Politecnico di Torino campaigning for the rights of water

On the occasion of the World Water Day, which takes place every year on March 22nd, a group of scientists and philosophers of Politecnico di Torino and its Clean Water Center, is launching the "Rights of Water Campaign" which has as its final objective the drafting of a "Declaration of the Rights of Water".

"It is no coincidence that we have decided to launch this campaign today: the theme of this year's World Water Day is “Leaving no one behind”, aiming to promote the right of all human beings to safe drinking water and sanitation, as indicated also in objective 6 of the SDG - Sustainable Development Goals - of the Global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development approved by the United Nations in 2015” explains Alberto Tiraferri, scientific coordinator of the initiative. "This campaign has its roots in the acknowledgment that in order to at last guarantee access to high quality water and to warrant a sustainable use of this fundamental resource, it is necessary to recognize that water has fundamental rights of its own."

The only part of the Declaration that has been already drafted to clarify its intent and to frame its philosophical premise is the Preamble, redacted in collaboration with the philosopher Leonardo Caffo. The rest of the text, that is to say the true Declaration itself, will be the result of a participatory process: for this reason, whoever wishes to propose and bring forward one or more prospective rights of water can contribute to its drafting beginning today, by sending a proposal through the webpage www.rightsofwater.eu/.

The contributions will be collected until the end of the year, when a group of scholars will review them and then prepare the final text of the "Declaration of the Rights of Water", which will be made public on the occasion of the next World Water Day 2020. "Scholars, professionals, policy-makers, students, all citizens from all over the world are invited to contribute and every contribution will be precious: we will do our best so that the essence and intent of all the ideas will be represented in the final text" assure the promoters.