Monday, October 24, 2005
Location: Chestnut Hill College
Philadelphia, PA (USA)
Grades 8-12 (309 students)
Participating Schools:
BRIMM Medical Arts HS, Camden, NJ;
Camden HS, Camden, NJ;
Chestnut Hill Academy, Chestnut Hill, PA;
Darby Twnshp School, Darby, PA;
Gratz HS, Philadelphia, PA;
LaSalle High School, Wyndmoor, PA;
Merion Mercy Academy, Merion Station, PA;
Mt. Saint Joseph's Academy, Flourtown, PA;
New Hope Solebury HS, New Hope, PA;
North Penn HS, Lansdale, PA;
Parkway Northwest HS for Peace, Philadelphia, PA;
Ridley HS, Folsom, PA;
St. Genevieve School, Flourtown, PA;
Sterling HS, Somerdale, NJ;
St. Lawrence School, Lindenwold, NJ;
Strawberry Mansion HS, Philadelphia, PA;
Woodrow Wilson HS, Camden, NJ
Final Draft submitted by Sterling High School, Somerdale, NJ
We, the participants at the 9th annual Philadelphia Area United Nations Day Conference on Human Rights, representing the youth of the world, and
Keeping in mind Millennium Development Goal Seven (7), which suggests to, “Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs; [and] reverse loss of environmental resources, [and] reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water,”
Noting with deep concern that one third of the world’s population lives in water-stressed nations, that over a billion people lack access to safe water, and that the demand for usable water is constantly increasing,
Aware that approximately 30% of the global population does not have access to clean water for drinking and sanitation,
Acknowledging that the demand for water increases as a direct result of population increase, rapid urbanization, economic growth, expansion of agricultural land, and economic vulnerability,
Observing that competition over water resources has the potential to become a source of tension and conflict between states and sectors, and that there is a history of water related conflicts between tribes, water-use sectors, provinces, and peoples,
Aware that in the past, many major water development projects have led to violence,
Realizing that often times institutions to manage disputes over water resources are inadequate or absent,
Conscious that the global water conflict is heightened in areas, such as Southeastern and Central Asia, Southeastern Europe, and Africa, where the demand for water is increasing rapidly,
Alarmed by the fact that approximately sixty percent of all water used in agriculture and fifty percent of all water used in cities is wasted,
Mindful of the fact that further poor use of water will affect nature and the delicate food chain complex of birds, animals, and ultimately humans,
Further acknowledging the damages that occur from polluters and pollutants to the water cycle,
Concerned that insufficient government regulations worldwide do not prohibit the pollution of water supplies,
Keeping in mind Millennium Development Goal (3) and the Convention of the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, which promote gender equality and the empowerment of women,
Deeply disturbed that 2.4 billion people do not have access to lavatory facilities,
Alarmed by the fact that a major reason girls drop out of school in developing nations is due to the fact that they do not have access to lavatory facilities,
Aware that the fear of discrimination and lack of confidentiality discourages women from attending school once they reach puberty,
Noting that most women are exposed to water-related internal illnesses that can be prevented,
Acknowledging that women can spread many of the above illnesses to their unborn children resulting in mental ailments,
Stressing that education is one of the most essential methods to combat gender discrimination,
Recognizing the catastrophic water-related health issues such as diarrhea, schistosomiasis (flatworms), and malaria,
Alarmed by the child mortality rates in countries without access to water for sanitation,
Keeping in mind that the majority of peoples living without safe access to water live in Asia,
Noting that 138 million more people every year must have access to safe water for the UN to reach the millennium development goals,
Concerned with the outcome of the World Bank putting pressure on indebted third world nations to hand over their water systems to private companies,
In remembrance of the utter failure of the water privatization of Cochabamba and Bolivia,
Keeping in mind the rampant greed, mismanagement, and public rebellion that has resulted from the above privatizations,
Recognizing that any private takeover in third world water systems would imply foreign control and investment, taking the control of water management from the areas in which the resources are located and dispersed,
Fearing that the already chronic lack of access to water in poor nations would further complicate Millennium Development Goal (7) for water and sanitation, “[To] reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation;
We the student delegates,
1. Encourage countries to have peaceful negotiations pertaining to transboundary water sources;
2. Urge industrialized areas to prevent further pollution of water resources;
3. Confirm that water resource management and adequate funding will be essential to ensuring clean water and human security;
4. Authorize the creation of an international water distribution plan to resolve water scarcity;
5. Firmly Recommend the formation of a global coalition supported by governments and businesses to provide drills and water purifiers, raise water awareness in the public, and aid in the distribution and funding of water purification research, especially in developing nations;
