On Monday, September 26th, WEDO delivered a statement at the 18th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, High Level Panel on “Women and the Right to Water”. WEDO Board Member, Katherine McDonald, sat on a panel alongside colleagues from ISIS International, MADRE, Swiss Red Cross and WECF (Women in Europe for a Common Future). The panel began with a from statement of UN Special Rapporteur Catarina de Albuquerque, author of “Climate Change and the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation“.

In her statement on behalf of WEDO, Ms. McDonald stated, “Extreme degradation of ecosystems, unmitigated climate change, and over-consumption of water in rich countries and by the rich in poor countries exacerbated often by government policy, as well as the impact of extreme poverty, have all contributed to an environmental catastrophe in the world’s water supply. The poorest of our society, more than half of whom are women, are regularly excluded from access to safe drinking water and from having a role in policy decisions about the development of water resources- a reality which poses a threat to human rights. These rights, as the Special Rapporteur on the right to water and sanitation has stated, are fundamental to human dignity and essential to the realization of many other internationally recognized human rights.”

To read her full statement, click here.