ARTICLE | Water Crisis
Right to safe drinking water for all
T
his July, as the world was preparing to celebrate eleven years of ‘Human Right to Water’- recognized by the UN - an investigation into detention camps in Libya made some shocking revelations that would shame the civilized world. Refugees and migrants are being forced to trade sex for water, the Amnesty International report found out! The report reads: In the first half of 2021, more than 7000 people intercepted at sea were forcibly returned to Al-Mabani. Detainees held there told Amnesty International they faced torture and other ill-treatment, cruel and inhuman detention conditions, extortion and forced labour. Some also reported being subjected to invasive, humiliating and violent strip-searches. Former detainees there said that guards raped women and some were coerced into sex in exchange for their release or for essentials such as clean water. “Grace” said she was heavily
beaten for refusing to comply with such a demand: “I told (the guard) no. He used a gun to knock me back. He used a leather soldier’s shoe … to (kick) me from my waist,” said the report. The Human Rights Watch reported in 2016 that migrants and refugees rescued off the coast of Libya are not escaping death; instead, many of them are suffering a slow death in Libya’s 18 detention centres. These centres, managed by the Interior Ministry Department for Combating Illegal Migration (DCIM), are currently holding about 3500 people from all over Africa, including neighbouring countries like Egypt and Tunisia.
Growing refugee crisis & curtailed rights
Refugees and migrants are growing in huge numbers all across the world. There are approximately 80 million displaced people in the world, of which about 26.3 million are refugees: people displaced from their own country. Remaining 45.7 million are internally
displaced people due to various reasons. The number of refugees is growing steadily over the last decade. All of these refugees are entitled to their right to a dignified life, and that includes safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. International human rights conventions and instruments spell out that asylum seekers and refugees are entitled to all the rights and fundamental freedoms. Access to justice – in real terms – means people can go before the courts to demand their rights to be protected, regardless of their economic, social, political, migratory, racial, or ethnic status or their religious affiliation, gender identity, or sexual orientation. However, in war torn and conflict zones, the victims hardly have support systems. In fact, vulnerable people could suffer even for a so called cooperation effort between nations. The Amnesty report testifies this. “The fresh evidences of harrowing violations, including sexual violence, against men, women and children intercepted while crossing the Mediterranean Sea and forcibly returned to detention centres in Libya, highlights the horrifying consequences of Europe’s ongoing cooperation with Libya on migration and border control”, said the report. The detention centres are being run by Libya’s interior ministry but that has not helped in abating the horror they have been forced to. European Union lawmakers, civil society groups and others have been asking the European Commission to stop the cooperation with Libran coastguard as the country was not safe for disembarkation of people rescued at sea.
War situations and right to water
As the world urbanises faster, the nature of wars and conflicts are also
42 August 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
