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Transatlantic statement vs Canada-EU summit

September 25, 2014

Canada–European Union Summit in Ottawa

Over a Hundred Organizations on Both Sides of the Atlantic Strongly Oppose an Agreement that will Enrich Multinational Corporations at the Expense of Citizens’ Rights.

The Canada–European Union Summit, which starts on September 26 in Ottawa, will mark the conclusion of the negotiation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union. The CETA involves much more than just trade in goods ; it will also encompass trade in numerous services, including financial services and public services. In addition, the agreement covers regulatory cooperation, public contracts, agriculture, protection of investors and labour mobility. The texts, which we are told are final, were kept away from the scrutiny of members of parliament throughout the negotiations and have been slow to be made public. This is a notorious subversion of democracy that is intended to suppress any debate, thus presenting our citizenry and elected officials with a fait accompli with no possibility of amendments. Since no parliament will have been able to take a position on its provisions, the Ottawa summit will in essence be a new public relations exercise to publicize the agreement, with the customary speeches and photos. The formal adoption process will follow, and the agreement will then come into force.

SDGs Must Recognize Human Right to Water and Sanitation

June 13, 2014

Nearly 300 organizations including the European Water Movement sent the following letter demanding that the human right to water and sanitation be included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The right was excluded from the most recent version of the SDG text that is to frame the official UN development agenda for the next 15 years.

Re: The urgent need to protect and promote the human right to water and sanitation in the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Dear Ambassador,

We, the undersigned organizations, urge the General Assembly’s Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to explicitly affirm its commitment to protect and promote the human right to water and sanitation within the SDG framework and implementation. We join the repeated and insistent calls from civil society around the world to ensure that the SDGs are explicitly aligned to the human rights framework.

Letter requesting the release of Javier Ramírez

Javier Ramírez, president of the community of Junín in the Intag valley in Ecuador has been imprisoned in early april. Junín lies close to the copper orebody for the mega mining project called Llurimagua (formerly Junín project), currently in the hands of the Chilean state company Codelco. Javier Ramírez is accused of rebellion, sabotage and terrorism. The detention order comes from the Attorney of the Cotacachi canton whose Intag valley depends.

Many social, environmental and humanitarian organizations, including the European Water Movement denounce this maneuver and political criminalization of social and ecological struggles conducted by the Correa's government and demand the release of Javier Ramírez.

UN Sustainable development goals must include the human right to water and sanitation

87 organizations from around the world including the European Water Movement have signed on to a letter that was sent to member states participating in the SDG process.

Dear Ambassador,

As we approach the 11th Session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, we, the undersigned representatives of civil society organizations and social movements, urge you to ensure the inclusion of a stand-alone goal and targets on the human right to water and sanitation.

As civil society organizations, many of us have carefully followed and engaged in the OWG process since March 2013. We are deeply disappointed to find that the reference to the human right to water and sanitation has been removed from the Working Document for the 5-9 May Session of Open Working Group.

People, environment and democracy before profit and corporate rights

The European Water Movement signed the following statement of European Civil Society groups working against the TTIP threat, March 2014

1. Who are we?

We are an EU-wide coalition of civil society organisations who share a deep concern about the various threats posed by the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership TTIP (also known as Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement or TAFTA). We represent a wide range of public interests including environmental protection, public health, agriculture, consumer rights and protection of food and farming standards, animal welfare, social and labour standards, workers’ rights, development, public access to information and digital rights, essential public services including education, financial systems stability, and others.

We are strongly committed to challenging the ongoing negotiations for the TTIP, in order to ensure transparent and democratic policy debate. Any agreements must serve the public interest and our common future.

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