The United Nations General Assembly designated March 22 as World Water Day with a special theme designated each year. The theme for 2024 is "Leveraging Water for Peace.”
Yet 2024 finds water being used for war rather than peace in places such as Gaza where large parts of the population have access to less than three liters of water per person per day—well below the emergency threshold of 15 liters, according to UNICEF.
UN special rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, warned that “Every hour that passes with Israel preventing the provision of safe drinking water in the Gaza strip, in brazen breach of international law, puts Gazans at risk of dying of thirst and diseases related to the lack of safe drinking water."
To learn more about the current crisis in the Holy Land, we have put together a page of resources with prayers, study material, and actions you can take. You can join us in our advocacy at Churches for Middle East Peace’s advocacy summit in Washington, DC, April 10 and 11.