Division for Sustainable Development
Secondary Links
Interagency Activities
International Decade for Action 'Water for Life', 2005 - 2015
As the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life', 2005 - 2015
begins, the United Nations and Governments are seeking to galvanise efforts to meet the internationally agreed targets of halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. Ministers and government delegates will meet in April 2005 in New York to take policy decisions on practical measures and options to accelerate progress toward these and other water-related goals at the Commission for Sustainable Development’s 13th session.
The United Nations International Decade for Action 'Water for Life', 2005 - 2015, launched on World Water Day (22 March 2005), calls upon the international community to strengthen efforts to increase access to water and sanitation for all. The decision to establish this Decade was made by the General Assembly during its 58th annual session (A/RES/58/217). This is the second international decade on water-related issues under the auspices of the United Nations. The first, the International Decade on Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation, was held from 1981 to 1990.
Additional Resources
- Website for the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life', 2005 - 2015
- Press Release (17 March 2005): Access to safe water a priority as the UN marks the beginning of the International Decade
- Message of the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' 2005-2015
- Booklet on the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life', 2005 - 2015 (pdf)