International Law, State Sovereignty and transboundary waters

Aguinaldo Alemar, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

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Abstract

The current status of transboundary water resources is to claim a more proactive posture by the sovereign states, mainly those having large reserves of fresh water shared. This new posture involves actions between the states as a key condition to the success of any enterprise that aims to protect the environment. It intends to prove that other actors - national and international - are already mobilizing themselves to consider water as a "common heritage of mankind" and, as such, water must be considered above the classical concepts of sovereignty and territory, excelling by the humanitarian interest that it arouses. At the end, the creation of an International Organization (intergovernmental) for a group management of transboundary water resources is proposed.