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

2. History and background
International Law Commission:
“Draft Articles on Internationale Watercourses”
th 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.
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3. Chairman of the Drafting Committee
Prof. Dr. J. G. Lammers,
The Netherlands
Chairman of the Drafting Committee
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4. The Netherlands delegation
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5. EU Coordination ‘sur place’ under Dutch presidency
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6. 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
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7. 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
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8. 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.
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9. 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
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10. 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
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11. 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)
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12. 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
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13. 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
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14. Thank you for your attention
For more information:
what we do/how we work / policy/conventions/
water conventions/
30 November 2009