The “2018 Brasília Declaration of Judges on Water Justice”: The Role of Courts in the Implementation of SDG 6 and Other Water-related Goals and Targets

With the adoption of UN General Assembly Resolution A/76/300 (July 2022), recognizing the Human Right to right to a “clean, health and sustainable environment,” a critical foundation in International Law has been provided for the stewardship of water. The urgency of global care for water resources is underscored by the UN Environment Programme’s synthesis report, Making Peace with Nature.

Issues of water stewardship are increasingly adjudicated in courts around the world. At an official side-event for the 2023 UN Water Conference, on 18 March 2023, leading judges discuss the legal norms for water. “The “2018 Brasília Declaration of Judges on Water Justice”: The Role of Courts in the Implementation of SDG 6 and Other Water-related Goals and Targets.” This side-event was sponsored by The Global Judicial Institute on the Environment (GJIE), in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, International Association of Judges (IAJ), IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), UNEP Law Division, and International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL).

The Brasilia Declaration of Judges on Water Justice, was presented at the Conference of Judges and Prosecutors on Water Justice at the 8th World Water Forum in Brasilia (Brazil) from 18-23 March 2018.
The complete text of the Declaration is available at:
http://www2.ecolex.org/server2neu.php/libcat/docs/LI/MON-093474.pdf

See also the ICEL Briefing On Strengthening Cooperation for International Environmental Law, with the Permanent Missions of Costa Rica and France:
https://law.pace.edu/global-center-environmental-legal-studies/paceicel-un-side-event

You can watch the full side-event here: