The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) held an organizational session in preparation for the 2026 UN Water Conference. In a bid to transcend traditional approaches, calls for action heard during the meeting included resilient infrastructure, investments in technology driving innovation, and sustainable financing mechanisms to support long-term solutions for equitable access to resources and economic and environmental resilience.
Held pursuant to UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution A/RES/78/327, the organizational session convened “to make updated recommendations to the General Assembly on the themes of the interactive dialogues” that will occur during the 2026 UN Water Conference in support of achieving SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation).
The co-hosts of the Conference, Senegal and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), chaired the meeting.
In his opening remarks, Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, Senegal, described the 2026 UN Water Conference as a “decisive moment for humankind” and an opportunity to transform collective commitments into tangible actions. Noting that around 10% of the world’s population live in countries facing high or critical water stress levels, Dieye said 40% of Africa’s population have no access to drinking water and more than 70% lack basic sanitation services. He called for an immediate, collective, and ambitious response to the water challenge by turning challenges into opportunities and “words into deeds” at the 2026 UN Water Conference and identified infrastructure, equity and justice, and sustainability as key areas for action.
Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, UAE, said the organizational session marks “the official kickoff of a process that must lead to a bold, transformative, and lasting global action on water.” Lamenting that water has been undervalued, underfunded, and underprioritized on the global agenda, he reiterated the UAE’s commitment to “driving innovative, inclusive, and scalable solutions [by] leveraging finance, technology, and partnerships to deliver real impact for people and the planet.”
Stressing that water “is not just a challenge” but the key to solving other problems, Balalaa called for “a fundamental shift in the way we prioritize, invest in, and manage water resources” to accelerate global water action. He urged participants to “push boundaries, reimagine solutions, and scale impact… for today and for generations to come.”
Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and 2026 UN Water Conference Secretary-General, emphasized that water influences economic, social, and environmental well-being “through the entire sustainable development landscape.” He said the 2026 UN Water Conference will reinforce global commitments to clean water and sanitation for all, with interactive dialogues providing a platform to discuss innovative solutions, partnerships, and investments.
Junhua announced DESA’ launch of a multistakeholder online consultation to collect further inputs on possible themes for the interactive dialogues, indicating that all contributions will be made available in a background note.
Retno Marsudi, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Water, described 2023 as a groundbreaking year for water, with the second UN Water Conference convening almost 50 years after the first UN Water Conference in 1977. “This is the moment for water,” she said in reference to the third UN Water Conference.
Marsudi outlined some of the water challenges, including increasing water-related disasters exacerbated by climate change, and urged participants to work five, six times harder to deliver concrete action for our water. In discussing the themes of the interactive dialogues, she encouraged delegates to keep in mind the need for the 2026 UN Water Conference to:
- contribute to the environmental, social, and economic development goals;
- catalyze game-changer innovations in technology, and partnerships to resolve the financing and capacity challenges affecting most developing countries;
- be action-oriented; and
- ensure that water remains a priority going forward.
Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Chair of UN-Water, underscored the need to ensure that the Conference is “a breakthrough point in time in our efforts to accelerate towards [SDG] 6.” Citing the latest data from the UN-Water Integrated Monitoring Initiative on SDG 6, showing that “we are falling short of all eight SDG 6 targets,” he highlighted the UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation, which aims to mobilize the entire UN system to ensure an ambitious 2026 UN Water Conference.
Participants then heard from Member States, the UN, other intergovernmental organizations, and stakeholders regarding their priorities for the themes of the interactive dialogues. According to a DESA news release, “[a]s discussions ended, the commitment towards concrete solutions that can ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all was clear.” “The road to 2026 is not just about preparation – it is about action, implementation and delivering real impact for those who need it most,” it notes.
The organizational session took place at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on 3 March 2025. According to a letter from the Co-Chairs of the 2026 UN Water Conference, scheduled to convene from 2-4 December 2026, proposals for themes of the interactive dialogues will be compiled in a background note by the Secretary-General of the Conference, Li Junhua, in consultation with Member States, and with the support of UN-Water and relevant UN entities. The themes will be adopted during a one-day meeting, to be convened by the UNGA President at a later date “to promote the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 and to agree on the themes of the interactive dialogues.”
The DESA global online stakeholder consultation on the themes of the interactive dialogues of the 2026 UN Water Conference is open until 11 April 2025. [2026 UN Water Conference] [Organizational Session] [Organizational Session Programme] [Letter from UNGA President Announcing Organizational Session] [SDG Knowledge Hub Sources]
