The right to drinking water should be part of the constitutional rights for human being and must be translated into a practical and tangible procedures at levels of legislations and national development, said Dr Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, Chairman of Qatar National Human Rights Committee (QNHRC) .
Al Marri said that according to the principles of equity, integration and prevention of disintegration of human rights, enjoying the rights of having access to drinking water is key to enjoying other rights.
Speaking at the 22nd session of the UN on Climate Changes being held in Morocco from November 7 to 15, he said a considerable number of international documents and charters on human rights acknowledged the rights of human being to have access to drinking water without any discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, age, language, religion or political views. At the national level, there are many legislations that emphasise the rights to water as a key right of the people. international environmental conferences and international human rights agencies should bring access to drinking waters on top of their agendas enhancing global solidarity to provide needy societies with drinking water, said Al Marri. Law should also prohibit any practices and activities that prevent people from having access to enough drinking water, he added.
The event is being attended by more than 30 presidents of states and thousands of representatives of international organizations and UN agencies. QNHRC was the only national rights institution invited to the session to present a paper on the subject.
