The world water crisis: ramifications of politics trumping basic responsibilities of the international community

Abstract

The international community has limited support for Third World countries that apply politically unacceptable measures to their water crises. For political reasons, the community also selectively dismisses international instruments governing military actions, the United Nations Charter and the International Law on Water, worsening the crises. The Middle East conflict offers testimony where instruments have been continuously violated, allowing expropriation of the water of weaker nations and groups. Israel, with a population twice that of the Palestinian territories, uses 95% of the fresh water utilized in Historic Palestine, leaving 5% for the Palestinians. Though alarmed with Aral Sea conditions, the community ignores the polluted lower Jordan River, the declining Dead Sea and the destruction of the Palestine aquifers. Middle East agreements will set precedents for addressing international water crises. The community must reverse its past silence and provide equitable, effective reallocation of the Middle East's resources. It cannot afford to leave a destabilizing legacy.