EU Statement – UN General Assembly: High Level Event on World Water Day and the World Day for Glaciers

EU Statement - UN General Assembly: High Level Event on World Water Day and the World Day for Glaciers

19 March 2026, New York - Statement by the European Union and its Member States delivered by Roderick Harte, First Secretary, European Union Delegation to the UN, at the High-Level Event to commemorate World Water Day and the World Day for Glaciers

Madam President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The EU and its Member States thank all the organizers and all co-sponsors for today's initiative to jointly celebrate World Water Day and the second World Day for Glaciers.

Our societies are dependent on a stable global water cycle. Our environment, our health, our economy, our food- and energy security and our quality of life rely on a stable supply of water of the right quality. Glaciers are an important part of this as they serve as long-term freshwater reserves, supporting both ecosystems and human communities and their livelihoods.

Our water security is compromised because of climate change, unsustainable water and land management, biodiversity loss and pollution. We are facing more extreme droughts and floods, accelerated glaciers melt, wildfires, disruptions in precipitation patterns, and changes in the ocean, which all worsen the global water crisis.

We recognise that water resilience and protecting the global water cycle are crucial for sustainable development, the realisation of human rights, peace and stability, and the need to ensure compliance with the International Humanitarian Law to support safety and security of water resources, water personnel, and infrastructure in conflict zones.

Excellencies,

This year's theme is water and gender, or "Where water flows, equality grows", and it reflects a simple truth: access to safe and reliable water and sanitation supports healthier societies, stronger economies and greater opportunities for all.

Yet the global water crisis affects people unequally. Where people are denied the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, inequalities multiply, with women and girls often bearing the brunt. According to UN Water, around 1.1 billion women and girls still lack access to safely managed drinking water.

Where people lack safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, women and girls are more vulnerable to abuse, attack and ill-health, affecting their ability to study, work and fully participate in society.

Improvements to WASH at home, school, work and in public spaces support everybody.

Excellencies,

Despite the challenges, the story of water can be the story of cooperation and development.

It is clear that there is urgent need for coordinated and coherent action on water at all levels. In the United Nations, water needs to be a priority topic across multilateral processes.

Building on the outcome of the 2023 UN Water Conference and its Water Action Agenda, the EU and its Member States are fully committed to work with the UN Special Envoy and all partners towards effective multilateral governance, an ambitious and action-oriented 2026 UN Water Conference, and concrete follow-up such as an intergovernmental process.

We will also advocate for safe, dignified and inclusive access to water, sanitation and hygiene, with particular attention to the needs of women and girls. Promoting gender-responsive approaches including equal participation in decision-making is essential to achieving sustainable water solutions.

We are also committed to support the work done through UN-Water, in particular the implementation of the UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation and we are ready to support the UN Special Envoy on Water in this mission. We recognise the importance of transboundary water cooperation and the Water Convention as a critical institutional and legal framework for cooperation.

The EU's Water Resilience Strategy that was launched in 2025 is enhancing cooperation on water at all levels, including transboundary cooperation. To achieve water resilience it requires action under the following three objectives:

• First, protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems, because rivers, wetlands, and glaciers are key regulators of the water cycle.

• Second, building a water-smart, competitive and circular economy, thereby increasing efficiency of water use across sectors, and scaling up water investments.

• Third, securing clean and affordable water for all, while addressing the needs of vulnerable groups, enhancing research, innovation and technology, as well as inclusive solutions that leave no one behind.

Excellencies,

Climate change is primarily a water crisis.

The UN 2026 Water Conference will be an opportunity to direct more political attention to water diplomacy. We need to improve cooperation on commitments, increase synergies and encourage investments to water. You can count on our four co-chairs and all of us to support this endeavour.

The 2026 edition of the UN World Water Development Report underscores a central truth: safe, and affordable water is a human right, a foundation for gender equality, and a prerequisite for resilient and inclusive water governance.

Inclusive decision-making is key. When women and girls have an equal voice in water governance, services become more sustainable, effective and equitable. Investing in women's leadership makes water a driver of health, prosperity and gender equality, benefiting all.

Through our Global Gateway initiatives outlined in the EU Water Resilience Strategy, the EU will support the access to an improved drinking water source and/or sanitation facility for at least 70 million individuals by 2030. In line with the EU's Gender Action Plan III, our initiatives also promote better access to water, sanitation and menstrual hygiene for women and girls, including through school sanitation programmes and awareness efforts.

We do not take water for granted and therefore we are ready to work towards an ambitious and action-oriented outcome of the upcoming future UN Water Conferences, in cooperation with everyone as this is global issue.

We have seen that progress is possible, especially in the past few years. We call on the international community and all stakeholders to keep up the momentum.

I thank you.