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COMMUNITIES WORLD-WIDE CHALLENGE TRANSNATIONAL WATER COMPANY, SUEZ, AT ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS' MEETING Corporate Accountability Activists Charge Water Giant with Exploiting Water Resources For Immediate Release: Contacts: Paris, France--As Suez holds its annual shareholders' meeting today, people around the world are challenging the water giant's irresponsible and dangerous practices. Suez--one of the world's largest private suppliers of water and sanitation services--is positioned to profit from water scarcity and to make the global water crisis worse. Suez's documented history of price gouging and negligent management has left many people with dramatic increases on their water bills and thousands of others without access to potable water, from Atlanta, Georgia to El Alto, Bolivia. Communities around the world are joining a growing international movement to protect people's right to water and access to water services. Community leaders and corporate accountability activists from across the globe traveled to Paris to deliver powerful statements of concern to CEO Gérard Mestrallet at today's meeting, while peaceful demonstrations take place at Suez facilities around the world. "Water is a basic human right and people's lack of access to water is an emerging global crisis. The United Nations estimates that by the year 2025, two-thirds of the world's population will not have access to enough water if current trends are not reversed. Suez is a leader in an industry that is turning a right into a commodity. Our members are joining with people around the world to reject Suez's abuses," says Corporate Accountability International Executive Director Kathryn Mulvey. Under Suez's management, water prices often rise while water-system maintenance declines and infrastructure deteriorates. Suez aggressively pursues government contracts to manage public water systems which are heavily subsidized and require minimal investment. Such agreements enable Suez to monopolize local water systems, and then raise prices to make a profit. This practice frequently denies thousands of people access to potable water and exposes many to grave health risks. In the US, activists are delivering a sign-on letter to the CEO of United Water--Suez's US subsidiary. Corporate Accountability International, Public Citizen, Agricultural Missions, Inc. and RED UMAVIDA organized the delivery at the US facility today. Activists in cities around the world including, Buenos Aires, La Paz, London, Montevideo, Manila, Rome and Santiago, are also protesting Suez's abuses today. Corporate Accountability International has joined the growing number of labor and environmental groups who are challenging Suez's abuses, and is highlighting its failure to meet the Standards of Political Conduct for Corporations. # # # Corporate Accountability International, formerly Infact, is a membership organization that protects people by waging and winning campaigns challenging irresponsible and dangerous corporate actions around the world. For over 25 years, we've forced corporations--like Nestlé, General Electric and Philip Morris/Altria--to stop abusive actions. For more information visit www.stopcorporateabuse.org.
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