This Wednesday, July 1st, the organizations that make up the National Alliance against the Privatization of Water, presented a letter addressed to the deputies of the Committee on the Environment and Climate Change of the Legislative Assembly.
The objective of the letter was to remind the deputies of the Committee that, together with broad sectors of civil society and its organizations, the organizations part of the Alliance recognize water as a source of life and a public good, whose access constitutes a fundamental human right of humanity.
Secondly, the organizations part of the Alliance also recognize that without sufficient and good quality water, the current pandemic crisis due to COVID-19 impacting El Salvador and the world will not be addressed properly.
Since this natural asset is essential for the development of hygiene in homes, if one wants to effectively face the crisis generated by the current pandemic and other socio-natural phenomena water must be ensured in sufficient and good quality.
Consequently, it is the State's obligation to guarantee access to this vital resource in an equitable, efficient, and sustainable manner, and even more so at this time of world crisis. As an Alliance, we see with concern that in the more than 100 days since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the Legislative Commission for the Environment and Climate Change has not met in order to resume the discussion of the General Water Law.
For this reason, as the National Alliance against the Privatization of Water, we ask this day to the deputies:
1.- The discussion of the General Water Law is urgently resumed within the Committee on the Environment and Climate Change of the Legislative Assembly.
2.- Consider in the discussion the Citizen Proposal for the General Water Law supported by broad and diverse sectors of environmental movements, the Academy and the churches, presented on February 6 of this year.
3.- Streamline the discussion to generate a favorable opinion and be able to bring the proposal to the legislative plenary for its vote. The discussion shall respect the content of the proposal and ensure the approval of the recognition of the human right to water, the public management of this natural asset, the basin planning vision, citizen participation, and universal access to drinking water and sanitation.
On this day, the National Alliance against the Privatization of Water asked the deputies to urgently resume the discussion of the General Water Law within the Commission of the Environment and Climate Change of the @AsambleaSV
Source: National Alliance against the Privatization of Water
Translation from: https://twitter.com/SomosAguaES/status/1278438229927223298
Translation: Giada Ferrucci