<P> The Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, commonly referred to as the UN Watercourses Convention, is an international treaty, adopted by the United Nations on 21 May 1997, pertaining to the uses and conservation of all waters that cross international boundaries, including both surface and groundwater . "Mindful of increasing demands for water and the impact of human behavior", the UN drafted the document to help conserve and manage water resources for present and future generations . From the time of its drafting, the Convention took more than 17 years to enter into force on 17 August 2014 . With the treaty having been ratified by just 36 states, the majority of countries, especially the key ones, remain outside its scope . The convention, however, is regarded as an important step in establishing international law governing water . </P> <P> In northern hemisphere autumn of 2008, the UN began reviewing a law proposed by the International Law Commission to serve similar purpose to the unratified document, but was considering adopting the proposal as guideline rather than immediately attempting to draft it into law . </P> <P> The International Law Commission (ILC) was requested by the United Nations in 1970 to prepare viable international guidelines for water use comparable to The Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers, which had been approved by the International Law Association in 1966 but which failed to address aquifers that were not connected to a drainage basin . After the ILC completed its project in 1994, the UN Sixth Committee drafted the Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses based on their proposal . The General Assembly adopted the document on 21 May 1997 with only three dissenting in a vote of 106 . </P> <P> The document sought to impose upon UN member states an obligation to consider the impact of their actions on other states with an interest in a water resource and to equitably share the resource, mindful of variant factors such as population size and availability of other resources . </P>

Un convention on the non-navigational uses of international watercourses