WDM Response To Hilary Benn On Human Right To Water

"Today's announcement that the UK government supports the human right to water is very welcome. WDM supporters throughout the UK have been campaigning in solidarity with groups in the South during Blue October, a month of global action, to get recognition of the right to water.

The challenge now is how this recognition translates into action across all its policies and funding commitments. Turning the right to water into a reality for everyone can only happen through increased levels of public finance and support for capacity-building within the public sector.

Currently the UK position is that it does not prescribe any particular model or role for the public and private sectors. Despite this, donors including the UK have continued to support public-private partnerships in the water sector, whilst ignoring the potential of public-public partnerships and the expertise within Southern public water providers. This needs to change.

The government says that the voices of those without water and sanitation must be heard. The legacy of water privatisation with its unaffordable price rises, disconnections for the poorest communities, and poor investment record, means that those voices may well be sceptical."

9 November 2006