The 1997 UN Watercourses Convention Bob Dekker EU Water Director The Netherlands 30 november 2009

History and background 1974-1994 International Law Commission: “Draft Articles on Internationale Watercourses” 1996-1997 6th Committee/Working Group of the Whole: “Draft Framework Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses” 21 May 1997 General Assembly of the United Nations: “Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses” On 8 December 1970 the UN General Assembly recommended that the International Law Commission (an advisory body of the GA) that it should take up a study of the law of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses with a view to its progressive development and codification. The 6th Committee convened as a Working Group of the Whole met in New York from 7 to 25 October 1996 and from 24 March to 4 April 1997. The Working Group of the Whole established a Drafting Committee to make recommendations to the Working Group of the Whole. 30 november 2009

Chairman of the Drafting Committee Prof. Dr. J. G. Lammers, The Netherlands Chairman of the Drafting Committee 30 november 2009

The Netherlands delegation 30 november 2009

EU Coordination ‘sur place’ under Dutch presidency 30 november 2009

Vote on the draft text 4 April 1997 Votes on the draft text of the convention took place on 4 April 1997 First vote on articles 5, 6 and 7 (general principles) at 4.20 hrs PM: yes 38, no 4, abstain 22 Second vote on article 3 (watercourse agreements) at 4.51 hrs PM: yes 36, no 3, abstain 21 Third vote on article 33 (sttlement of disputes) at 5.22 hrs PM: yes 33, no 5, abstain 25 Final vote on the text of the convention as a whole at 6.23 hrs PM: yes 42, no 3, abstain 18 30 november 2009

Adoption by the UN General Assembly 21 May 1997 38 sponsors (incl. : DE, DK, EL, FI, HU, IT, LV, NL, PT, SE, UK) 16 signatories (incl.: DE, FI, HU, LU, NL, PT / NO) 106 votes in favor 26 abstentions (incl.: BG, ES, FR) 31 absent 3 against (Burundi, China, Turkey) The convention was adopted on 21 May 1997 at the 51st session of the General Assembly. States and regional economic intergration organaizations were invited to become parties to the Convention 30 november 2009

Main features of the Convention Framework for watercourse agreements Equitable and reasonable utilization of international watercourses Obligation no to cause significant harm General obligation to cooperate Information, notification, consultation on planned measures Protection, preservation of ecosystems (incl. marine environment) Prevention, reduction, control of pollution Dispute settlement. 30 november 2009

Value of the Convention globally Codification and clarification of international water law Legal framework for drafting river basin agreements (60% of 263 international river basins are without agreement) Improve consensus building and dialogue among basin states Support implementation of related multilateral environmental conventions (biodiversity, climate change adaptation) Contribute to regional peace and stablity 30 november 2009

Value of the Convention for EU Transboundary water issues at the core of international development objectives Enabling environment for the EUWI & Millennium Development Goals A globally endorsed platform for transboundary water initiatives; Catalyzing bridge between donor and recipient states Awareness of the role of legal frameworks and good governance in the water sector 30 november 2009

Status of the Convention 35 ratifications are required for entry into force 18 states have ratified (november 2009) 7 EU MS (DE, ES, FI, HU, NL, PT, SE) 1 EFTA country (NO) 10 other states 17 additional ratifications are needed 1 EU MS is almost ready to ratify (FR) 8 EU MS internal consultations (AT, BE, CZ, DK, EL, LU, SI, UK) 11 remaining EU MS ? (no votes against in 1997) (BG, CY, EE, IE, IT, LT, LV, MT, PL, RO, SK) 30 november 2009

Impact on EU Member states No additional obligations in relation to WFD, UN ECE Water Convention, International River Basin agreements Existing river conventions remain unchanged No additional national legislation needed No international secretariat, no meeting of the parties No additional costs 30 november 2009

Way forward 1 EU MS to deposit instrument of ratification 8 EU MS to finalize their internal consultations and proceed to ratification 11 EU MS to start internal consultations 3 EFTA countries and 3 Candidate countries to start internal consultations Cion to prepare a proposal for ratification by the Community Join efforts, work together towards joint ratification 30 november 2009

Thank you for your attention For more information: bob.dekker@minvenw.nl anna.forslund@wwf.se http://www.panda.org/ what we do/how we work / policy/conventions/ water conventions/ 30 November 2009