The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has declared access to clean water and sanitation to be a basic human right. A resolution was proposed by Bolivia and signed by 33 other countries. At the Assembly 121 voted in favour and none against, however 41 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, abstained from the vote.

Although the non-binding agreement places no obligations on nations to share water resources or to assist other nations in their projects financially, the Assembly called on United Nations Member States and international organisations to offer funding, technology and other resources to help poorer states provide basic facilities. UN figures state that 884 million people live without safe drinking water and that up to 2.9 billion people do not have basic sanitation facilities.

"Every year, around 2 million people die from diseases caused by unsafe water and sanitation, the most of them small children, said German ambassador Peter Wittig. A lack of clean water can result in diarrhea, the second highest cause of death amongst children.

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