MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2001

International water conference ends with march in support of abducted water activist and indigenous leader

(VANCOUVER) On the closing day of an international conference dedicated to gaining recognition of water as a fundamental human right, water activists and experts from around the world joined a youth march to the Colombian consulate demanding information about the disappearance of Colombian indigenous leader and water activist Kimy Pernia Domico. Mr. Pernia was scheduled to lead a discussion on water and indigenous rights at the "Water for People and Nature" conference held this weekend by the Council of Canadians. He was abducted at gunpoint early last month.

"The disappearance of Kimy highlights the pressure on the developing world, on the poor and on First Nations to hand over their water resources for private benefit, no matter the cost. We are here in Canada with delegates from over 30 countries to push back, to protect the world's water from the corporate forces that want to profit from it, and today we're doing this in Kimy's name," said Maude Barlow, chair of the Council of Canadians.

The march concluded three days of discussions by over 750 activists and experts from 30 countries aimed at stopping the privatization, bulk export and diversion of water throughout the world and establishing an international network to protect water as a basic human right.

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