26 June 2025
Delivered by: Deputy High-Commissioner for Human Rights
Mr. Vice-President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
I am pleased to participate in this discussion.
There is nothing more fundamental than water.
And yet, over 2 billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water.
Some 3.4 billion people around the world lack access to adequate sanitation.
It is, quite simply, a matter of life or death. Some 1.4 million people die each year from infectious diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and sanitation, including cholera, diarrhea, and typhoid.
The disparities between countries are also alarming. Death rates due to the lack of clean water and sanitation are in some cases almost 500 times higher in low-income countries than in developed countries.
This is a massive public health crisis, and one that does not get the attention or resources it requires.
In conflicts around the world from Ukraine, to Gaza, to Sudan and beyond, warring parties are bombing water and sanitation infrastructure and blocking the delivery of clean water – turning water into a weapon of war.
The climate emergency is also having a serious impact on the availability of clean water and sanitation.
Droughts are becoming more frequent and are lasting longer. Hurricanes are also destroying water and sanitation installations.
Some developing countries are drowning in debt, leaving them unable to invest in the required water infrastructure.
And in some developed countries, people’s water and wastewater bills are soaring, making it much harder for people to make ends meet.
These human rights challenges are immense and have particularly devastating implications for some people and groups:
- Across regions, toilets are not always accessible to people with disabilities.
- As water resources shrink, women and girls face greater risks. Longer distances to get water and to access a toilet exposes them to violence and health hazards.
- When schools lack clean water and sanitation, girls who are menstruating are often forced to stay home and miss class, therefore having to make a choice between their education and physical wellbeing.
- Indigenous Peoples, and people living in urban slums are often more exposed to contaminated water sources and more vulnerable to the impacts of extreme climate events.
Excellencies,
Human rights provide a pathway for solutions.
The 2026 UN Water Conference is an opportunity to galvanize political will and to place rights at the centre of water governance.
I see three principles that can help steer us in the right direction.
First, governments need to uphold their human rights commitments. This includes investing in access to water and sanitation for all, without discrimination. Everyone has the right to sufficient, safe, physically accessible, and affordable water of acceptable quality, for personal and domestic use.
Governments also need to be transparent and accountable about the way they manage water resources. Such approaches build trust between people and their representatives, helping to create more stable and secure societies for all.
Second, the people most affected by lack of access to water and sanitation must be part of discussions about managing water resources and ecosystems. Their insights from lived experiences, the obstacles they face, and the solutions they propose, are invaluable.
We must also protect those human rights defenders who so courageously promote these rights.
Third and finally, governments – at all levels - need to work together, as well as with the private sector, with international organisations, with civil society, and others.
Businesses should be mindful of their responsibilities under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Because cooperation is crucial to accelerate progress to meet Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030.
One critical area for international efforts is reforming the outdated and dysfunctional international financial architecture. This must include tackling the excessive cost of debt and helping countries prioritize investment in water and sanitation.
Mr. Vice-President, distinguished delegates,
Our Office is doing its part, supporting countries to develop inclusive, participatory approaches to water management.
In Guatemala, we organized workshops with Indigenous women to inform them about their rights and international standards, thus enabling their contribution to discussions on a new water law. In Guinea, we helped integrate the rights to water and sanitation into the design of Local Development Plans in several communes.
Water is a public good -- not a commodity. Water management policies must recognize its crucial place as a fundamental right of every human being.
Simply put, without access to water, the rights to life, health, food, work, and a healthy environment are all in jeopardy.
Let us seize the momentum of the UN Water Conference and move forward, together, to shape a future where access to clean water and sanitation is a reality for all, everywhere.
Thank you.