Parliamentarians from around the world commit to proposing water governance solutions and adopt a manifesto to serve as a road map.
After two working days, Parlementary Conference has reached a large consesus, with participants adopting a manifesto. André Flajolet, co-coordinator of the parliamentary process declares, “it is a universally accepted text that reflects upon awareness in terms of water. It orients the conclusions of the Marseille World Water Forum going to the Rio +20 conference”.
The new manifesto underlines the importance of the parliamentary assistance board, which is a knowledge platform created by the World Water Council. It will help the national Parliamentarians to share expertise concerning good practices in water governance. Speaking to parliamentarians, Pierre Victoria, second co-coordinator of the parliamentary process claims, ”this project should build links between parliamentarians in order to create a World Water Parliament.”
The regional parliamentarian commit
The representatives of parliaments from the world (European parliament, Panafrican parliament, Lebanon parliament, etc.) presented their regional commitments. Sophie Auconie, member of the Environmental Commission and member of the European Water Intergroup detailed the resolution adopted yesterday by the Strasbourg assembly. "The parliament calls on all the member States to join the 1997 transboundary river Convention of United Nations and asks the Commission and the member States to commit more actively for the Millennium Development Goals”, states Sophie Auconie.
After explaining the great challenges of Arab countries for water access, the Lebanon parliament representative, Mohamed Kabbani, confirmed “an inter-ministerial council of the Arab League in 2011 gave the green light for the implementation of a platform for experience sharing.” The Council also is preparing an action plan that will focus on how to save water in the agricultural sector and focuses on the impact of climate change on water and sanitation access.
The Panafrican parliament adopted a nine point road map concerning water and sanitation access in neglected areas.To end the parliamentarian Conference, Henri de Raincourt, French cooperation minister, underlined that, “in the history of the world, parliaments have recognised, set up, implemented, defended, widened and deepened every fundamental right throughout centuries. Each of these essential liberties provides every citizen with the dignity to be free and safety from servitude.”
<media 1327 - - "TEXTE, Parliamentarians Manifesto Final version ENG , Parliamentarians__Manifesto_Final_version__ENG_.pdf, 103 KB">Download the Parliamentarians' Manifesto</media>
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About the Parliamentarian Process