WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

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

 

UNITED NATIONS, May 19 2014 (IPS) - 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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http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14613&LangID=E

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

 

http://www.wunrn.com/powerpoint/women_right_water_11.pps

 

For larger type and clarity, right click to Full Screen viewing.

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ICRC - International Committee of the Red Cross

http://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc_002_0969.pdf

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

http://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc_002_0969.pdf

 

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:

http://www.beyond2015.org/sites/default/files/Position%20paper%20Water.pdf

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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