Article Title
Water Scarcity: Preventing Future Conflicts
Recommended Citation
Rush O'Connor,
Water Scarcity: Preventing Future Conflicts,
49 Case W. Res. J. Int'l L.
331
(2017)
Available at:
https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/jil/vol49/iss1/20
Abstract
This Note focuses on nations with shared water sources forming transboundary agreements to promote peaceful solutions and to protect people's right to water. Given the growing scarcity of water, this Note emphasizes the urgent need to create agreements. It argues that international agreements are ineffective with respect to protecting the right to water and do not create proper forums for settling disputes over water. Yet international organizations can take an active role in helping to form transboundary agreements and acting as mediators when an agreement fails. This Note then explores how transboundary agreements work and why they are better than international agreements when protecting the right to water. In particular, the Note examines two of the more successful examples--the International Joint Commission and the Indus Water Commission--and how they can serve as models for other agreements. Finally, the Note then outlines the components necessary for effective transboundary agreements, which will in turn create a safer world and protect the right to water.