Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Use of International Watercourses

Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Use of International Watercourses
Short title:	UN Waters Convention
Title (engl.):	Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses
Date:	May 21, 1997 (adoption)
Come into effect:	17th August 2014
Reference:	UNTC
Contract type:	Multilateral
Legal matter:	environmental Protection
Signing:	August 13, 1998 (Germany)
Ratification :	2014
Germany:	January 15, 2007
Luxembourg:	June 2, 2012
	Please note the note on the applicable contract version .

The UN Water Convention (officially Convention International on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of Watercourses ; English Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses ) is an international agreement that regulates the cooperation of States Parties with respect to cross-border watercourses. The Convention was adopted on May 21, 1997 by the General Assembly of the United Nations and covers the use, development, protection and management of surface and underground inland waterways . The convention has been ratified by 35 countries and entered into force on August 17, 2014. The Secretariat for the UN Marine Convention is located at the University of Dundee in Scotland.

The UN Waters Convention is not to be confused with the UNECE Water Convention ( Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes ), which was adopted in 1992 and the international cooperation between its contracting states regarding the protection and use of transboundary watercourses - and regulates underground waters.

Terminology

Two important terms that are related to the UN Waters Convention are, on the one hand, use and, on the other, water systems .

The agreement does not contain any information on the use of the waters for navigation and is not geared towards this. However, the use relates to all other aspects related to the waters, such as their management, preservation and protection.

The water systems mentioned in the agreement include large and small rivers, their tributaries and tributaries, connected lakes and the aquifers . In terms of groundwater supply, there are also glaciers, water reservoirs and canals.

history

The UN Waters Convention dates back to the late 1950s. At that time, the General Assembly of the United Nations commissioned the Secretary-General to investigate into legal problems relating to the use of international rivers. On July 21, 1971, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution on "Progressive Development and Codification of the Rules of International Law Relating to International Watercourses". Extensive work has been carried out on the task for over 20 years to gather information and identify problems. In 1994 the first 33 draft articles were finally published and the handling and use of transboundary groundwater was included in the draft contract. After further revisions of the first draft, various investigations and additional elaboration by a special working group that met for a total of 5 weeks in October 1996, April and May 1997, the finished template for the Convention on the Law of the May 21, 1997 was created non-shipping use of international watercourses.

Come into effect

35 countries have ratified the agreement since 1997. The contracting states are listed on the official website of the UN treaty texts. With the deposit of the 35th instrument of ratification by Vietnam, the requirements for the entry into force of the UN Waters Convention on August 17, 2014 were met, 17 years after its adoption.

Only two of the German-speaking countries have ratified the agreement to date: Germany and Luxembourg. Germany already passed the law in August 2006, which is now valid since the convention came into force in August 2014.

Content

The agreement is divided into 7 parts with 37 articles. Part II General Principles explains how Contracting States should behave with regard to watercourses and what they must observe. Important cornerstones of the Convention are summarized below:

Article 5: This article states that mutual consideration must be given to the water supply of all contracting states. Negative effects for the co-user states due to changes in the watercourses should be avoided and taken into account in advance. Basically, the watercourses are to be used sustainably.

Article 6: The use of water should be distributed as fairly and thoughtfully as possible. Different factors can be decisive for this, such as B. the population size of the respective country or the natural facts such as geography .

Articles 9, 11 and 12: The exchange of information between the contracting states regarding the condition of watercourses and their planned use or modification is a key issue of the UN Waters Convention. The transfer of information must take place within a timeframe that gives the neighboring state sufficient time to examine the planned changes in use for possible harmfulness.

Article 19: The agreement also allows the contracting states to intervene and use the watercourses immediately in the event of extreme urgency. However, the affected neighboring countries must be informed immediately of the existing emergency and its handling.

Article 17, 18: If the extraordinary use of the watercourses, caused by the special urgency of the situation, is viewed as extremely disadvantageous by the other co-user states, negotiations on a compromise must take place. The other, unaffected contracting states can also act as mediators. If no agreement is reached, the International Court of Justice can be called upon.

Part IV describes all the measures that should lead to permanent protection of the waterways. The contracting states should take sensible steps to prevent damage caused by e.g. B. pollution or the introduction of non-native species are caused in advance. In addition, it obliges the contracting states to compensate for damage caused and to restore watercourses.

Part V explains what to do in emergencies that are either natural or man-made. Co-user states of the same watercourses must immediately be informed of urgent circumstances such as B. floods and other water-related problems such. B. communicable diseases.

Controversy

Although the agreement was initially approved by a large majority, it took 17 years to finally enter into force in August 2014. There are different reasons for this. Some UN member states that voted for this convention are not affected at all because of their geographic location. Other countries are still skeptical and fear that ratification will result in disadvantages.

meaning

The UN Aquatic Convention is an important political step in promoting the peaceful resolution of interstate conflicts over freshwater resources.

Within the framework of this agreement, a large number of scientific studies have been carried out over many years, which show relationships, legal regulations and problems with the international regulations of freshwater use. This knowledge is very valuable and can also be used in the future to resolve conflicts and clarify situations.