On 20 December 2018 the General Assembly adopted the resolution on the “Midterm comprehensive review of the implementation of the International Decade for Action, ‘Water for Sustainable Development’ 2018-2028”. (A/RES/73/226).
The resolution calls for a Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action to be convened in New York from 22 to 24 March 2023. More

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In December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution “International Decade (2018–2028) for Action – Water for Sustainable Development” to help put a greater focus on water during ten years. The Decade will commence on World Water Day 22 March 2018, and terminate on World Water Day, 22 March 2028. More

United Nations Secretary-General and President of the World Bank Group convened a High Level Panel on Water (HLPW), consisting of 11 sitting Heads of State and Government and one Special Adviser, to provide the leadership required to champion a comprehensive, inclusive and collaborative way of developing and managing water resources, and improving water and sanitation related services. More

In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Member States reaffirm in paragraph 7 their "commitments regarding the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation". Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all". More

Through the adoption of Resolution 64/292 on 28 July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly
affirmed the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the achievement of all human rights. More

By adopting Resolution 61/192 in December 2005, the General Assembly declared 2008 International Year of Sanitation with the objective of raising further awareness of the key role sanitation has in all areas and to promote action at all levels. More

CSD-16 and CSD-17 focused on the thematic cluster of agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa.

As far as CSD-16 is concerned, on this occasion delegates were called to review implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation and the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the CSD-13 decisions on water and sanitation.

A High-level Segment was also held from 14-16 May, with nearly 60 ministers in attendance.
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The ' Water for Life' Decade has been taking place in order to promote efforts to fulfill international commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015.

Focus is on furthering cooperation at all levels, so that the water-related goals of the Millennium Declaration, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation of the World Summit for Sustainable Development, and Agenda 21 can be achieved.

The challenge of the Decade is to focus attention on action-oriented activities and policies that ensure the long-term sustainable management of water resources, in terms of both quantity and quality, and include measures to improve sanitation.

Achieving the goals of the 'Water for Life' Decade requires sustained commitment, cooperation and investment on the part of all stakeholders from 2005 to 2015 and far beyond. More

In the first two-year Implementation Cycle following the WSSD, CSD-12 and CSD-13 focused on water, sanitation and human settlements and decisions related to these three thematic areas were adopted during the latter.

Resolution 13/1, in particular identified the Policy options and practical measures to expedite implementation in water, sanitation and human settlements. More

Established in 2004 by the UN SG Mr Kofi Annan, the UNSG's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB) is an independent body responsible for advicing the SG on all matters related to water and sanitation and for promoting action in those particular areas.

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CSD-12 convened from 14-30 April 2004 and was organized as follow:

1) Preparatory meeting for the International Meeting on the 10-year Review of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS.

2) The CSD-12 Review Session was focused on identifying challenges and lessons learnt in the areas related to water, human setttlements, sanitation.

3)The High-level Segment was held from 28 to 30 of April and saw the participation of over 100 Ministers.

At its conclusion, the Commission adopted the report of the session, which included a non-negotiated Chair’s Summary. More

Established in 2003, UN-Water is the United Nations inter-agency coordination mechanism for all freshwater and sanitation related matters and provides the platform to address the cross-cutting nature of water and maximize system-wide coordinated action and coherence. More

The JPOI focuses the world's attention and direct action toward meeting difficult challenges, including improving people's lives and conserving natural resources in a world that is growing in population, with ever-increasing demands for food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security.

Among the Actions to be taken, the JPOI includes increasing understanding of the sustainable use, protection and management of water resources to advance long-term sustainability of freshwater, coastal and marine environments as well as promoting programmes to enhance, in a sustainable manner, the productivity of land and the efficient use of water resources in agriculture, forestry, wetlands,artisanal fisheries and aquaculture, especially through indigenous and local community -based approaches.

The outcome document of the WSSD also stresses on the importance to adopt policies and implement laws that guarantee well defined and enforceable land and water use rights and promote legal security.
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In November 2002, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted General Comment No. 15 on the right to water.

Article I.1 states that "The human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights".

Comment No. 15 also defined the right to water as the right of everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable and physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. More

Target 7.C aims to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

The target acknowledges that " the world has met the target of halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of water, five years ahead of schedule".

Furthermore, it specifies that:" between 1990 and 2015, 2.6 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources. Worldwide 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation".

The target also identifies the areas that need further developments and improvements.

In this context, it reads: "despite progress, 2.4 billion are still using unimproved sanitation facilities, including 946 million people who are still practicing open defecation".
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For CSD-6, the economic, sectoral and cross-sectoral themes considered, as determined at UNGASS, were

industry,

strategic approaches to freshwater management, and technology transfer,

capacity building,

education,

science and

awareness raising.

From CSD-6 to CSD-9, discussions at each session opened with multi-stakeholder dialogues.

Opening Statements on selected themes were delivered by representatives from major groups and were then followed by a dialogue with government representatives. More

The review of sectoral cluster carried out in Chap. 1 D3 of CSD-2 focuses on freshwater and in particular on the need to ensure mobilization and integrated management of water, integrated management and conservation of river and lake basins at national, international and and all appropriate levels. More

The International Conference on Water and the Environment (ICWE) was held in Dublin, Ireland from 26th to 31st January 1992.

The Conference called for the adoption of innovative approaches for the assessment, development and management of freshwater resources in need of the commitment of the International Community and decision-makers at all levels. More

Chapter 18 identifies freshwater resources as essential component of the Earth's hydrosphere and as an indispensable part of all terrestrial ecosystems.

At the same time, Agenda 21 also warns about the impact that global climate change and atmospheric pollution may have on freshwater resources, their availability and, the treat they can represent for low-lying coastal areas and small island ecosystems, through sea-level rise.

Chapter 18 aims to ensure that "adequate supplies of water of good quality are maintained for the entire population of this planet, while preserving the hydro-logical, biological and chemical functions of ecosystems, adapting human activities within the capacity limits of nature and combating vectors of water-related diseases" and recognizes that "Innovative technologies, including the improvement of indigenous technologies, are needed to fully utilize limited water resources and to safeguard those resources against pollution".
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The International Drinking Water Decade, covering the period from 1981 to 1990, was established at the 1977 United Nations 'Water Conference' at Mar del Plata.

The Decade was designed to support access to clean drinking water, available across the world.

The decade aimed to achieve access to safe water and sanitation for everybody by 1990.

Nevertheless, in spite of the significant progress experienced during the Decade, growth and rapid urbanization, together with the low level of public awareness on health, have drastically reduced many countries' abilities to respond to the needs of their populations and today, almost 1.1 billion people still have inadequate access to water. More

The UN Water Conference, held in Mar del Plata, Argentina from 14th to 25th March 1977, focused on

the need for immediate action to reduce the urgency of the water crisis and

on the identification of strategies for a wiser and more efficient use of the earth fixed stocks of water. More