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29.07.2010 09:55

Bulgaria abstained in the UN vote to declare clean water and sanitation as human rights

Introducing the text, Bolivia’s representative said the human right to water had not been fully recognized, despite references to it in various international instruments

AUTHOR: publics.bg

© European Commission

Yesterday at the 108th Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly access to clean water and sanitation was promoted as human rights. By a vote of 122 in favor to none against, with 41 abstentions, the General Assembly adopted, as orally revised, a resolution calling on States and international organizations to provide financial resources, build capacity and transfer technology, particularly to developing countries, in scaling up efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.

The Assembly expressed deep concern that some 884 million people were without access to safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion lacked access to basic sanitation. Bearing in mind the commitment to fully achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it expressed alarm that 1.5 million children under five years old died each year as a result of water- and sanitation-related diseases, acknowledging that safe, clean drinking water and sanitation were integral to the realization of all human rights.

Introducing the text, Bolivia’s representative said the human right to water had not been fully recognized, despite references to it in various international instruments. Lack of access to water killed more children annually than AIDS, malaria and measles combined, while the lack of sanitation affected 2.6 billion people, or 40 per cent of the global population, he pointed out. The upcoming summit to review progress on the Millennium Development Goals must provide a clear signal that water and sanitation were human rights, he emphasized, reiterating that the right to drinking water and sanitation was essential for the full enjoyment of life.

In the voting, Bulgaria was among the 41 abstaining countries. Other European countries abstaining from the vote were Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.