Istanbul Water Tribunal, 10-14.3.2009

The Turkey Representation of the Heinrich Böll Foundation and TLA are organizing the Istanbul Water Tribunal, 10-14.3.2009.

Three cases from Turkey, one from Mexico and one from Brazil will be on the table.

A Water Tribunal will be held 10-11 March and 14 March 2009
in Istanbul with the support of and in consultation with the Tribunal
Latinoamericano del Agua (Latin American Water Tribunal) and
Heinrich Böll Stiftung.
Up until today, water has been the object of many conflicts at the
national and international levels. The construction of big dams,
the pollution of waters, drought and shortage of water, the
privatisation of water networks and resources, difficulties in access
to fresh water resources, inequalities in the access to water between
regions and countries and many similar issues have led to unresolved
conflicts both at the local/domestic and international/interstate
levels. The objective of the Water Tribunal is to contribute to the
resolution of water-related conflicts, for which no solution can be
offered within the current legal framework. Given its ethical nature,
the Water Tribunal aims to provide alternative and fair solutions
to water-related conflicts through a reinterpretation of the law.
At the same time, the Water Tribunal invites political decisionmakers
to generate solutions in this domain by drawing the public's
attention to this area.
The Tribunal Latinoamericano del Agua (Latin American Water
Tribunal) is an autonomous, independent and international
organisation with its headquarters based in Costa Rica. Its purpose
is to find new solutions to water conflicts arising in Latin America
on the basis of ethical values. The Tribunal Latinoamericano del
Agua strives to protect water and to guarantee the access to water
as a human right for present and future generations. The Tribunal
determines whether there is an infringement of rights in projects
generally on the basis of an evaluation of the said projects under
the provisions of national and international legislation or contracts 

In case of any questions, please contact:
Ulrike Dufner: udufner@boell-tr.org or

Nükhet Ogan: nogan@boell-tr.org

Links:
http://watertribunal.blogspot.com/

http://bianet.org/english/kategori/english/112921/erdogan-and-merkel-will-be-indicted-in-the-water-tribunal-in-istanbul

http://www.france24.com/en/20090310-leaders-trial-water-tribunal-istanbul

http://www.waterconserve.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=120871