On March 29th, 2022, Parliamentaries from all over the world met at an international gathering focused on the greatest good of the planet: water.
“Let’s free water from the stock market!” was the international meeting’s telling title.
From Belgium, Cameroun, Chile, Egypt, France, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Nicaragua, Palestine, Portugal, Quebec, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, Uruguay, Venezuela, they agreed on a series of demands to the world leaders and institutions: stop privatizing water and monetising on such a universal right.
Read their open letter below, and find out more on their website.
We met, on the initiative of the Agora of the Inhabitants of the Earth and a group of members of the European Parliament (MEP), to examine and take a free aposition in the face of the unacceptable and inadmissible attacks on
the universal right to water:
2.1 billion people without access to drinking water in sufficient quantity and quality for life, and
.4,4 billion without access to basic sanitation services
to water as a heritage, a common good of hmanity and of all living species on Earth
The commodification, privatisation and monetisation of water and water services essential to all living communities on our planet have tpolluted water tables and seas and seriously contaminaed the health of populations, dried up hundreds and hundreds of rivers, lakes and wetlands : devastated forests and increased desertification, forcing tens of millions of peasants and farmers to abandon their land.
to water security for all inhabitants of the Earth (all living species)
The increasing scarcity of water, especially of quality, affects all regions of the world. Scarcity is a global reality and it is predicted that by 2050 40% of the world’s vital water needs will not be met. Apparently, this does not particularly worry world leaders ,They act for efficiently managing scarcity in the interest of the most owerful, leaving aside billions of people.
While social groups in power around the world talk about water markets, global competition, profitable investments, life-saving technologies, access to water at affordable prices , we talked about the sacredness of water and life, the rights of indigenous peoples, the legal recognition of rivers, lakes and wetlands, and collective responsibilities.
We had never met before. We are glad we did. We were able to highlight, briefly, the critical water situations in our countries and to denounce the monopolisation, predation and contamination of water by global corporations of formerly public utilities, agro-chemical industries and extractive industries (oil, gas, minerals, …). They are all closely tied with the ever-increasing domination of world natural wealth by private global finance, increasingly dissociated from the real economy, i.e. from the rights of citizens and peoples and the responsibilities of human communities.
Our assembly is the beginning of a long term common work. Thus, in this spirit we, the parliamentarians of the assembly of 22 March, have adopted the following POLITICAL RESOLUTION:
We affirm that the definition of the value of water and life must no longer be left in the hands of the stock market, to the speculative interests of financial, industrial and commercial operators.
The health of billions of human beings and the life of the planet is not a resource at the service of finance. The task and the obligation to define the value of life belong to the citizens directly and to their elected representatives
We demand and call for the implementation of four fundamental initiatives for which we express our commitment as parliamentarians:
1.THE IMMEDIATE ABOLITION BY THE GOVERNMENTS OF SOVEREIGN STATES OF THE OPENING OF THE DERIVATIVES MARKETS TO FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS ON WATER , AS DECIDED BY THE CHICAGO STOCK EXCHANGE
2.STOP THE MONETIZATION OF NATURE IMPOSED BY THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE WHICH HAS DECIDED TO CREATE A NEW CLASS OF FINANCIAL ASSETS CONCERNING ALL THE NATURAL WORLD (hence the unacceptable creation of Natural Assets Corporations)
3.THE CREATION OF A GLOBAL CITIZENS’ COMMITTEE FOR GLOBAL WATER SECURITY
4.THE CONVENING, BY PARLIAMENTARY INITIATIVE, OF A WORLD CONFERENCE IN 2025 FOR THE IMPERATIVE DEFINITION AND APPROVAL OF A NEW RESPONSIBLE GLOBAL COOPERATIVE FINANCIAL SYSTEM, NOT PREDATORY ON THE LIFE OF THE EARTH
We invite our colleagues and citizens who share our proposals to join us in this important mobilisation for the common future of our lives.
The signatory parliamentarians (in alphabetical order):
– Molgah ABOUGNIMA: Member of the National Assembly (Togo)
– Salmana AMADOU ALI: Member of the National Assembly (Cameroon)
– Betina ARBIZU MEDINA: Member of the National Assembly (Nicaragua)
– Maria ARENA: Member, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrat in the, European
Parliament (EU):
– Benoît BITEAU : Member the Greens / Free Alliance Group in the European Parliament (EU)
– Marc BOTENGA : Member of the Left Group GUE / NGL in the European Parliament (EU)
– Alexandre BOULERICE : Member of the New Democratic Party of Quebec (Canada)
– Fabio Massimo CASTALDO : Non-attached Member of the European Parliament (EU)
– Luis Augusto Romero CARABANO : Member of the Parlatino Parliament (Venezuela)
– Haitham Abouelezz ELHARIRI: Member of Parliament (Egypt)
– Sahar FAHD KAWASMESH: Member of Parliament (suspend) (Palestine)
– Elena FATTORI: Senator, Sinistra Italia Group (Italy)
– Ali FAYYAD: Member of Parliament (Lebanon)
– Andres FONTECILLA: Member of Parliament of the Parti du Québec Solidaire (Canada)
– Gilberto Jesus GIMENEZ PRIETO: Member of Parliament of Parlatino (Venezuela)
– Arling Alonso GOMEZ: Member 1st Vice-President of the National Assembly (Nicaragua)
– El Adji IBRAHIMA SALL: Member of Parliament (Senegal)
– Mabrouk KOURCHIB: Member of Parliament (Tunisia)
– Raymonde Kayi LAWSON: Member of the National Assembly (Togo)
– Enzo MALAN: Member of the Partido Frente Amplio Group (Uruguay)
– Marisa MATIAS : Member of the GUE/NGL Group in the European Parliament (EU)
– Rossela MURONI : Member of the Green Italia Group in the Italian Parliament (Italy
– Paola NUGNES : Senator of the Sinistra Italia Group (Italy)
– Mathilde PANOT : Member, France Insoumise, National Assembly (France)
– Jorge PIZARRO: Senator, President of Parlatino (Chile)
– Juan Martin RODRIGUEZ: Member of Parlimanet, Secretary General of Parlatino (Uruguay)
– Monique PAUZE: Member of the Bloc Québécois House of Commons (Canada)
– Loïc PRUD’HOMME: Member of France Insoumise in the National Assembly (France)
– Daniel SALMON: Senator, Ecologistes-Solidarité et Territoire (France)
– Sophie TAILLE-POLIAN: Senator,Ecologistes-Solidarité et Territoire (France)
– Katia TCHALA: Member of the National Assembly (Togo)
– Margarita VALDEZ: Senator of the Republic (Mexico)
– Carlos VARELA NESTIER: Member of Parliament (Uruguay)
– Najah WAKIM: Member of Parliament and President of the People’s Movement (Lebanon)
– Timoteo de Jesus ZAMBRANO GUEDEZ, Member of Parliament (Venezuela)
Also signed in representation of the Agora of the Inhabitants of the Earth: Marcos PS ARRUDA (Brazil), Alassane BA (France/Senegal), Martine CHATELAIN (Quebec-Canada), Alain DANGOISSE (Belgium), Armando DE NEGRI (Brazil), Pierre GALAND (Belgium), Mélissa GINGREAU (France), Luis INFANTI DE LA MORA (Chile), Elena MAZZONI (Italy), Christine PAGNOULLE (Belgium), Riccardo PETRELLA (Belgium) Stefano Squarcina (Italy).
And from Transform.europe: Roberto MOREA and Roberto MUSACCHIO
Cover image: Manki Kim
