example that gives a sense of the scope of some of the issues discussed regarding the overlap of environment and human rights. Oviedo, echoed by Vinuales, mentioned two schools of thought: (1) people who want to protect humans from negative environmental impacts, such as toxic waste, and (2) people focused primarily on procedural environmental rights developed in the past 20 years (e.g., through the Rio Conventions).

“Something in the middle is missing,” Oviedo continued. “I think what is missing is a stronger, better way of understanding the way in which the environment is really at the bottom, is the basis of, human rights. Think of the right to water. Water comes from the function of ecosystems. If the ecosystems that ensure the cycle of water are lost, what are we going to do with the right to water? I feel we have the tools at hand today to make the environmental agenda stronger. We just have to use [them] in a more creative way.”

The focus of much of the discussion, as well as audience questions, was on Higgins’ area of expertise, the Eradicating Ecocide Environmental Initiative. It’s an intriguing idea, that destruction of ecosystems could become an international crime. In fact, it’s on the books in 10 countries, Higgins said. The term itself, first coined in a 1972 research paper, still seems little-known, but could be poised for greater fame. Read more about its history, existing laws, and more on the initiative website.

Image: The Future of Human Rights Forum

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