UN: Access to drinking water is a human right
July 30, 2010
By a 121-0 vote, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution stating that access to drinking water and sanitation is a human right. The United States and 40 other nations abstained.
With increasing frequency in recent years, the Holy See has supported efforts to declare access to drinking water a human right. “The right to food, like the right to water, has an important place within the pursuit of other rights, beginning with the fundamental right to life,” Pope Benedict wrote in his 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate. “It is therefore necessary to cultivate a public conscience that considers food and access to water as universal rights of all human beings, without distinction or discrimination.” In 2008, the Pontiff described access to water as “a universal and inalienable right.”
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Further information:
- General Assembly Adopts Resolution Recognizing Access to Clean Water, Sanitation (United Nations)
- UN assembly asserts water rights, some disagree (Reuters)
- Pope Benedict: Caritas in Veritate
- Pope Benedict: Letter to Cardinal Martino (2008)
- Message of the Holy Father for World Water Day 2007
- Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: Water, an Essential Element for Life (2006)
- Note: Water, an Essential Element for Life (2003)
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Posted by: voxfem -
Jul. 31, 2010 12:13 AM ET USA
"British delegate Nicola Freedman said London 'does not believe that there exists at present sufficient legal basis under international law to either declare or recognize water or sanitation as free-standing human rights.'" Does it matter if a legal right exists if there is a natural right? Another case of government saying it has more authority than natural law. We really do need to work on getting natural law recognized.
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Posted by: lauriem5377 -
Jul. 30, 2010 8:28 PM ET USA
Why would our country abstain from a resolution declaring access to drinking water is a basic human right........I think we should write our elected officials and the White House about this...it seems far better than many of the things we support.....
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Posted by: TheJournalist64 -
Jul. 30, 2010 6:39 PM ET USA
But I suspect our rep would vote AYE if there were a resolution claiming that abortion is a right. . .
