22 March 2011 World Water Day Special Edition

The United Nations has defined access to adequate water as an important global issue with an estimated BILLION people lacking such access. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's message for the world today is available online here and includes the imperative that, “without water there is no dignity and no escape from poverty.” He also states that this year's theme is “WATER FOR CITIES” to highlight urban water issues. His future policies will “connect the dots among water, energy and food security.”

• A World Water Day Slideshow: Everything You Need to Know About H20 is available online here, courtesy of GOOD magazine.

• The UNICEF Tap Project is being implemented at thousands of restaurants this week; upscale dining establishments are asking patrons to donate $1 for tap water with their meals, reminding people that even tap water is a privilege in many parts of the world. Since it was launched in 2007, the Tap Project has raised $2.5million to support UNICEF's global water and sanitation projects. This year's revenue will be directed to Togo, the Central African Republic and Vietnam.

• For positive ways to contribute and celebrate World Water Day this year, check out Mashable's list here.

• A World Water Day photo slideshow and video are available on Terra's website here.

• Here is the Center for Disease Control's World Water Day informational page.

• The United Nations' Deputy Secretary-General has posted this youtube video for World Water Day.

• Treehugger has posted this story which includes 22 links to “key stories for understanding water issues.”

• Check out Chris Perry's award-winning animated short The Incident at Tower 37 here.

AFRICA:

• South Africa = This year's World Water Day conference concluded today in Cape Town. The theme was “Water and Urbanization: Responding to the Urban Challenge,” appropriately held on the African continent where the rate urbanization rate is the highest in the world. Over a thousand government, civil society and private sector representatives were present, discussing the relationship between water, public health, sanitation, and the need for better “collaboration and communication between sectors.” (IRIN)

AMERICAS:

• USA = American scientist Stephen Carpenter has won this year's Stockholm Water Prize for his work on practical frameworks for freshwater resource management. (WW)

ASIA:

• Philippines = Officials rehabilitating the Las Pinas-Zapote river system have won a UN Best Practice Award for their progress in a local re-greening process. The project has been underway since 2002, with local “river watch” volunteers planting bamboo and mangroves to prevent soil erosion after undergoing training in ecological solid waste and river management. (IRIN)

MIDDLE EAST:

• Occupied Palestinian Territories = A new wastewater treatment plant is being constructed near Rafah to serve 180,000 people with reduced-contamination water which will be clean enough for irrigation purposes. This should help reduce several public health and environmental risks, but overall the water situation in the Gaza strip remains critical. (ICRC)

30 January 2011

AFRICA:

• Egypt = This week’s demonstrations and riots against police brutality and against President Mubarak have resulted in at least 33 civilian casualties in Alexandria, with estimates of over 50 people dead in a Cairo morgue -- due to excessive force and live fire on civilian protestors. Additionally, the Egyptian government imposed a nation-wide blackout, shutting down the internet and most phone networks. (HRW, FC, FIDH, AI, HRW)

• Ethiopia = YAY! Two districts in Ethiopia’s Afar Region have outlawed Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting, citing the many health problems it causes women and girls. (IRIN)

• Uganda = David Kato, a prominent activist for LGBT rights in Uganda was killed in his home this past Wednesday. He was the Advocacy Officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda and was an active opponent to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill before Parliament. This Bill would officially criminalize all homosexuality, making offenses punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty. (HRW)

AMERICAS:
• USA = The state of Pennsylvania’s Superior Court met this Tuesday to hear an appeal regarding whether or not to try Jordan Brown, a 13 year-old boy, as an adult. Jordan allegedly shot and killed his father’s pregnant fiancée when he was 11 years old. Currently, the international human rights community is in almost consistent agreement that putting a minor child on trial for a crime which could result in life imprisonment without a chance for parole, violates international law. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits this action, but the USA (along with Somalia) has not yet ratified that Convention. (AI, CBS)

ASIA:
• Phillippines = Peace talks are scheduled to resume next month between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Phillippine government. Previous negotiations broke down in August 2008 and led to over half a million people being internally displaced. The most contentious topic will likely be Ancestral Domain in disputed territories. (AST)

EUROPE:
• UK = The UK high court—perhaps in response to the killing of David Kato (see above)—granted 29 year-old Ugandan Brenda Namiggade a temporary stay, rather than being deported home on Friday, as was originally intended. Ms. Namiggade is a Ugandan national and a lesbian who has been petitioning for asylum in the UK since 2002. (ADV)

ALSO OF INTEREST:
• The Danish Institute for Human Rights, with the UN, has published The Arc of Human Rights Priorities, a guide developed for businesses looking to integrate human rights practices into their internal management.

· “The Arc builds upon the Sphere of Influence concept, and is designed to allow companies to focus their resources on the most urgent human rights issues in their operations.” (BHR)

• TED Talks go old-school, sort of … you can now read several of their talks on your Kindle. TED Talks are publishing short (10,000 to 20,000 word) electronic books by authors who have given Talks. The launch is 3 TED favorites, including The Happiness Manifesto, for $2.99 each. (FC)