From Dakar to Abu Dhabi and Beyond

Strengthening Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement in UN Water Conferences

On 8 July 2026, the German WASH Network, ANEW (African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation), WHH (Welthungerhilfe), Germany, Mexico and UN DESA jointly hosted the official High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) side event “From Dakar to Abu Dhabi and Beyond: Strengthening Future Stakeholder Engagement in UN Water Processes” at the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations in New York. The event brought together representatives of Member States, including UNWC 2026 co-hosts Senegal and UAE, the United Nations, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, youth networks, women’s groups, researchers and practitioners working on global water governance. In total, more than 70 participants contributed their insights and perspectives in an engaging interactive workshop format.

Meaningful and inclusive stakeholder participation is widely recognised as essential for addressing the global water crisis and strengthening international water governance. Building on the efforts from the One-Day Stakeholder Meeting, connected to the High-Level Preparatory Meeting in Dakar earlier this year, and drawing on practical experience from participation models established under different multilateral processes, the side event explored how stakeholder engagement can be strengthened both in the upcoming UN Water Conference 2026 in Abu Dhabi and beyond.

The event aimed to identify practical pathways towards a more structured, inclusive and effective stakeholder engagement mechanism in global water governance. The 90-minute interactive session opened with remarks from representatives of Mexico, Senegal and UN DESA, followed by ignition inputs highlighting lessons from existing engagement mechanisms. Participants then worked in facilitated roundtable discussions focusing on governance, financing, representation, accessibility, influence channels and accountability before concluding with a reporting-back session and key takeways.

Contributors

Opening 

  • Enrique Delgado Ríos, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations 
  • Dr. Mohamed C.B.C. Diatta, Sherpa for the 2026 UN Water Conference, Republic of Senegal 
  • Naiara da Costa Chaves, Senior Sustainable Development Officer, UN DESA

Ignition Inputs 

  • Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation 
  • Tania Martinez-Cruz, Indigenous Peoples Focal Point, Global Environment Facility 
  • Polina Nesterenko, Youth & Children Focal Point, Sendai Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism 
  • Shahrukh Nasim Khan, North America Focal Point Youth Caucus, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification  
  • Kathryn E. Pharr, Independent Consultant on Gender Inclusion 

Table Discussion Facilitators: 

  • Johannes Rueck, German WASH Network 
  • Elizabeth A. Koch, Women in Water Diplomacy Network 
  • Ingrid Timboe, Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA) 
  • James Dumpert, Sanitation and Water for All 

Key Takeaways 

  • Sebastian Lang, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Germany 

Closing Remarks 

  • Shaima Gargash, Director of Energy and Sustainability Affairs, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

Moderation:

  • Thilo Panzerbieter, Chair, German WASH Network

Outcomes and Key Messages

The discussions confirmed a strong consensus among participants: the successful stakeholder engagement model tested during the Preparatory Meeting in Dakar should not remain a one-off experience. Participants called for a shift from ad hoc and conference-centred consultation towards genuine co-creation through a permanent, inclusive, accountable, and adequately resourced engagement mechanism. If future UN Water Conferences and related multilateral processes are to achieve their full potential, stakeholder engagement has to be systematically engrained at its core.  

As we look towards and beyond Abu Dhabi, the world needs a permanent intergovernmental process on water, including regular UN Water Conferences, to accelerate progress towards universal access to water and strengthen accountability.

Seven Key Recommendations

While participants highlighted persistent barriers to effective participation, they also identified concrete building blocks to systematically strengthen stakeholder engagement in Multilateral Water governance. 
The following recommendations were jointly developed during the session:

  1. Mandate
    Mandate a permanent, institutionally embedded mechanism within the UN water architecture, with clear responsibilities across conference cycles.  
  1. Governance & Coordination
    Create a hybrid governance model combining self-organized constituencies with professional UN-level coordination, transparent roles, and clear accountability.
  1. Inclusion
    Ensure meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples, youth, women, local communities, Global South stakeholders, and other underrepresented groups through transparent selection, safeguards, stakeholder mapping, and rights-holder recognition.
  1. Participation
    Institutionalize continuous engagement before, during, and after conferences through global, regional, national, digital, and in-person processes that enable co-creation, not only consultation.  
  1. Influence
    Create transparent pathways showing how stakeholder inputs shape agenda-setting, negotiations, outcomes, implementation, and review.  
  1. Accountability
    Track commitments, recommendations, implementation, and feedback through agreed indicators, periodic reporting, and learning loops to demonstrate how stakeholder engagement strengthens multilateral outcomes. 
  1. Financing
    Establish predictable pooled or trust-fund financing for coordination, constituency engagement, participation, consultations, and capacity strengthening, especially for underrepresented groups and sectors.

Next Steps

The findings will be shared with Germany and Mexico, the Co-Chairs of Interactive Dialogue E “Water in Multilateral Processes”, to inform ongoing discussions on strengthening stakeholder engagement within future UN water governance arrangements. The online consultation under Interactive Dialogue E remains open until 9 August 2026 and provides an opportunity for stakeholders to submit additional input and recommendations.  Please note that only one input per Member State / organization is accepted.

Click HERE to participate

Stakeholders are also continuing discussions towards a Stakeholder Declaration for the 2026 UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi, setting out shared priorities and expectations for meaningful participation before, during and beyond the Conference. 

Download the full outcome report, including the detailed input summaries and recommendations and event agenda, here: 

We thank the co-hosts of the #2026UNWaterConference, Senegal and the UAE, for embracing stakeholder engagement as a core pillar of the process and supporting this endeavor from the outset and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development for financially supporting our engagement. 

With kind support of