People’s Water Forum Statement on the UN 2026 Water Conference

We raise concerns about the direction of global water governance following the new UN appointment

As the People’s Water Forum, we have released a critical declaration regarding the appointment of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Water.

In this declaration, we express our **concerns—shared by social movements, communities, and organizations from around the world—**about the potential implications of this appointment for global water governance and for the effective protection of the human rights to water and sanitation. We raise key questions about the mandate, independence, and accountability mechanisms of the newly appointed Special Envoy, Retno L. P. Marsudi.

We also denounce the incidents affecting water defenders that took place during the 10th World Water Forum, held in Bali in May 2024, and situate these events within a broader context of shrinking civic space and the criminalization of the defense of water.

We reaffirm that water and sanitation are fundamental human rights and common goods, and we warn of the risk that international water governance processes may move away from a human rights–based approach in favor of multi-stakeholder models that do not ensure the central role of rights holders.

We have formally addressed this declaration to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, as well as to United Nations agencies and international institutions involved in water governance.

This position takes on particular relevance in the context of the upcoming Third United Nations Water Conference, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates from 2 to 4 December 2026. At this critical moment, we insist on the need to place the voices of affected communities, transparency, and accountability at the center of global water governance debates.

Read and download the full declaration here.

See the Press Release of 26 January 2026 here.