Claim Your Water Rights: member updates
Members continue to organise vibrant and impactful actions under the banner of the global Claim Your Water Rights campaign.
In November and December, Green Ark Committee (GRC) utilised DRC’s general elections to lobby candidates to uphold water rights and climate justice. Since the elections GRC have petitioned Uvira’s Mayor and national authorities – including the environment ministry, parliament and the prime minister’s office – regarding the contamination of various rivers and Lake Tanganyika, the world’s second largest freshwater reservoir.
Center for Law & Justice (CLJ) are similarly using Pakistan’s upcoming election to encourage people to vote for water as part of their wider ‘Vote for Prosperity’ campaign. While encouraging people not to sell their vote, CLJ have been conducting surveys with people from Christian neighbourhoods in Lahore From the 10,000 responses gathered so far, the availability of clean water is voters’ second most pressing concern.
Also in Pakistan, Youth Advocacy Council (YAC) have been enfranchising flood-affected communities in Kasur District to claim their rights autonomously. YAC conducted human rights training, established community-based advocacy groups, and organised dialogues for people to voice concerns and collectively strategise. YAC also offered legal clinics for people to seek advice, understand and assert their rights with confidence, and address grievances. In several cases, this led to resolution and redress. YAC’s work lays a foundation for continued advocacy and lasting social change in the region.
There has been a significant development in Manushya Foundation andPhichit community’s legal fight against the goldmining company that contaminated and depleted their water. Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations has charged Akara Resources with “collaborating to operate state land without a permit”, “causing damage” to public land, “illegally occupying a forest” and encroachment. These charges could have significant implications for the Phichit community’s class action lawsuit against Akara. You can read more about the Justice For Phichit campaign, which is supported by Manushya Foundation.
Research by United Youth for Peace, Education, Transparency & Development in Liberia (UYPETDL) has established that the MNG company has polluted water in Grand Cape Mount County, resulting in the death of crops and animals and many people falling sick. UYPETDL has disseminated its findings on social media, local radio, and directly with Liberia’s government.
Asociación Hondureña de Juntas Administradoras de Sistemas de Agua (AHJASA) have managed to stall attempts by Honduras’ national congress to repeal the Framework Law of the Water and Sanitation Sector. AHJASA has solicited the views of water users and community leaders to develop a counter-proposal that guarantees sustainability of services, clear obligations for duty-bearers, and the human right to water for all Hondurans.
During Nigeria’s 2023 elections, Network of Water Rights Initiative (NEWARI) secured a commitment from Enugu’s would-be governor to make water available to all within 180 days of being inaugurated. In November NEWARI ran a public countdown to hold the governor accountable to this promise. During this time NEWARI received numerous testimonies from communities who are now receiving piped water. This is largely due to the partially rehabilitated 9th Mile Water Scheme, which should supply the city with 70 million litres a day when complete. After the countdown ended, the governor committed to fix outstanding supply issues and service those off-grid. As a result of NEWARI’s concerted campaign, the government recently announced that 5.5% of the state’s annual budget would be devoted to the water sector – the first time in decades that water will receive such a significant prioritisation.
Calls for inclusive participation at the World Water Forum
Civil society has been largely sidelined and priced out of the World Water Forum. End Water Poverty is supporting the Butterfly Effect’s call for more inclusive participation, adding our name to an open letter calling for reduced registration fees and a sponsorship mechanism for civil society. If you’d like to get more involved in the Butterfly Effect’s mobilisations ahead of the World Water Forum, you can join one of their working groups. The deadline to join a working group is 15 February.
New year, new members
End Water Poverty is pleased to welcome the following organisations to the coalition:
- CTV Môi Trường Việt Nam works with marginalised and indigenous communities on issues related to water, waste management, and climate change in Vietnam.
- Maltiti Child Foundation advocates for the rights of children – including the rights to water and sanitation – in Tamale, Ghana.
- Pan African Vision for the Environment (PAVE) promotes sustainable development through research, documentation, policy dialogues, workshops, advocacy and consultancy services. PAVE is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
- Parlement Haïtien de la Jeunesse pour l’Eau et l’Assainissement (PHJEA) brings together youth leaders working on climate change, water and sanitation in Haiti.
- Sankalpa Darchula Nepal advocates for climate justice, social justice, river rights and people’s rights to water and sanitation in Darchula, Nepal.
- Small Water Service Providers Association of Kenya (SWAPAK) is a grassroots membership organisation who work to promote the human rights of people living in rural areas and informal settlements.
- Support Humanity Cameroon (SUHUCAM) works with indigenous and local communities to restore forests and watersheds in Yaounde, Cameroon.
- Tanzania Home Economics Organisation (TAHEA Mwanza) works with communities in Mwanza, Tanzania, to advance human rights, social justice and gender equality.
- VIKSAT, Nehru Foundation for Development strengthens Peoples’ Institutions and promotes sustainable management of natural resources. VIKSAT is based in Ahmedabad, India.
- Women Collective Kenya (WCK) works with grassroots women to tackle the structural and informal barriers that hinder gender equity and women’s rights. WCK is based in Nairobi, Kenya.
We’d like to thank our new members for their patience while the secretariat reviewed applications.