Summary

The world is facing a global water crisis generated by the confluence of two structural flaws in the current development model: the unsustainability of the aquatic ecosystems, which damages the quality of its flows, turning water from being the key to life into a terrible vector of disease and death; and the poverty, inequality and discrimination that prevail under the current socioeconomic order. In addition, the world is suffering from three factors that directly and indirectly aggravate and intensify that global crisis: the commodification and financialization of water, climate change and recently, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has deepened inequalities and extended poverty. In the context of the global water crisis, three challenging objectives will mark the main strands of the mandate holder’s work from 2020 to 2023: (1) clarifying ways to promote democratic water and sanitation governance; (2) furthering the realization of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, focusing on restoring the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems; and (3) promoting water as a key to collaboration and peace.