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An Ounce of Prevention: International Water Law and Transboundary Water Cooperation

Charter on Water of the Senegal River, the 2008 Water Charter While accession to global conventions is much desired, countries
of the River Niger Basin, the 2012 Charter of Water of Lake Chad, should be encouraged to negotiate and finalize regional
and in several other international instruments. conventions and agreements at the basin level in cases where
they see this as a preferred course of action. This may expedite
Securing the right to safe drinking water for people is a legitimate the process of commitment to the principles of transboundary
policy objective by states in their respective territories. In water cooperation and International Water Law, and provide an
situations of shared water resources (watercourses and expedient option to make practical progress in this regard.
aquifers), bilateral or regional water cooperation is not only
legitimate, but also a necessary policy aspect in the prevention An innovative example of the regional approach is the Western
of armed conflicts. The principles of equitable and reasonable Mediterranean Forum, known as “5+5 Dialogue.” This includes
utilization of watercourses and the obligation to do no significant Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco,
harm contain an inherent concern for the affected people and Portugal, Spain and Tunisia. While the five northern countries
their right to safe drinking water and other basic needs. of the Western Mediterranean have experience in collaborative
water management, the five southern countries face serious
In addition, determining the right to safe drinking water and problems of water scarcity and growing dependence on
sanitation as a human right conveys a number of ethical groundwater resources. The Forum enables all the countries to
messages. One of them relates to equity and equality, including develop joint approaches and the ten countries have adopted a
gender equality specifically. The role of women as providers of water strategy and action plan for the Western Mediterranean.
water in many societies has to be adequately recognized and
protected, while also extending their role to decision making. In A similar cooperative strategy is being developed in Latin
many parts of the world, much still needs to be done to empower America. In 2016, the Iberoamerican Heads of State Summit,
women in decision-making processes related to water. held in Colombia invited the Water Directors of the countries
in the region to develop action plans based on sustainable and
Another ethical message relates to the situation of children, cooperative approaches.
often the most vulnerable victims of water shortages, and in
many situations the ones who fetch water. The situation of Additional activities could include international discussions
children and water provision requires systematic attention and intended to increase awareness of International Water Law and
effective remedies in cases when children are the victims of its relevance in the maintenance of international peace and
water shortages or of child labor exploitation. security. The thematic debate on water, security and peace
organized in the framework of the UN Security Council on 22
Finally, the recognition of the human right to safe drinking November 2016 offered an important example. Many of the 69
water and sanitation has opened up broader questions of water UN Member States that participated in the discussion referred
equity. Some aspects of these questions, such as the creation of to the two main International Water Law conventions. Follow
obstacles to water access for civilian populations in situations up discussions of this nature will deepen the understanding and
of military occupation are already addressed by International strengthen the implementation of their principles and norms in
Humanitarian Law, as mentioned in the preceding chapter of the future.
this report.
The other set of mechanisms of implementation should include
The panel is aware that problems of water equity require the development of supplemental instruments (soft law) around
further consideration, but they can only be partly addressed key International Water Law principles, including practical
through the lens of international cooperation, the mandate of guidelines and procedures, as well as the identification of models
the Panel. However, they must be more fully addressed by the of long-term promotion of transboundary water cooperation.
relevant players in the international community, including by the A number of such instruments have already been developed
international bodies in the field of human rights. under the UN Watercourses Convention and the UNECE
Water Convention in particular, which have contributed to the
Implementation and Monitoring strengthening of water cooperation. Although the relevance of
these instruments for the prevention of armed conflicts would
A reflection on the implementation of International Water Law is not be indirect, they constitute an important way of amplifying the
encouraging. At present, the main multilateral treaties have only a basic principles with the needed specific content. The richer the
small number of States Parties: the UN Watercourses Convention texture of the law, the more effective is its implementation.
has 36 while the UNECE Water Convention has 41. Although the
latter convention is now open to the entire UN membership, the Dialogue and capacity building remain highly relevant to the
global impact is yet to develop since all the current Parties are in development of transboundary water cooperation and, also
the pan-European region. An immediate recommendation would to the preventive function of International Water Law. There is
therefore be to appeal to UN Member States to accede to these a need for more comprehensive exchange of experience and
two conventions, and, in the case of the UNECE Water Convention, views among states, in particularly those with open questions of
to take advantage of the mechanisms, especially of its means to bilateral or regional water cooperation.
assist States to adopt and implement instruments at the basin-
level that reflect international good practices.

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