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Defending Water as a Human Right

Nov 14, 2025

At the 14th African and Arab Countries Regional Conference, PSI affiliates adopted a resolution rejecting the privatisation and commercialisation of water, warning that they deepen inequality, exclude communities, and undermine water as a basic human right, with particular concern for Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and the entire region. Affiliates called for water to remain under public ownership and control, and for increased public investment, an end to all privatisation efforts, and stronger union and community campaigns in support of public, people-centred water systems.

RESOLUTION #5: DEFENDING WATER AS A FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT AND PROMOTING PUBLIC SOLUTIONS 

The 14th Africa and the Arab Countries Region Conference (AFRECON) Meeting in Accra, Ghana, 11-14 November 2025 

WHEREAS the privatisation and commercialisation of water have accelerated due to neoliberal policies, including Structural Adjustment Programmes imposed since the 1980s, threatening the fundamental human rights of citizens and workers. This threat is particularly acute in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and other countries in the region; 

RECOGNISING that the privatisation of public goods such as water exacerbates inequality through corporate profiteering, the exclusion of marginalised communities, and systemic failures; 

REAFFIRMING the principle that access to clean and safe water is a fundamental human right and that water systems should remain under public ownership, financing and democratic control. 

RESOLVES to: 

  1. To outrightly condemn water privatisation initiatives, covert legislation and PPPs in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and other countries in the region. 

  2. Demand that governments prioritise investment in water through effective taxation, domestic resource mobilisation, workforce development and operational efficiency within publicly managed systems. 

  3. Strengthen PSI regional and global campaigns against water privatisation by providing direct technical support, sharing information, and developing advocacy strategies that empower communities and unions to resist the commodification of water. 

  4. Call on national governments to immediately halt all current and future efforts to privatise water services. 

  5. Call on governments to facilitate learning and adoption of the best practices in Public-Public Partnerships (PUPs) from Amsterdam and other advanced countries. 

Submitted by: Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Nigeria 




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