International Conventions on Water

Iulia Trombitcaia, UNECE

Two framework multilateral instruments

• 1997 Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UN Watercourses Convention, or New York Convention)

• 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE Water Convention, or Helsinki Convention)

1997 UN Watercourses Convention

• Adopted by UN General Assembly in 1997 on the basis of 1994 ILC Draft Articles – 3 decades, all continents

• Voted in favor by 106 States• Global framework multilateral

agreement• Strongly recognized as evidence of

international customary law• Already influenced many agreements

(SADC, Albufeira Convention, etc.)

1997 UN Watercourses Convention

• Not yet in force (6 ratifications missing), expected entry into force end of 2013-early 2014

• Ratified (29): Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Luxemburg, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Uzbekistan

* in blue – also Parties to UNECE Water Convention

1992 UNECE Water Convention

• Negotiated in 1990-1992 through an intergovernmental process under the auspices of UNECE, largely relying on ILC Draft Articles process

• Negotiated originally as regional instrument• Signed on 17 March 1992, in force on 6

October 1996• Protocol on Water and Health adopted in

1999, entered into force in 2005• Protocol on Civil Liability adopted in 2003

.

Status of ratification of the UNECE Water Convention

39 Parties (38 countries and the European Union)

PartiesCountries in accessionNon Parties

2003 Amendment to the 1992 UNECE Water Convention

• Opening up the Water Convention to all UN Member States => the Convention becomes a global instrument

• Aims: - apply the principles and provisions worldwide- share the experiences of the Convention- learn from other regions of the world• Amendments enter into force 6 February 2013• Possibility all UN Member States to accede from

late 2013-early 2014 when all 2003 Parties ratify the amendments

6th Meeting of the Parties to UNECE Water Convention (Rome, November 2012)

• Unanimous decision of Parties to grant, once and for all, the approval to all future requests

• 18 non-UNECE States participated• Iraq and Tunisia expressed their interest in joining

the Water Convention as soon as possible

The two Conventions: compatibility

• Two same substantive principles-equitable and reasonable utilization-due diligence obligation of no-harm• Principle of cooperation as catalyst for the

implementation of the two substantive ones (specified in the obligations to notify, to consult, to exchange information, to enter into agreements and establish joint bodies, etc.)

• Almost same provisions with regard to dispute settlement

The two Conventions: mutual complementarity

Countless examples…* Factors to equitable and reasonable utilization (Art.6 of the Watercourses Convention)* Planned measures (Part III of the Watercourses Convention)* Consequences of occurrence of transboundary impact (Art.7(2) of the Watercourses Convention)* Content of specific agreements and tasks of joint bodies (Art. 9 of the Water Convention)* Water quality objectives and criteria and BAT (annexes of the Water Convention)* Information subject to exchange, and “joint assessments” (Art. 13 and 11 of the Water Convention)…

The two Conventions: what differences?

• Few differences (confined groundwater not covered by Watercourses Convention; intellectual property limitation to exchange of information in UNECE Water Convention; obligation to adapt existing agreements to basic provisions in UNECE Water Convention)

• One major difference:-Mandatory character of institutional cooperation

between Riparian Parties in the UNECE Water Convention (recommendation in Watercourses Convention)

-Institutional mechanism based on the Meeting of the Parties in the UNECE Water Convention (no such mechanism in Watercourses Convention)

1992 Water Convention institutional mechanism

• Meeting of the Parties• Bureau• Working Group on Monitoring and Assessment• Working Group on Integrated Water Resources

Management• Task Force on Water and Climate• Legal Board• Implementation Committee• Joint ad-hoc Expert Group on Water and

Industrial Accidents• International Water Assessment Center (IWAC)• Supported by UNECE secretariat

3-year work programmes: Protocols, guidelines, assessments, projects on the ground …

The two Conventions: the principle of harmonization

“Fragmentation of International Law: Difficulties Arising from the Diversification and Expansion of International Law”, Report of the Study Group of the International Law Commission, 2006: “The principle of harmonization. It is a generally accepted principle that when several norms bear on a single issue they should, to the extent possible, be interpreted so as to give rise to a single set of compatible obligations”.

Guide to Implementing the Water Convention, 2009: interpreting many of its provisions in light of the Watercourses Convention and the ILC Commentary

How will the two work together?Open and constructive discussion…•World Water Forum in Marseille (March 2012), Symposium in Dundee (June 2012), Rio +20 (June 2012), Meeting of the Parties to Water Convention (Rome, 2012)•Upcoming debate on the “water” SDG•New work programme of Water Convention for 2013-2015: -building synergies with NY Convention-role of the new Implementation Committee

It is up to the Parties to decide.

Message by UN Secretary General

Ban Ki-moon to the Meeting of the Parties to Water Convention

(Rome, November 2012)“Soon the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes will become open for accession to all Member States. Your experience and the lessons you have learned will be invaluable. I encourage countries outside the UNECE region to join the Convention and contribute to its further development.”

Message by UN Secretary General

Ban Ki-moon to the Meeting of the Parties to Water Convention

(Rome, November 2012)“The globalization of the [Water] Convention should also go hand-in-hand with the expected entry into force of the United Nations Watercourses Convention. These two instruments are based on the same principles. They complement each other and should be implemented in a coherent manner.”

Intergovernmental bilateral Dniester Basin Treaty of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine (Rome, 29 November 2012)

– taking the best of the two Conventions

Thank you!

UN Watercourses Convention/ILC:http://untreaty.un.org/ilc/summaries/8_3.htm

UNECE Water Convention:http://www.unece.org/env/water

WWF campaign:http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_wo

rk/policy/conventions/water_conventions/

Contact: Iulia Trombitcaia

Environmental Affairs Officer, UNECE

iulia.trombitcaia@unece.org