General Assembly of the United Nations - High-Level Meeting on Water

The United Nations General Assembly 18 March 2021 High-Level Meeting on Water is an important part of the preparatory process for the UN Midterm Review of the Water Decade and the 2023 Conference. It represents a welcome and much-needed opportunity to encourage action towards meeting SDG 6 and all water-related targets of Agenda 2030. The fact that we are not on track, coupled with increasing and competing needs for water, exacerbates water-related security challenges.

The 2023 conference, the second only UN conference on water in UN history, should highlight the importance of a comprehensive approach to water that encompasses all relevant aspects, including its importance for human development, peace and security. To help secure this approach, the co-chairs of The Group of Friends on Water and Peace in Geneva decided to convey the below joint statement.

The Group of Friends on Water and Peace was established with the aim to promote the recommendations of the report "A Matter of Survival" by the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace, to provide a space for dialogue on the issue of water and peace, and to raise awareness within the international community on the potential of water as a means of cooperation. It aims also to contribute to reinforcing the global architecture for prevention and resolution of water-related tensions and conflicts.

The joint statement is submitted by the Republic of Slovenia as the Chair of the Group of Friends on Water and Peace and in the name of its co-chairs Costa Rica, Senegal and Switzerland with the support of Egypt, Luxembourg, Monaco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Romania, Togo and Tadjikistan.

Part one of the event video can be viewed below.

Part two of the event video can be viewed below.