(Press Communication, 10 December 2012) Today, 10 December, is Human Rights Day. On this occasion mayors from 10 major European cities in 8 different countries are launching an appeal to their citizens to support the first ever up and running European Citizens Initiative (ECI) calling for the implementation of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation into European law.
The ECI is a new direct democracy tool introduced by Lisbon Treaty. It requires the collection of one million signatures from people in more than seven European Member States.
The ’Water is a Human Right!’ ECI is a joint effort of public service trade unions in collaboration with anti-poverty campaigners, environmental groups, public health campaigners, women’s organizations and public water companies. Together they are campaigning to achieve guaranteed water services for all across Europe, universal access to water and sanitation and to keep control of water in public hands.
Today in Europe more than 8 million do not have access to sanitation and more than 1 million do not have access to water!
The mayors that support the ECI “water is a human right!” are the locally elected representatives of over 10 million people in Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Genoa, Ghent, Leicester, Moita, Nantes, Naples, Paris and Vienna. On human rights day they are showing their support for this ECI and ask their citizens’ to do the same at www.right2water.eu.
For more information contact: Pablo Sanchez
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