Activities of Bettina VOLLATH related to 2021/2187(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on access to water as a human right – the external dimension
Amendments (23)
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
— having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 9 June 2021 on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Bringing nature back into our lives (2020/2273(INI)),
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 b (new)
Citation 16 b (new)
— having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 10 March 2021 with recommendations to the Commission on corporate due diligence and corporate accountability (2020/2129(INL)),
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Resolution 64/292 of the UN General Assembly recognises ‘the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights’; whereas the absence of water is incompatible with life and both rights are essential for a dignified life; whereas sanitation and access to water are mutually dependent and there can be no sustainable and universal access to clean water without functioning sanitation chains;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the human right to water is linked to the right to education; whereas children, in most cases girls, have to walk miles every day to fetch water, which prevents them from attending school; whereas water is imperative for concentrating during learning; whereas girls are also forced to drop out of school when they are unable to access gender- appropriate toilets and manage their menstruation in a dignified manner;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas 80% of wastewater is released directly into the environment without any treatment, and waterborne diseases are widespread, particularly in developing countries;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P b (new)
Recital P b (new)
Pb. whereas the persons employed in parts of the wastewater chain are among the weakest groups in society and are exposed to numerous risks, including health risks as a result of the toxic gases they inhale; whereas these persons are often informal workers who are not protected by labour rights; whereas our right to water and sanitary facilities should not come at the expense of the safety, dignity and wellbeing of workers in the wastewater treatment industry;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Reaffirms the right to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right, which is in turn fundamental for the development of other rights, and as such must be guided by a logic grounded in the public interest and common good; underlines that water is a common public good and that an adequate, continuous and high-quality supply of water must be guaranteed; underlines that access to clean drinking water is indispensable to a healthy, dignified and productive life; calls on the Commission and the Member States to guarantee universal and non- discriminatory access to water and sanitary facilities, prioritising those with the greatest need;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Underlines that the human right to drinking water and the right to health and life are mutually dependent;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Underlines the finite nature of water and calls on the Commission and the Member States to take preventive action to combat global water scarcity and to support third countries in measures to combat water scarcity;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Underlines the need for clean water in the context of pandemics and calls for corresponding action on the part of the Commission, Member States and third countries so that adequate protection can be offered to everyone; calls on the Commission to support third countries in the development of strategies and policies;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recognises the important work undertaken by environmental rights defenders and the need to support them proactively and protect their life and safety, in particular those safeguarding the right to water, and roundly condemns the killings, abductions, torture, gender- based violence, threats, harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns, criminalisation, judicial harassment, forced evictions and displacements carried out by numerous perpetrators, including governments and multinational corporations; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support environmental activists and defenders and civil society organisations throughout the world;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Stresses also that the water and sanitation situation is often worse or even inadequate in refugee camps; underlines that countries are obliged to safeguard the right to sanitary facilities and water for refugees;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses that companies worldwide must ensure that their activities do not encroach on or abuse the enjoyment of the human right of access to safe drinking water; calls, furthermore, for countries to introduce an obligation for companies to furnish evidence and to adopt legislation to ensure that companies do not hinder equal access to an adequate supply of water; demands support for the binding treaty being drafted at the United Nations;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Emphasises that European companies, when operating in third countries, must comply with the same legal obligations in respect of corporate reinforcement and due diligence that apply to their operations in Europe;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Deplores that, as several UN experts have stated, the commodification of water and speculation in futures markets is in breach of basic human rights and contributes to increasing environmental degradation and exacerbating the vulnerability of the poorest and most marginalised in society, flying in the face of the Sustainable Development Goals; underlines that water is not a luxury or consumer product and therefore must not be traded as such;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide practical guidance to consumers in respect of water footprints and nutrition; calls, furthermore, for greater transparency in the form of water labels indicating a product’s impacts on water sustainability;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Recalls that, as the EU Water Framework Directive recognises, water is not a commodity but a public good that is vital to human life and dignity; calls on the Commission, given that these are services of general interest that fall, therefore, primarily in the public interest, to permanently exclude water and sanitation and wastewater treatment from the scope of any trade and investment agreements and to check carefully that trade agreements and the activities of European companies do not undermine, whether by action or omission, the right to drinking water and sanitation;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on states to adopt a policy implementing the human right to water and sanitation and promoting the provision of water and sanitation as essential public services for all; and donors to strengthen their promotion of the provision of water and sanitation as essential public services for all by means of investments that make it possible both to increase the number of people with access to water and wastewater services and to maintain existing infrastructures and the provision and use of services; investments in capacity building and strengthening water system management and in operations and maintenance are of crucial importance in establishing and maintaining effective and sustainable water and wastewater services;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Believes that it is vitally important to promote and strengthen networks of human rights experts, civil society organisations and community representatives at all levels;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Calls on the EU to incorporate the rights of employees in the wastewater treatment industry into all wastewater treatment programmes and to assist these employees in their efforts to formalise their status and organise themselves, including within officially recognised trade unions;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.