GENEVA — Aquatic ecosystems and the water we extract from them must be considered and managed in the public domain, as commons, accessible to all but not appropriable by anyone, an independent UN expert said today. In his report to the 57th UN Human Rights Council session, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation, argued for differentiating the water necessary to sustain life from water used for economic purposes, setting priorities, and establishing specific management criteria. “What is the monetary value of the water needed to ensure the health of your families? Is the value of the water needed to grow avocados for export even comparable to the value needed to protect public health?” he asked. The expert said considering water as a commodity that should be managed according to the logic of the market was wrong. “From this approach, access, use and benefit from water depend on the ability to pay according to supply and demand, and access to information and management are left in the hands of corporations. This is inconsistent with a human rights-based approach to water management. “ The Special Rapporteur said water on which populations depend and the aquatic ecosystems from which they draw must be managed with a common, human rights-based approach that guarantees non-discrimination, equal participation, transparency and accountability. “These ecosystems are common natural heritage, and their sustainability should be ensured for the benefit of everyone, including future generations,” he said. The Special Rapporteur urged governments to advance towards agreements and institutions that could articulate a shared responsibility at the global level to address the climate crisis and care for the water cycle as a global common good. “It is a democratic challenge that States must take up to realise the human rights to water and sanitation,” he said. Mr. Pedro Arrojo-Agudo is the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. He was appointed by the Human Rights Council in September 2020. From 2016 to 2019, Mr. Arrojo-Agudo served as an elected member of the Spanish Parliament. He was Professor in the Area of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis at the University of Zaragoza from 1989 to 2011 and has been professor emeritus since 2011. During the last three decades, he has focused his research on economics and water management, publishing his work in more than 100 scientific articles and in 70 books. The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. For additional information and media requests, please contact: maria.acostalazo@un.org For media enquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org) or John Newland (john.newland@un.org) Follow news related to the UN"s independent human rights experts on Twitter: @UN_SPExperts