Rede auf dem MDG-Gipfel in New York, am 23. September
“Adressing the Global Water and Sanitation Challenge: The Key to the MDGs“
Gestern sprach ich in New York auf einer Veranstaltung am Rande des MDG-Gipfels direkt nach Ban Ki-moon, dem Generalsekretär der Vereinten Nationen, zum Thema “Menschenrecht Wasser und Sanitärversorgung”.
Im Folgenden finden Sie die Kernbotschaften der Rede in englischer Sprache (Es gilt das gesprochene Wort):
- Implementing the human right to water and sanitation is a cost-effective way of realising health and development
- We need a 5-year drive on sustainable sanitation
- As a leading partner on water and sanitation, Germany will contribute to the search for solutions to the global water crisis by staging the Conference “Water in the Green Economy” in Bonn in 2011.
Talking points
Access to water and sanitation are human rights. Most essentially, the human rights approach challenges us to focus efforts on those lacking access:
- Those in slums who have to rely on water which will make them sick.
- Those who pay excessive water charges to uncontrolled informal services.
- Those who have to go long distances to fetch water.
- And those who live in an environment contaminated by their own and their neighbours’ human waste.
Implementing the human right to water and sanitation is a precondition and driving force for ensuring survival and a life in dignity. At the same time it is a highly cost-efficient catalyst for health and development in general.
The human right to water and sanitation is a clear statement of the right of every citizen and also of the leadership and responsibility of national governments. It highlights transparency and participation and defines the roles of civil society and the private sector.
Germany continues to be willing to support national efforts on sanitation and water. Bilateral activities must be complemented and strengthened by effective global partnerships such as “Sanitation and Water for All”.
Germany contributed to the strong wording contained in the summit outcome document on the crucial, and very much off-track, sanitation goal. We must redouble our efforts and launch a “5-year drive on sustainable sanitation”. A General Assembly resolution on the 5-year drive would be a strong signal that this key development issue needs attention and action.
Direct action to provide access to water and sanitation must be rooted in long-term development strategies. This means unleashing the potential of water resources management by engaging all relevant actors across all sectors so as to achieve economic growth, food and energy security and protect our scarce water resources and water-related ecosystems.
The global shift towards a green economy and the work being done in preparation of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio provide a tremendous opportunity to realise a new global consensus on the pivotal role of water resources management for development. To quote Pavel Sukhdev, the UNEP Special Advisor on the Green Economy, “Water is the lifeblood of the green economy.”
I am therefore pleased to announce the German government’s specific to the Rio process: a conference on “Water in the Green Economy” in Bonn in November 2011. It intends to bring together the energy, food and water communities, focusing on ways of achieving food and energy security. Through this process Germany will provide a platform for working towards a consensus on water-related results at Rio plus 20 and beyond.
Mit herzlichen Grüßen
Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz
