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High on the agenda—and on everyone’s mind—was the rollout of actions and processes to ensure commitments are achieved, and momentum is gained and retained, for implementing and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6, clean water and sanitation) by 2030.
The UN 2023 Water Conference, which took place 46 years after the last major UN conference of its kind, marked a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put water and sanitation on the global agenda. At a time when 26% of the world’s population—nearly two billion people—does not have access to safe drinking water and 3.6 billion lack access to safe sanitation services, participants agreed that it is more important than ever to accelerate work to implement SDG 6. Key outcomes from the Conference included a call for the establishment of a UN Special Envoy on Water, and the launch of the World Action Agenda, which now comprises over 800 voluntary commitments from countries and stakeholders.
The focus of the 38th UN-Water Meeting was to ensure follow-up to the Conference outcomes is sustained and effective. A sense of urgency was palpable throughout the two-day meeting, with the Special Rapporteur on rights to water and sanitation making a powerful point, recalling that “without water there is no future.”
In response, participants put their heads together in “World Café” styled small group discussions on topics ranging from whether and how to pursue a UN-wide strategy for water and sanitation, to the granularities of a survey to enable the clustering and implementation of commitments under the Water Action Agenda. Under this format they also discussed how to mainstream water across UN agencies and sectors, and enable implementation of SDG 6. Proposals from these rich discussions were taken up during the subsequent closed meeting of UN-Water Members, with the goal of integrating them into the UN-Water work programme.
During the open meeting, participants also heard reports on progress on the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework, including the Capacity Development Initiative, the Taskforce on Country Level Engagement, Regional Level coordination, the Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6, the Roadmap on human rights to water and sanitation, and operationalizing the Innovation Accelerator. There were also updates on the UN World Water Development Report 2024, a joint publication with UN Women, activities of the UN-Water Expert Group on Water and Climate Change, among others.
Before leaving, participants were reminded of why their work is important. Spread across the room were origami hummingbirds, folded by children in the run up to the UN 2023 Water Conference, sending a message that although individually one can only carry mere droplets, together they can create rivers of change.
The 38th UN-Water Meeting convened in Stockholm, Sweden, from 18-19 August 2023, at the headquarters of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The meeting included an open session and Friday and Saturday, followed by a closed Saturday afternoon session for UN-Water Members only. Approximately 100 UN-Water Members, Partners and observers registered to join the event, with 30 joining virtually.
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