Food & Water Watch and International Coalition to Protest Corporate Control of Water Systems at World Water Forum in Istanbul
2009-03-12
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Food & Water Watch and International Coalition to Protest Corporate Control of Water Systems at World Water Forum in Istanbul
Washington, D.C. – Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, along with Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians and representatives of the Latin American network Red VIDA, the Asian organization Focus on the Global South, and many global allies, will protest the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, next week, March 16-22. The organizations are members of an international coalition that has come together to protest the World Water Forum’s stance on water privatization and to defend the human right to water.
“While the World Water Forum touts the privatization of municipal water systems as a means of improving the welfare of communities in need, the reality is that water is being used to generate profit rather than to slake the world’s growing thirst,” said Hauter. “Water privatization has caused conflicts around the world, and communities that have sold their water rights face limited access to water, higher tariffs, and poor water quality.”
Food & Water Watch will join an international coalition to host counter events in Istanbul to highlight ways in which governments, public utilities and communities have promoted the right to water through the democratization of resources.
“As a vital natural resource, water systems need to be managed by governments and communities, not markets,” said Barlow, who serves as a special advisor on water to the U.N. General Assembly. “This is an illegitimate forum convened by private sector interests driven by profit. The U.N. is the only global forum that can guide policy on water.”
Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit consumer organization based in Washington, D.C., works to ensure clean water and safe food in the United States and around the world. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink. For more information, visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org.