As prepared for delivery
NEW YORK, 23 May 2025 - "Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
"I am grateful for the initiative taken by Slovenia to bring attention to this critical peace and security topic.
"Water is a matter of life and death for civilians during conflict, especially for children. When the flow of safe water stops, civilians are forced to spend a greater sum of their time and income towards securing water. Time is spent travelling long distances in search of water, and those who directly depend on water for their livelihoods, like farmers, struggle immensely.
"The consequences on children are dire and immediate. Without water, public health quickly deteriorates - children suffer and die from cholera, diarrhoea and dehydration, underlying health conditions are exacerbated, and pregnant or lactating women are unable to feed their infants. Women and girls face heightened vulnerabilities, including due to reduced hygiene and to the exposure to violence during water collection.
"Since UNICEF last addressed this Council on this topic two years ago, attacks on water and sanitation continue to take place with alarming frequency in contexts as diverse as Burkina Faso, the State of Palestine, Sudan and Ukraine. Let me focus on a couple of these:
"In Gaza, following 20 months of conflict, more than 70 per cent of water and sanitation infrastructure has been either destroyed or damaged, and at least 75 per cent of households report that they do not have enough water to drink. In parallel, repeated blockades have prohibited the entry into the Gaza Strip of fuel and critical components to run water facilities.
"Currently, the desalination plant in southern Gaza is working at reduced capacity on backup generators. We urgently need the power supply to the desalination plant to be switched back on to provide at least 600.000 internally displaced Gazans in the south of the Strip with access to safe water.
"In Sudan, nearly 70 per cent of water facilities—including treatment plants, boreholes, reservoirs, and water networks—are nonfunctional due to damage sustained in both direct and indirect attacks, in particular due to the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
"The energy systems that support water infrastructure have also been targeted. The Merowe Dam, which previously supplied 60 per cent of Sudan’s power, has suffered repeated attacks. The resulting power outages have rendered 100 pumping stations inoperative and have brought 30 hospitals, 60 healthcare facilities, and 100 schools to a complete halt.
"In these contexts - as in many others- climate change compounds the consequences of the attacks as intensifying droughts, flooding, and water scarcity intersect with conflict to deepen the water crisis.
"Leveraging our dual humanitarian and development mandate, UNICEF both responds to and prevents the impacts of attacks, employing a broad range of tools.
"First, we generate data on attacks against water and sanitation systems in coordination with WASH Cluster partners. This data helps us prioritize urgent WASH interventions, target the most vulnerable and advocate for interventions that strengthen water systems and prevent attacks. One example of this is through our leadership of the WASH Insecurity Analysis, an evidence-based framework that supports peacebuilding by helping us identify disparities in water access and develop plans that reduce risks and promote social cohesion and stability.
"Second, we respond to immediate and urgent needs. We supply fuel, spare parts, and consumables to keep water facilities operational. We partner with local actors to rehabilitate damaged infrastructure and distribute chlorine and disinfection tablets to reduce disease risk. When needed, we provide alternative water sources or use water trucking as a last resort.
"Third, we advocate for children’s right to water. This includes ‘water diplomacy’, engaging conflict parties on their responsibility to protect water systems and personnel and facilitating agreements that ensure safe access to water. In Syria, for example, UNICEF and others played a key role in re-establishing operations of the Alouk water station in Al-Hasakeh Governorate, negotiating with different parties to serve over 1 million people with water. And as the global WASH Cluster lead, we collaborate with partners like the Geneva Water Hub and the Global Alliance to Spare Water from Armed Conflict, to leverage our collective advocacy and ensure greater impact.
"Your excellencies, I would like to leave you with three recommendations:
"First, we need the full weight of this Council to seek compliance by state and non-state actors with their legal obligations under international law and in line with relevant Security Council resolutions 2573, 2286 and 2601 to respect essential services during conflict - including the personnel working in these facilities. Children desperately need an immediate halt to all actions that impact their access to water.
"Water infrastructure is especially vulnerable when conflict parties use explosive weapons in populated areas. All parties must refrain from such attacks and Member States who have not yet done so should swiftly endorse and implement the Exploded Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA) declaration. We also urge Member States to use their leverage and influence with parties to ensure safe, timely and unimpeded access for humanitarian organisations to maintain or repair water infrastructure or to ensure the passage of necessary supplies.
"Second, there is a need to strengthen the monitoring of attacks on water and sanitation to ensure a relevant response and to promote accountability. As Security Council members, you may integrate the collection of data into an existing mechanism, call for the consistent inclusion of attacks on water and sanitation in Secretary General reports or products or consider extending the scope of peace operations to include water mediation- when relevant-, recognizing the crucial link between water and peace.
"This brings me to my last recommendation. I request this Council to engage donors to prioritize this issue and provide the resources we need to continue to support children, their families and the systems they rely upon in the face of attacks on water and sanitation.
"I thank you for your attention."
Media contacts
Joe English
UNICEF New York
Tel: +1 917 893 0692
Email: jenglish@unicef.org
About UNICEF
UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, works to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, especially the most disadvantaged children and in the toughest places to reach. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive, and fulfil their potential.