Today, one in six people around the world live without access to safe drinking water, and a third live without access to sanitation. Over 13,000 people die every day due to water-related diseases, nearly all of them in developing countries. Lack of fresh water affects whole communities, but those most severely affected are the poor and disadvantaged. The United Nations Development Program has labeled this phenomenon “water apartheid.”

WORLD WATER DAY is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Countries around the world are invited to devote this day – March 22 – to activities that support and promote the awareness of water as a vital resource for all life on earth.

What UUSC is doing to defend the human right to water

UUSC’s Environmental Justice Program seeks to promote and defend the human right to water. To achieve this goal, UUSC supports civil society and grassroots groups in the struggle against water privatization and depletion and promotes citizen involvement in the utilization and management of water as a common resource. UUSC works to influence government policies related to environmental justice and mobilize activists to hold government, agencies, and socioeconomic elites accountable for water-rights violations.

Recently, our partners in Tanzania, South Africa, and Ecuador have won amazing victories in the defense and promotion of the human right to water. Through its Color of Water Project, our partner Massachusetts Global Action (MGA) in Boston has done extensive research on the human right to water, including challenging the disproportionate number of water shutoffs in low-income areas of Boston. With the launch of its local campaign, MGA plans to release a full report in April 2008.

An important part of the Environmental Justice Program’s strategy focuses on activities that hold corporate elites accountable. We have had some great success this year, pressuring private water utilities and beverage companies to address the human right to water in their operations. UUSC has partnered with Northstar Asset Management to file a shareholder resolution with PepsiCo, asking the beverage giant to adopt a human-right-to-water policy in its domestic and overseas operations. PepsiCo challenged the resolution with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but UUSC and Northstar’s resolution prevailed. The resolution will be presented to thousands of shareholders at the PepsiCo annual meeting in May 2008 in Texas.

On April 5, 2008, UUSC partner UU District of Ballou - Channing, on the South Shore of Massachusetts, is holding a day-long water-justice event in Duxbury, Mass. Workshops will examine: global and local advocacy; becoming a Green Sanctuary; environmental justice; watersheds and the spirit of life; and water as a worship component. They will host a Taizé worship service in the morning and a Stone Soup Luncheon to model living with global awareness. There will also be a marketplace, offering information on environmental-justice issues and action groups, items to purchase, and networking opportunities with UUSC, UUMass Action, and Watershed Alliances.

What you can do to defend the human right to water

Create awareness

Show the films Thirst, It’s Our Water!, The Water Front, or Flow: For the Love of Water to your congregation or community group. Contact UUSC to borrow copies of these videos.

Learn about your water!

• Find the source of your water. Where does it come from?
• Test the water in your home or congregation. Is it safe?
• Who makes decisions about the water in your community?
• What does your water bill pay for?
• What happens in your community if a family cannot pay the water bill?

Take action

Become a UUSC Human Rights Defender by signing up on our website, www.uusc.org/hrdefenders. You will receive action alerts to support the human right to safe, affordable water.

“Green” your blue

Make a human right to water a part of your environmental commitment. Consider becoming a Green Sanctuary under the UU Ministry for Earth program. Do a water audit! See www.uuministryforearth.org for details.