EWASH (Emergency, Water and Sanitation Hygiene) Campaign
Join the global campaign on the right to water and sanitation in Palestine, 6‐13 December 2009
“… it is now time to consider access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right, defined as the right to equal and non‐discriminatory access to a sufficient amount of safe drinking water for personal and domestic uses ‐ drinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation and personal and household hygiene ‐ to sustain life and health.”
Mary Robinson, Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (2007)
See recent postings on this website: Israel rations Palestinians to trickle of water and Inside Story – Palestine water shortage
Palestinians living throughout the occupied Palestinian territory repeatedly suffer violations of their right to water and sanitation.
These include:
• Discriminatory allocation of water resources shared between Israel and Palestine, to the detriment of Palestinians
• Lack of access to, and control over, water resources
• Lack of access to sufficient amounts of water for personal and domestic use as well as to secure livelihoods and food security
• Lack of access to water of an acceptable quality, that is free from hazardous substances or micro‐organisms that pose a threat to human health
• Lack of access to safe sanitation facilities, including waste water treatment which places both public health and the wider environment at risk
• Lack of access to affordable water and sanitation services and facilities
These violations have occurred primarily as a result of Israeli policy and practice in the occupied Palestine territory, including:
• Overexploiting the water resources of the occupied Palestinian territory for the benefit of Israeli citizens living in both Israel and the illegal settlements
• Preventing Palestinian water resource and water and sanitation infrastructure development
• Creating Palestinian dependency on water supplied by the Israeli national water company Mekerot, which often reduces amounts available to Palestinian communities
• Restricting Palestinian access to water resources through Israeli ‘security’ measures such as the Wall, roadblocks, checkpoints etc.
• The destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure during military incursions and as a punitive measure
• The blockade on Gaza which has prevented access for materials necessary to repair, rehabilitate and maintain water and sanitation infrastructure
Participation is simple:
• Organise an event or activity between 6‐13 December 2009 and let us know at: opt@cohre.org
• You may organize activities such as protests, leaflet handouts, street actions, speaking events, video screenings, power point presentations, radio/TV programmes, internet actions, a twitter campaign, a petition, letter writing campaign.
Be creative!
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For activist material to make your event a success (fact sheets, films etc.) contact us.
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This campaign is organised by the EWASH Advocacy Task Force, a subcommittee of the EWASH (Emergency, Water and Sanitation Hygiene) Group. The EWASH is a coalition of over 30 organisations working in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in the oPt and its members include local and international NGOs and UN Agencies.