Excellencies,Distinguished Participants,Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honor for me to participate in this important event on behalf of the UN. I would like to start by congratulating the High-Level Panel on Water and Peace on its final report, which contains important insights and recommendations.
I have been informed that the High-level Panel on Water, co-convened by the UN Secretary-General and the President of the World Bank Group, is studying the report and its recommendations carefully.
In today’s interconnected world, we all agree that water availability is directly related to peace and security.
However, strains on water are rising in all regions.
Climate change, pollution and growing demand for water are adding up to increased scarcity and ever greater challenges to sustainable water management.
In addition, the distribution of water resources in some parts of the world has the potential to become a source of conflict.
It is up to the international community to rise to this challenge.
It would be a mistake for us to get caught up in a “water-war” rhetoric.
Water can be, should be, and in many cases, is a source of cooperation, a source of growth and an opportunity for mutual positive interdependence.
Many UN Member States share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.
As UN members, all are obliged to live together in peace under the UN Charter.
In the second half of the 20th century, more than 200 water treaties were successfully negotiated.
In the Middle East, water-use is an area where cooperation has been possible between some countries.
Similar cooperative initiatives have taken place in other parts of Asia, in Africa and in Latin America.
In Europe, the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes has fostered collaboration since 1992.
Water cooperation can be an important confidence-building measure fostering international cooperation.
As we work to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we must capitalize and expand on these initiatives.
Scarcity of resources, in particular water, should motivate us to find models for sharing and cooperation in the interest of peace and prosperity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Creating synergies between water and other SDGs presents a new opportunity for a balanced and integrated implementation of the entire 2030 Agenda.
This is a prerequisite for poverty eradication and sustainable development, and is essential to ensuring peace and security through sustainable development and for ensuring that no one is left behind.
The United Nations is fully committed to support global efforts on water related SDGs. We are ready to strengthen UN system-wide cooperation, including through UN-Water.
DESA is prepared to provide better service to UN-Warter.
I look forward to tonight’s discussions on how we can work together in linking the issue of sustaining peace and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Thank you.
It is an honor for me to participate in this important event on behalf of the UN. I would like to start by congratulating the High-Level Panel on Water and Peace on its final report, which contains important insights and recommendations.
I have been informed that the High-level Panel on Water, co-convened by the UN Secretary-General and the President of the World Bank Group, is studying the report and its recommendations carefully.
In today’s interconnected world, we all agree that water availability is directly related to peace and security.
However, strains on water are rising in all regions.
Climate change, pollution and growing demand for water are adding up to increased scarcity and ever greater challenges to sustainable water management.
In addition, the distribution of water resources in some parts of the world has the potential to become a source of conflict.
It is up to the international community to rise to this challenge.
It would be a mistake for us to get caught up in a “water-war” rhetoric.
Water can be, should be, and in many cases, is a source of cooperation, a source of growth and an opportunity for mutual positive interdependence.
Many UN Member States share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.
As UN members, all are obliged to live together in peace under the UN Charter.
In the second half of the 20th century, more than 200 water treaties were successfully negotiated.
In the Middle East, water-use is an area where cooperation has been possible between some countries.
Similar cooperative initiatives have taken place in other parts of Asia, in Africa and in Latin America.
In Europe, the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes has fostered collaboration since 1992.
Water cooperation can be an important confidence-building measure fostering international cooperation.
As we work to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we must capitalize and expand on these initiatives.
Scarcity of resources, in particular water, should motivate us to find models for sharing and cooperation in the interest of peace and prosperity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Creating synergies between water and other SDGs presents a new opportunity for a balanced and integrated implementation of the entire 2030 Agenda.
This is a prerequisite for poverty eradication and sustainable development, and is essential to ensuring peace and security through sustainable development and for ensuring that no one is left behind.
The United Nations is fully committed to support global efforts on water related SDGs. We are ready to strengthen UN system-wide cooperation, including through UN-Water.
DESA is prepared to provide better service to UN-Warter.
I look forward to tonight’s discussions on how we can work together in linking the issue of sustaining peace and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Thank you.
File date:
Monday, September 18, 2017