Center for Global Law and Justice Documents the US Water Crisis
Martha Davis (left) and Annaliese Woltornist ’28
Northeastern Law’s Center for Global Law and Justice (CGLJ) has released a revised edition of its water primer, The Human Right to Water in the United States: A Primer for Lawyers and Community Leaders, updated by Annaliese Woltornist ’28 and Professor Martha Davis, faculty co-director of CGLJ. The primer examines the legal foundations of the human right to water, the obstacles to realizing that right and case studies of water advocacy across the United States — from Detroit and Flint, Michigan, to Lowndes County, Alabama. An accompanying post by Woltornist on the Human Rights at Home Blog surveys the current landscape, documenting both the growing threats to water access and the state and local advocacy pushing back.
“During the past year, water challenges have only accelerated as the current administration has turned a blind eye to the issues of water and sanitation access that communities face,” said Davis. “The result is a cascade of avoidable harms, jeopardizing health and housing and undermining communities’ well-being.”
The primer and blog post were released in connection with a CGLJ addendum filed with the UN Human Rights Council documenting federal rollbacks on water and environmental justice. The filing updates CGLJ’s April 2025 submission after the US failed to appear for its Universal Periodic Review in November 2025, now rescheduled for November 2026.
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