6. Strongly suggest global support for any government, such as Liberia, in its continued efforts to distribute running water to its people;
7. Take note of the pressing situation in the Gaza Strip and that area’s need for water purification plants, as well as the situation in Gabon, where broken equipment and faulty pumps left residents without water for an extended period of time;
8. Recommend that governments aim to cooperate and make compromises that share water in a fair way;
9. Express appreciation and support for countries that financially aid in the establishment of water cleaning facilities and sustain research that deals with purifying already polluted water in a low cost way that would work for third world countries;
10. Strongly suggest the formation of an advertisement organization to promote awareness of a need for more resourceful water use in homes, companies, and other organizations;
11. Further proclaim the fact that animals, plants, landscapes, and wetlands need clean water just as much as homes and agricultural industries;
12. Support government policies which further encourage agricultural and industrial practices that preserve water, use it more efficiently, and reduce pollution;
13. Recognizing that unless new policies of water purification are implemented, the quality of life will decrease in the near future;
14. Suggest the formation of laws to enforce the conservation of water among all nations;
15. Recommend that tax incentives be given to companies who use less than their allotted water supply;
16. Encourage further research and construction of desalinization plants to add more available water;
17. Strongly suggest that NGO’s and governments work collaboratively to draft legislation ensuring that adequate funds are allocated to support education for all humans;
18. Encourage widespread public education campaigns promoting awareness of hygiene and stressing the importance of sex education for all members of society;
19. Strongly recommend that all the world’s countries affected by a decrease of women attendance in educational institutions make available for more accessible and separate latrines for both genders;
20. Express with conviction that the need for the eradication of discrimination stemming from ignorance through education and awareness programs funded by governments and NGO’s;
21. Recommend that educational institutes incorporate projects where both men and women gather water for their homes allowing women to attend school;
22. Propose that educational institutes incorporate sanitation education into their criterion;
23. Urge for the creation of a widespread public education campaign to make women aware of the dangers when collecting water from wells at night;
24. Seeks the development and implementation of community based facilities assisting students with sanitation and puberty issues;
25. Emphasize the contents of Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to all United Nations member states, which guarantees a standard of living for health and medical care;
26. Suggest the implementation of specialized international water monitoring and management agencies with the ultimate goal of providing access to safe water to the peoples of undeveloped nations;
27. Further request the cooperation of the affluent nations of the world to fund the above-mentioned groups;
28. Urge international support of pre-existing organizations such as CARE, a post World War II relief organization;
29. Endorse widespread education efforts in the areas of water conservation and sanitation through the media, the arts, and the influence of leaders;
30. Support the "Water for Poor Act of 2005" and "Safe Water: Currency for Peace Act of 2005" bills recently introduced in United States Congress;
31. Urge all nations to ratify declarations, such as the Child’s Right Conventions, which establish standards for treatment of those people affected by the global water crisis;
32. Recommend price-reductions and a greater distribution of pharmaceuticals to treat water related illnesses;
33. Encourage a greater focus on the development of and the affordability of medical technology for sanitation and water-related healthcare;
34. Insist that the United Nations put pressure on the World Bank to convince them that the privatization of essential human rights like water are immoral, heartless, and grossly irresponsible, and further convince them to cease and desist in making the massive privatization of such said resources a factor in loans to developing nations;
35. Strongly suggest that any sort of privatization of water resources should be strongly monitored and regulated by the authorities in which the water resources are used;
36. Encourage all member nations of the UN to aid developing nations in creating and maintaining local, regional, and national water sources that are affordable and are no more than 5% of the median income of the people in which water is used;
37. Strongly recommend that water must be controlled by the people in which the water resources are found, and should be given to the realm of the private sector with only the most serious consideration;
38. Recommend the governments of developing nations to ratify water pollution controls and hold private companies responsible for the quality and cleanliness of the water they provide.