Chloé Maurel Created in 1950 and bringing together 187 Member States today, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations. As the successor to the International Meteorological Organization, founded in 1873, it now brings together almost all the countries of the world around an essential mission: coordinating international cooperation in the fields of meteorology, climate, hydrology and atmospheric observation. Its role is to ensure the rapid exchange of meteorological data, establish common scientific standards, develop early warning systems and provide essential expertise for understanding climate change. ...

In March 2023, the United Nations Water Conference brought together some 10,000 representatives of UN member states, NGOs and businesses in New York, and called for the appointment of a UN Special Envoy on Water* to address the urgent need to ensure greater respect for the human right to this essential resource. This imperative is underpinned by the UN General Assembly resolution adopted on 28 July 2010, recognizing “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights”. Indeed, water, one of the Earth’s natural resources, is not just another commodity, and given its vital importance to humankind, it is only fitting that it should be considered a global public good, a common good. ...