Background

5th Arab Water Week

03.03.2019 Building Peace
3-7 March 2019, King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre Dead Sea-Jordan Organized by The Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA) In Partnership with Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) League of Arab States- Arab Ministerial Water Council (LAS- AMWC) 

The Geneva Water Hub, participated in the 5th Arab Water Week at the Dead Sea, organized by the Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA) in partnership with Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) and League of Arab States - Arab Ministerial Water Council (LAS- AMWC), and under the Patronage of His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan Bin Talal.  

The Geneva Water Hub actively participated as a partner, and organized a panel session as part of the Opening Ceremony on Sunday 3 March 2019,entitled “The Global Observatory on Water and Peace: An innovative instrument for sustainable development” . 

The High-Level Panel included distinguished experts in development, diplomacy and policy, who shared their reflections and experiences in using different tools and approaches, in parallel and in tandem, to ensure sustainable development in water and sanitation to all, this year’s AWW theme, using water as a vehicle for peace as part of a global Blue Peace Movement. 

During the opening keynote speeches session, H.E. Eng Raed Abu Al-Saud, Minister of Water and Irrigation, as deputized by HRH Prince Hassan Bin Talal, launched the Arabic version of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace report “A Matter of Survival”; the abstract of which was made available to the participants of the AWW. 

The Session Objectives were to:

  1. to present briefly the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace report and recommendations; 
  2. to advance and advocate actively the use of water (Blue) as a vehicle of peace;
  3. to present the Global Observatory on Water and Peace, its current regional partners and proposed activities;  
  4. to explore potential interested partners to this global platform in the Arab World, and possible activities in the region, including UN agencies.

In addition, Mr. Francois Münger was a panelist at the Special Session organized by UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science in the Arab States on Monday 4 March 2019, entitled "Water Security for All: Science Diplomacy for Sustainable Development of Water Resources in the Arab Region and Neighboring Countries".