UN: All Humans have the Right to Water and Sanitation

Humans value life more than anything else on this world. That is why there is what we call human rights. These human rights are basically the necessary elements for every person to live happily in this world. Recently, the United Nations along with most nations declared the right to clean water and sanitation as part of the rights that every human should enjoy. The U.N. believes that water is an extension of the right to live or right to life. Without water, people will struggle to survive and eventually end up dying.

According to a recent report, about 884 million people are deprived of their access to safe drinking water. Also, about 2.6 billion people also are deprived of basic sanitation. A lot of people throughout the world are basically drinking polluted or unsafe drinking water and as a result, they develop various illnesses and diseases. It is a given fact that places where clean drinking water is scarce tends to have a higher mortality rate. Without the presence of water, there is no life to sustain.

The United Nations declaration of the right to water and sanitation is a welcome testament to the aim of preserving and giving the highest value to life. This will also urge all the governments of the world to act and perform their responsibilities in ensuring clean water to all its citizens. This will include the protection of water from other sources such as pollution and capitalization. It also urges governments to conduct the necessary steps in preserving and maintaining the quality of water which will be handed down to generations to come.

The U.N. General Assembly resolution gathered the votes of 122 countries. About 41 countries refrained from voting which include the U.S., U.K., Canada and other Rich and industrialized nations. The rest fully supported the resolution. It is intriguing to know that the U.S. which is heralded as a world leader in promoting human rights isn’t giving its full support to this resolution. The U.S. argued that it chose to abstain from voting because it sees the right of water as non-reflective of existing international law. The U.S. is basically saying that the right to water is non-existent.

It is disappointing to know that the rich countries who should be promoting this humanely rights are instead caught up by political stands. What if the U.S. government really does not accept the right to water? Isn’t that a very immoral and unacceptable stand? If the government is really determined to promote human rights, they should support this resolution at all cost regardless if the full details aren’t fully defined yet. If we don’t protect our water resources now, we and our future sons and daughters will be drinking polluted and contaminated water soon.