WUNRN
http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/05/u-n-decries-water-as-weapon-of-war-in-military-conflicts/ -
FULL ARTICLE
UN DECRIES WATER AS A WEAPON OF WAR
IN MILITARY CONFLICTS
- The United Nations, which is trying to help
resolve the widespread shortage of water in the developing world, is faced with
a growing new problem: the use of water as a weapon of war in ongoing conflicts.
The most
recent examples are largely in the Middle East and Africa, including Iraq,
Egypt, Israel (where supplies to the occupied territories have been shut
off) and Botswana. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week expressed concern
over reports that water supplies in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo were
deliberately cut off by armed groups for eight days, depriving at least 2.5
million people of access to safe water for drinking and sanitation.
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Excerpt from Joint Statement of UN
Special Rapporteur on Water & Sanitation & UN Special Rapporteur on
Health
GENEVA
(16 May 2014) – “Interference with water supplies even in the context of an
ongoing conflict is entirely unacceptable,” warned today two UN experts* on the
rights to water and sanitation, and to health, expressing concern that “large
numbers of residents of the city of Aleppo, Syria, have been forced to
use non-potable water, making many ill.”
“Depriving people of their right to access safe water, not only denies them a basic and fundamental human right, but also an essential element to support life and health,” stressed the experts. They added that “if deliberate, the targeting of a civilian population to deprive it of essential supplies such as water is a matter of very serious concern, and a clear breach of both international humanitarian and human rights law which binds all parties.”........
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WOMEN & THE RIGHT TO WATER -
Power Point
For larger type and clarity, right click to Full Screen
viewing.
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ICRC - International Committee of
the Red Cross
Because it is essential to survival, water is given
specific protection under international humanitarian law.
ARTICLE 54, para. 2
Protocol I additional to the Geneva - Conventions
of 1949
It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or
render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian
population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas
for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock,
drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works, for the
specific purpose of denying them
for their sustenance value to the civilian
population or to the adverse Party, whatever the motive, whether in order to
starve out civilians, to cause them to
move away, or for any other motive.to
Though not a recent publication,
this document gives comprehensive coverage
on the issue of Water & War, and
many dimensions affecting women.
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WATER IN THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT
AGENDA - BEYOND 2015
Global Thematic Consultation on Water and the Post-2015 Development Framework
Direct Link to Full 17-Page 2013
Document:
Women are in many ways disproportionately
affected by the lack of water and
sanitation, and have to
literally carry the burden when water resources are scarce, as
they are most often responsible
for water collection.30
Lack of access to safe and
private
sanitation facilities increases
women’s and girl’s vulnerability to sexual violence,
especially when they wait to
relieve themselves under cover of darkness to try to have
some privacy. Waiting long hours
to relieve themselves also means that women risk
severe long-term health impacts,
such as urinal tract infections, which can lead to more
serious infections, and have been associated with low birth weight babies.31
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