World Water Forum

Official outcomes from the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul

The Ministers and Heads of Delegations assembled in Istanbul for the 5th World Water Forum, 'Bridging Divides for Water', produced a consensus and adopted a Ministerial declaration, which addressed the global challenges related to water within the context of sustainable development.

Read the Ministerial Declaration and the Istanbul Water Consensus

The Civil Society Statement   

Despite recognition of the human right to water and sanitation in previous drafts of the Ministerial Declaration, the final declaration defined water and sanitation instead as a ‘basic human need.’

In response, FAN Consortium and several other CSOs circulated a sign-on statement “Change Just One Word” pressing ‘need’ be changed to ‘right.’

Read the CSO statement 

Read the statement made by the president of the 63rd Session of United Nations General Assembly

At the Forum the president of the 63rd Session of United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, released a statement describing the Forum as “profoundly influenced by private water companies” and calling for a more “binding and accountable process” which recognizes that water is a “fundamental human right.” Read the statement

Virtual Meeting Space

A virtual meeting space was created specifically for the Forum to keep participants up to date on all Forum-related issues. All our documents were also posted on this website. Moreover, it provided the opportunity to freely exchange ideas and collaborate with others within and outside the water sector from around the world. To visit the space, click here.