![\"WaterDay\"](\"http:\/\/www.une-sen.org\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/WaterDay.png\")
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Last Friday, water rights were top of the agenda at the human rights committee meeting. Creative juices were flowing as the members around the boardroom table offered their ideas for a campaign aimed at \u00a0promoting awareness of water as a human right.<\/p>\n
During our 2014 convention, delegates voted in favour of a resolution to \u201cfund the continuation of the water rights campaign adopted at the 2013 human rights conference.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when it comes to water, there are a ton of worrisome issues; there are countless communities in our own country who don\u2019t have access to clean water, water is increasingly being privatized, major cities are seeing boil advisories…. And that doesn\u2019t even include issues in the developing world.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of interest and discussion around the table,\u201d said Geoff Ryan, national vice-president for human rights. \u201cPeople felt very passionate about the issue; it\u2019s a topic that\u2019s very important to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
And for some, the issue hit particularly close to home. Jacqueline Nanali, who is a regional human rights representative in Manitoba, shared her experience with the boil advisory that affected all of Winnipeg, late last January.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone was running to the stores to pick up bottled water,\u201d said Nanali. \u201cSome chiefs, from nearby First Nations communities came back and said \u2018well, this is what happens in our communities; this is how we live.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s important for us to realize just how important water is. For me, losing basic access to water and having to boil water all day just for a simple glass of water to drink or a cup of tea… or just to brush my teeth; it really opened my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city of Winnipeg issued the boil advisory January 27<\/a> when the presence of E. coli was detected in the water supply; it was lifted 48 hours later. For two days, Winnipeggers were forced to boil water each time they needed to drink, cook meals, or make infant formula.<\/p>\n