What has happened to the right2water one year later?

Not that much we would say! 22 March was World Water Day. Many events took place in Europe and beyond to remind people and politicians about the right to water that was declared a human right by the United Nations in 2010.

Exactly one year ago the European Commission  published a Communication that gave its official response to the first successful European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) which called on the Commission to implement the human right to water and sanitation in European law. The “Right2Water” campaign sought to secure universal access to clean water and sanitation and opposed the liberalisation of water services. Social Platform supported this campaign together with other partners at EU and national level.

In the Communication, the Commission recalled the importance of the human right to water and sanitation and stated the importance of water as a public good and fundamental value and that “water is not a commercial product.” However, that is as far as it went. The ECI also asked for a legal commitment that there would be no European Union (EU) initiatives to liberalise water and sanitation services – but there is nothing in the Communication on this.

One could think that not having access to clean water and sanitation is something that happens only in developing countries. On the contrary, even in Europe one million people do not have access to water and 800,000 to sanitation. 780 million people worldwide do not have access to clean water and two billion people to sanitation.

The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that in view of the new post-2015 sustainable development agenda, among the most urgent issues are access to safe drinking water and sanitation: this is essential for global prosperity, public health, food and energy security. “To address the many challenges related to water, we must work in a spirit of urgent cooperation, open to new ideas and innovation, and prepared to share the solutions that we all need for a sustainable future.  If we do so, we can end poverty, promote global prosperity and well-being, protect the environment and withstand the threat of climate change,” said Ban Ki-moon (read more on UN web site).

We hope that the Commission reconsiders its willingness to propose legislation to guarantee universal access to potable water and sanitation to all people living in the EU. During the European Year for Development, it would mark a positive step in the right direction in our relations with the rest of the world. Water services should at least be excluded from the scope of trade agreements such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), as essential public services that should not be left to the market alone.