Side Event to the UN Human Rights Council // The Future of Water in the United Nations System

The unprecedented challenges related to water management and governance that our world faces, require a renewed multilateral effort with a view to bridging our fragmented international legal framework and securing sustainable access to safe drinking water for every human being. In the follow-up to the Rio+20 Conference, and while an intergovernmental working group has just started to work on the definition of a new set of goals for the post-2015 development agenda (SDGs), it is considered timely to open discussions on the future of water governance in the United Nations System The choice of the UN Human Rights Council as a setting for this event relates to the Council's own Resolution 15/9 (2010) which invites States, specialized agencies of the UN system and other development partners to adopt a human rights-based approach to water and sanitation programming. As a consequence, the following question will deserve specific attention: to what extent the human rights framework can help harmonizing and coordinating the work of UN agencies in the water sector? As an initial contribution to the discussion, WaterLex has drafted the publication "Shaping a new water governance: Inter-governmental agencies contribution to the realization of the human right to water", with the support of a number of experts from various UN agencies including WHO, UNEP, FAO, UNECE and UNDP. We are pleased to share with you today a copy of this publication. During the side event, concrete illustrations of practices by various representatives of these UN agencies will be presented.

Programme

Interpretation will be provided in French, Spanish & English 13:00 — 13:30 Lunch Distribution of the Publication "Shaping a new Water Governance" 13:30-14:00 Introduction

Welcome The Future of UN Water Governance — A governmental Perspective

Mr. Jean-Benoit Charrin - Executive Director, WaterLex H.E. Ambassador Luis Gallegos — Permanent Representative of Ecuador H.E. Ambassador Thomas Fitschen — Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany H.E. Ambassador Manuel Bernardo Dengo - Permanent Representative of Costa Rica H.E. Ambassador Ana Maria Menendez Perez — Permanent Representative of Spain 14:00-15:00

Shaping a new Water Governance A Human Rights-based Approach to Water Governance: Challenges and Opportunities

Dr. Helene Boussard - Coordinator Research Program, WaterLex

New Indicators for Drinking Water and Sanitation

Mr. Guy Hutton - Coordinator for the Post-2015 Monitoring Process, WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP)

Human Rights Mainstreaming in Sustainable Development Goals

Mr. Bahram Ghazi - Development and Economic and Social Issues Branch, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN/OHCHR)

The UNECE/WHO-Europe Protocol on Water and Health: a legally binding instrument to ensure the realization of the human right to water and sanitation

Ms Francesca Bernardini - Co-Secretary of the Protocol on Water and Health, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) 15:00-16:00 Open exchange with Participants