2013 International Year of Water Cooperation

In December 2010, the UN General Assembly declared 2013 as the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation with Resolution A/RES/65/154. Among the various agency in the UN system , UNESCO have been called to play a leading role in the preparation and implementation of the 2013 United Nations International Year on Water Cooperation, for its unique multidisciplinary approach which blends the natural and social sciences, education, culture and communication.
UN encourages all the Member States to promote actions at all levels aimed at the achievement of the internationally agreed water-related goals contained in Agenda 21(1):

(a) Integrated water resources development and management; 

(b) Water resources assessment; 

(c) Protection of water resources, water quality and aquatic ecosystems; 

(d) Drinking-water supply and sanitation; 

(e) Water and sustainable urban development; 

(f) Water for sustainable food production and rural development; 

(g) Impacts of climate change on water resources.(2)

to read more details about the implementation strategy for 2013 IYWC
(1) http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/C.2/67/L.38/Rev.1

Full document  "The Protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources: application of integrated approaches to the development, management and use of water resources":
(2) http://www.unep.org/documents.multilingual/default.asp?DocumentID=52&ArticleID=66&l=en

Official 2013 IYWC Logo & Poster

http://www.unwater.org/watercooperation2013/

UNW World Water Day ‏ @UNW_WWD

Water Decade ‏ @Water_Decade

UN-Water ‏@UN_Water

UNESCO ‏ @UNESCO

 #WorldWaterDay2013

New Legal Landscape making parent company liable for environmental pollution in the Niger Delta exposes Multinational Oil Company Shell to growing liability suits

In the past, I published some posts on the situation in the Niger Delta outlining the severe environmental pollution caused by gas flaring, an illegal practice used by multinational oil companies to extract oil in the Niger Delta.

Furthermore, a new Oil Industry Act expected to enter into force last year in Nigeria in September/October 2011 didn't pass in the Parliament and all hopes to find more suitable regulations to address and reduce the devastation in the Niger Delta vanished again.

Therefore, I was very pleased to review the report launched by the Essex Business and Human Rights Project outlining the importance of new distinguishing cases which could represent a turning point for the stalling situation. Actually, recent pronouncements of UK courts have condemned the subsidiary company of Shell operating in the Niger Delta (Royal Dutch Shell Plc) for environmental damages and created a direct link between the multinational oil company, accountable for environmental, health and safety standard breach caused by the subsidiary.

Shell will risks soon to face a growing number of suits to respond to allegations of  environmental pollution caused in the Niger Delta by the parent companies.

Furthermore, on October 11, 2012, four Nigerians filed a court case in The Hague, The Netherlands, against oil giant Shell over environmental damage to their communities. The court case against Shell's oil spills in the Niger delta has been filed by the four Nigerian plaintiffs in conjunction with Friends of the Earth Netherlands and supported by Friends of the Earth Nigeria. The plaintiffs are demanding that Shell cleans up oil pollution in their villages and compensates them for damages they incurred. In this interview, Chief Eric Dooh from the village of Goi describes how he and his community have been affected by the oil spills. This video has been produced by www.justfocus.nu for Friends of the Earth International.

My Voice Counts - Human Rights Day 2012

10 December 2012 - This year, the Human Rights Day will focus on the rights of all people — women, youth, minorities, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, the poor and marginalized — to support their participation and inclusion in political decision-making.

The rights to freedom of opinion and expression, to peaceful assembly and association, and to take part in government (articles 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) are essential factors for the development of democratic societies in all countries worldwide. In an era of globalized economies, financial speculations, monopolistic cartels of transnational companies, the Arab Spring, the Occupy movement and the thousands of initiatives organized every day in the social media testify the will of all populations around the world to participate more actively both in the domestic and international political agenda.