Human right to water and sanitation – Palestine Observer statement at GA meeting – Press release (excerpts)

Plenary

117^th Meeting (AM)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY WRAPS UP TWO MEETINGS — ON ACHIEVING HUMAN RIGHT

TO WATER AND SANITATION; REVITALIZING CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT

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Background

The General Assembly met this morning to conclude its High-level Meeting on “Revitalizing the Conference on Disarmament and taking forward multilateral disarmament negotiations”, and to hear the remaining speakers under the agenda item on the human right to water and sanitation.  …

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Statements on Water and Sanitation

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RIYAD MANSOUR, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, reaffirmed that access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation was a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights.  As with all other rights, the Palestinian people’s right to water and sanitation continued to be violated by Israel, which currently exploited 90 per cent of the shared water sources, while exerting control over the 10 per cent of that allowed for Palestinian use.  The result was a further reduction in the already-meagre water supply available to Palestinians.  The continued illegal settlement of the Jordan Valley by Israelis further exacerbated the problem.  Palestinians were forced to survive on just 10 to 30 litres per day per capita, far below the minimum guideline of 100 litres set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

He said that Israel, “tellingly”, had not supported General Assembly resolution 64/292, adding that since that resolution had been passed, Israel had destroyed a number of cisterns, wells and other water infrastructure.  Those actions had been condemned by the United Nations Resident Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Maxwell Gaylard, as violations of international law.  He urged the international community to hold Israel accountable to respecting the human right to clean water and sanitation; the equitable and reasonable reallocation of shared water resources; and the immediate cessation of destruction of Palestinian water and sanitation infrastructure.

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For information media • not an official record