The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), signed in Helsinki in 1992 (hereinafter referred to as the UN Water Convention), was promulgated in Hungary by Government Decree 130/2000. (VII. 11.). The UN Water Convention is a framework document that includes the basic principles of transboundary cooperation and the elements of its practical implementation, which serves mostly as a basis for the conclusion of bilateral and multilateral transboundary agreements and the development of conventions for the basin (e.g. Danube River Protection Convention).
Hungary has played and continues to play an active role in the creation and ongoing operation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Water Convention. It has contributed significantly to the creation of the Water and Health Protocol, developed jointly with the World Health Organization (WHO) in connection with the convention, and the Protocol on Civil Liability, developed jointly with the UNECE Convention on Industrial Accidents with Transboundary Effects.
The Parties of the UNECE Water Convention (all contracting parties of the convention) hold a conference every three years. Due to our involvement in transboundary issues and based on our country’s international water diplomacy efforts, the Government undertook to host the 7th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the UNECE Water Convention in 2015. By hosting the conference, Hungary also took on the chairmanship for the following three years. During terms, the chairman represents the convention at international events, chairs the “Bureau” meetings and the next conference of the contracting parties.
7th Session of the Meeting of the Parties, the assumption of the Hungarian chairmanship
17-19 November 2015, Budapest, Hungary
https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/MOP7/Information_Flyer_Water_Convention_MoP7.pdf
The most significant achievement of the Hungarian chairmanship between 2016 and 2018 was the practical implementation of the global opening of the convention.
Due to the gradually increasing awareness and interest among Asian, African, and Latin American countries, the UNECE Water Convention was amended in 2013 to allow all UN member states to join. In practice, this became possible in 2016 with Ukraine’s ratification in 2015, thus becoming the UN Water Convention.
In the work plans for the implementation of the UN Water Convention for the periods 2019-2021 and 2022-2024, Hungary played a leading and co-leading role in promoting the convention, water allocation, and facilitating the conclusion of transboundary agreements. Hungary participated in national and regional workshops in Namibia, Ghana, Panama, Chad, and Iraq as part of its “in-kind” contribution to promoting global openness, facilitating the accession of new countries, and seeking synergies with strategic partnerships and other international conventions. Among non-UNECE countries, Chad was the first to join in 2018, followed by Senegal (2018), Ghana (2020), Guinea-Bissau (2021), Togo (2021), Cameroon (2022), Nigeria (2023), Iraq (2023), Namibia (2023), Panama (2023), and Gambia (2023). The UNECE Transboundary Convention currently has 51 member countries and the European Union.
8th Session of the Meeting of the Parties, first held conference after global opening
10-12 October 2018, Astana, Kazakhstan
Hungary led the development of a handbook on international water allocation and guidelines for promoting transboundary cooperation (both documents were adopted at the 2021 Conference of the Parties).
Handbook on Water Allocation in a Transboundary Context | UNECE
We initiated a “twinning” partnership with Ghana and Zambia in order to support accession to the UN Water Convention and its implementation following the accession.
“Twinning” meeting in Ghana (December 2023, Accra) and Zambia (April 2024, Livingstone)
Hungary, in cooperation with Germany, organized a regional expert meeting in Budapest on November 7-8, 2023, with the aim of promoting agreements necessary for transboundary cooperation.
A glimpse into the November 2023 workshop in Budapest
In 2022, Hungary took over the chairmanship of the Water and Health Protocol for a period of three years, which will end in November 2025.
Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health | UNECE
Hungary will support the implementation of the work plan adopted at the 10th Session of the Meeting of the Parties in 2024 (23-25 October, Ljubljana) with €20,000 per year and expert activities. Within the areas of the work plan, we continue to be co-leaders in the accession processes (with Finland, France, and Ghana), the development of transboundary agreements (with Germany), water pollution prevention (with Senegal), and international water allocation (with Namibia). We continue to serve as co-chair of the Integrated Water Resources Management Working Group and the Joint Expert Working Group on the Industrial Accident Convention, and we also participate in the work of the Steering Committee’s “Bureau”.
Water Convention website
The Water Convention and the Protocol on Water and Health | UNECE
https://unece.org/environment-policy/water
Work program:
https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2025-06/ECE_MP.WAT_75_Add.1_ENG.pdf
Photo and text by Péter Kovács, Senior Advisor, OVF