Role and relevance of the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention in resolving transboundary water disputes in the Nile

Abstract

International water law has played an important role in the management of international watercourses by setting principles that enabled a number of watercourse States to address disputes over their shared fresh water resources. In this regard, the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the UN Watercourses Convention (UNWC) on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International in May 1997 was a milestone in the codification and development of universal principles governing international watercourses. The influence of the UNWC is demonstrated in many international watercourses, in particular, the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA). This article argues that despite its non-entry into force, the Convention can help to narrow down the rift between upstream and downstream riparian countries on a number of substantive and procedural issues. In support of this argument, the article examines the content of the Nile River Basin CFA vis-à-vis basic principles of the UNWC in order to exhibit the significance of the rules of the Convention in resolving some seemingly intractable transboundary water disputes in one of the world's largest rivers. However, the failure of the Convention to acquire sufficient number of ratification for its entry into force, 16 years after its adoption had led pessimists to doubt its role as a functioning international instrument in providing guidance in resolving transboundary water agreements. The article makes recommendations for strengthening the applicability of the Convention as an emerging treatise.

Keywords:

• International water law
• the UN Watercourses Convention
• Nile River Basin
• cooperative framework agreement
• Nile treaties
• equitable
• reasonable
• utilization
• no-significant harm
• planned measures
• dispute resolution

Acknowledgements

This article is mainly based on the research (unpublished) conducted by the author at the IHP-HELP Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science, University of Dundee and on abstract and presentation at the International Conference on the Status and Future of the World's Large Rivers, 11–14 April, 2011, Vienna, Austria. The author thanks Prof. Dr Patricia Wouters, Dr Alistair -Rieu-Clarke, Dr Sarah Hendry and Prof. DI Dr Helmut Habersack for their supports.