SIWI WWW 2021 - Water and Stability; Towards a Resilient World

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Online
22:00 to 23:00 CEST

Proper water resource management is vital for meeting basic human needs, ensuring food security and ecosystem services. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development points to importance of sustainable management of natural resources, including water. Long-term peace depends on sustainable development and access to water and sanitation services for all.

Water plays an important role as a catalyst for bringing stability and sustainable peace in war-torn countries. The Geneva Water Hub and UNICEF organize an online session on  "Water and Stability; Towards a Resilient World"  during the Stockholm World Water Week. This session takes place on Monday 23 August from 22:00 to 23:00 CEST. It will bring together the WASH community and stakeholders working in peace building to discuss the linkages between the human rights to water and sanitation and the human rights to health, food, and an adequate standard of living.

The session will start with two presentations on the role of water in peace processes and potential entry points for employing the WASH Triple Nexus (humanitarian-development-peace) for building peace and stability. The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion on the role of the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation and their linkages to other human rights in peace building processes; lessons learned from the field on the implementation of the rights to water and sanitation in stabilization and peace building mechanisms; and the potential of global processes to formalize the role of water for bringing stability and peace in conflict-affected areas. The panel will also take questions from the audience and make recommendations for future steps.

The recommendations are expected to reaffirm the role of water in peace building as well as employing the WASH triple nexus for bringing peace to conflict-affected areas.

The full programme is available below.

Welcome speech

Prof. Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation

Introductory presentations

Water, human rights and peacebuilding - Dr Mara Tignino, Geneva Water Hub/University of Geneva
Role of Water in Peace - Anna Azaryeva Valente, UNICEF.

Panel discussion

  • Moderator: Rayyan El Fawal, Programms Director, LebRelief
  • Kelly Ann Naylor, Chief WASH, UNICEF
  • Dr Thabia Farooq Al-Qaisi, Iraqi Ministry of Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities 
  • Ahmad AlAyyoubi, Head of Office LebRelief
  • Guy Bonvin, Ambassador, Swiss Special Envoy for Water in Central Asia  

Q&A

Summary and wrap-up

Prof. Danilo Turk, Former President of Slovenia and Lead Political Advisor, Geneva Water Hub.

More information and registration here.

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