World Water Day 2023: water must be protected as a human right

World Water Day 22 March 2023 EPSU banner

Today, 22 March, is World Water Day. EPSU celebrates this day by supporting a civil society manifesto calling on policymakers to enshrine access to water and sanitation as a fundamental human right. Water Justice Movements around the world have come together to amplify the voices of the unheard and call on all those present at the UN Water Conference in New York to address the issues which are essential to achieving water justice for all.

Water is a common good and must be accessible to all without discrimination, under public control and not as a commodity. Personal and domestic uses of water - including for hygiene - should have the highest priority over productive uses, such as agri-business and industry. The demands outlined in the manifesto echo those made by EPSU and the Right2water ECI to the European Union ten years ago.

Over 400 organisations from around the globe have signed this call to the UN Water Conference including trade unions, consumer groups, environmental groups, anti-poverty activists, local campaigns and all levels of civil society coalitions.

Read the full text of the manifesto here. See the endorsements here.