Geneva Academy Talk – Right to Water: Humanization Trends in International Water Law and Contemporary Challenges

Global water governance faces unprecedented pressures from climate change, pollution, demographic growth, and systemic over-extraction. Concurrently, the weaponization and destruction of water infrastructure in armed conflicts pose severe threats to civilian survival and public health.

The humanization of international water law emphasizes the fundamental human need for freshwater, interpreting established norms and developing novel principles and approaches that integrate individuals and non-state actors into water management. This marks an evolving trend from traditional, interstate frameworks toward a regime prioritizing individual and collective needs.

In conversation with Laurence Boisson de Chazournes and Mara Tignino, we will assess the impact of the humanization trend by examining the parameters of the right to water, the Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure safeguarding water in armed conflict, shifting trends in compliance and dispute settlement involving shared water resources, and critical legal gaps regarding gender equality ahead of World Water Day 2026.