Declaration read out by Charles Santiago
Aliran Monthly Vol 25 (2005): Issue 2

	We reject the perception that water is an economic good The Penang Declaration

Taking into consideration the seven principles outlined in the World Water Manifesto produced during the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India in 2004, namely:

1. Water is a common good � the trust of humanity. It belongs to all � to everyone, everywhere.



2. The human right to water is an inalienable individual and collective right.



3. The State has the prime obligations to respect, protect and fulfill this human right. It should guarantee this right without discrimination and take steps towards the full realisation of the right to water.



4. People have the prime responsibility to manage their water resources. They have the right to resist the commodification and privatisation of water.



5. Water must contribute to the strengthening of solidarity among peoples, communities, countries, genders and generations.



6. Access to water by everyone necessarily needs partnership that go beyond the domination of markets. These partnerships must be organised around transparency, accountability and peoples� participation.



7. Mechanisms for redress, reparation and rehabilitation must be established for victims of individual and collective violations against the right to water, whether by state or non-state actors.

We, concerned citizens of Malaysia gathered here on World Water Day 2005, assert that any national or international law or policy, including those relating to trade, must recognise and ensure the primacy of effective and meaningful participation of communities in the control, management and use of water.

We reject the perception that water is an economic good. Water is an integral component to the right of a certain quality of life and access to water cannot be subject to political largesse or the calculations of profit-obsessed market, whether locally or globally.

We assert that water, as a decentralised natural resource managed traditionally by people and communities directly, should instead be treated as a social and cultural good. To many of us, it is a sacred gift.

Consequently, we shall oppose privatisation policies that only serve to undermine water security.

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