Secretary-General, in Video Message to Meeting on Water Conventions, Calls for Two Major Treaties to Be Implemented in Concert

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the high-level special session on the two water Conventions during the seventh World Water Forum held in Daegu, Republic Of Korea, today:

Excellencies,

I am pleased to send greetings to this important meeting.  Sustainable management of transboundary waters is vital in addressing disasters, adapting to climate change, ensuring peace and fostering sustainable development.

The two water Conventions on your agenda constitute important breakthroughs in the development of international water law.  The United Nations Watercourses Convention finally provides a universally applicable legal framework to assist countries and basins to jointly manage their shared resources.

The UNECE [United Nations Economic Commission for Europe] Water Convention provides an important framework for cooperation.  It has evolved to address climate change and other emerging challenges.  And the Convention has led to ground-breaking work on the nexus between water, food, energy and ecosystems.

These two Conventions complement each other and should be implemented in synergy.  I call on Member States to join both Conventions and carry out their provisions — for greater water cooperation around the world.