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Corporate Accountability Activists Challenge Increasing Corporate Control of Water Major International Meeting to Promote the Private Water Industry Seen as Rallying Point for Movement to Protect the Human Right to Water For Immediate Release: Contacts: Mexico City--As giant corporations like Coca-Cola and Suez prepare for the Fourth World Water Forum, a major international gathering that promotes the interests of the private water industry, activists from around the world are coming together to challenge increasing corporate control of water. Corporate Accountability International is joining with peoples movements and NGOs from every region of the world in a common refrain, "Our water is not for sale." The World Water Forum opens tomorrow, March 16 and runs through March 22. Events organized to challenge the Forum are spanning this week and next. March 22 is the United Nations' World Water Day. "If corporations turn water into a profit-driven commodity, they could determine who gets it and who does not," says Corporate Accountability International Executive Director Kathryn Mulvey. "That is a frightening prospect. Instead of handing over control of water to a few giant corporations, we need to strengthen and enforce international legal instruments to protect water as a basic human right." According to the United Nations, two-thirds of the world's people won't have access to enough water by 2025. In the face of limited water supply, corporations are increasingly seeking to turn water into a profit-driven commodity. The World Water Forum is organized by the World Water Council, a think tank dominated by private water corporations. Coke, which is facing growing international pressure for draining massive amounts of water from a number of Indian communities, is a sponsor of the Fourth World Water Forum. While the challenge to water privatization builds in Mexico City, people across the US are also taking action to challenge corporate control of water. This month Corporate Accountability International is working with local activists and allies to launch the national "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign, citing bottled water as the most visible example of increasing corporate control of our water. The campaign, already involving hundreds of people in 8 major cities, is encouraging consumers to "think outside the bottle" and challenge bottled water industry giants Coke, Nestlé and Pepsi. # # # 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.
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