Geneva Office Report „Financing the Human Right to Water“ March 22, 1 – 3 p.m., Palais des Nations, Room XXVII Focus of the Panel On the base of the background paper“Financing the Human Right to Water” 1 the participants of the panel focussed on the following main questions: - How can sufficient and affordable clean water and sanitation – recognized as a social good and an essential public health service – be provided to the community? - What kind of water and sanitation management is needed at the local, national, regional and international level in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs)? - How does globalization affect the human right to water in general and the access to water for vulnerable groups in specific? - How is it possible to prevent that the recognition of water as a tradable commodity leads to a situation where water becomes subject to price competition and profit making business? - How can a sufficient water and sanitation service be offered which is guided by the underlying principle of the human right to water, i. e. the right of every individual to have access to water without any discrimination? The main purpose of the panel discussion was to disseminate information. Furthermore, the panel discussion served as a platform for an exchange of views to the above mentioned questions for selected representatives and experts. In addition, the side event intended to link the human rights approach to a sustainable water and wastewater management with issues related to financing water investments, privatizing water and sanitation services. By this, on the one hand new developments such as the trade of water services, water in the provision of developmental assistance, foreign direct investment and private sector participation were addressed and on the other challenges to human rights as such were explored. The human right to water, the MDGs and the lack of resources A background of the overall topic was given by the moderator of the event, Nils Rosemann. Quoting the MDGs, he highlighted the aim to“ reduce by half, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.” This international objective was restated in 1 http://www.fes-geneva.org/ reports/Right to Water/Background paper FES-side event Water 22 MarchFormated.pdf 1