Right to Water Forum in the Arab Region – 2 "Water is a public property and a basic human right"
As part of mobilizing efforts and social initiatives in the Arab region to develop an alternative agenda in the face of global government policies on water resource management, economic transformation and the introduction of neoliberal programs and policies and international financial markets, the Right to Water Forum in the Arab Region (RWFAR) has regained momentum in mobilizing civil society organizations and other social initiatives and movements on the right to water and the activation of social participation in the management of natural resources.
With the support of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, RWFAR held its second session on 21–23 March 2017 in Tunis. The meetings coincided with World Water Day (March 22) and the launch of the first RWFAR publication, assessing the water situation in the region.
The Forum discussed the issue of international financial institutions and their role in influencing the human right to water as a fundamental right. The water issue was reviewed in Morocco, Lebanon, Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt and Algeria. Diversion of water resources and privatization, as well as the practices of the occupying Israeli state in looting water resources in the occupied Palestinian territory and institutionalized discrimination in preventing the access of Palestinians to their water.
The participants also agreed to identify several important issues that will be included in their second report on the water situation in the Arab region, and they identified future opportunities for engagement with the 23th Climate Conference in Bonn in November 2017, as well as the World Water Forum to be held in Brasilia in March 2018.
The Forum has succeeded in its members developing the Forum`s Bylaws and Rules of Procedure, as well as defining the vision and strategic objectives of the Forum and the proposed Plan of Action for 2017–2018. The Forum emphasized that its central theme to be Water is public property and a basic human right The Forum will remain a platform for highlighting and supporting all local social initiatives and entities that are struggling for their right to water and self-determination in water resources, and will maintain diversity and pluralism in reviewing water issues and sharing experiences and knowledge materials at both the regional and international levels.
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