[MUSIC] [MUSIC] In 1972, three small West Africa States set up a river basin commission which is perhaps, still today, the most advanced example of cooperation over an international river. The three states are Senegal, Mali and Mauritania. In 1972, they decided to conclude the Statute of the Senegal River containing rules on how to share and manage the waters of the Senegal River. They also established in 1972, to implement this Statute, an organization called the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River, which is commonly known as the OMVS. The OMVS is an excellent model of how an international river or an international river basin should be shared. And then, to guarantee true sharing, the OMVS constantly innovated. In each case, principles or rules were formulated or mechanisms were put in place that were not traditional or common mechanisms in the realm of international water regulation. One of the first rules of sharing, already in place in 1972 and a rule that is rare in international practice, was the rule of prior approval. The OMVS operates on the basis of this prior approval rule. This states that a State can not authorize work on the Senegal River or conduct an activity on the Senegal River that could impact the river without the prior approval of the other States. So, for example, at once time, Senegal wanted to use the waters of the Senegal River to irrigate the "fossil valleys" in Senegal. They wanted to do this unilaterally, and the other States opposed it leaving Senegal with no option other than to drop the irrigation project. And the OMVS has worked like that for over 40 years. The basis of prior approval guarantees that there is genuine sharing since each State has a right to veto the way that another State would like to use the river and as a result of this, over the years, cooperation has been consolidated within this organization. But it is not only the rule of prior approval which was innovative. In 1978, the member States of OMVS, Senegal, Mali and Mauritania, adopted a Convention on the Legal Status of Common Works. So again, there was a very new and very unique approach in international practice whereby the works and installations on the Senegal River were considered to be the joint and indivisible property of the member States of the OMVS. So even if the work takes place within Mali's terrority, it is considered to be OMVS's property as it part of this system of co-ownership, benefit sharing, cost-sharing, which strengthens the the idea of sharing and the equitable distribution and reasonable use of the Senegal River. And thus, this model of sharing, of common property, indivisible, in addition to this model of prior approval has prevented important conflicts arising between the member States of the OMVS. In the early 1990s, a small conflict occurred between Senegal and Mauritania and the two countries even stopped their diplomatic relations. But the only forum in which the two countries still cooperated was the OMVS. This was due to the fact that these mechanisms had already established prior approval, common and indivisible ownership, which means that in the end we can do nothing but cooperate. So, it shows that the OMVS has put in place true water diplomacy, autonomous and independent of other aspects of diplomacy between these member States. Today, the OMVS took another historical step. Something called an inclusive framework was put it in place. This framework enables all States bordering the Senegal River to participate in the management, protection and use of water resources. In 1972, when they set up the OMVS, (when Mali, Senegal and Mauritania set up the OMVS,) Guinea Conakry was absent. This is an upstream State which had been excluded for political reasons from the OMVS system. And so, for more than 40 years, Guinea was isolated from this system but from 2000 onwards, thanks to the World Bank and other donors, negotiations occurred which allowed Guinea to become a member of the OMVS. And today, we have a truly inclusive framework. The organization includes all four States and cooperates on the basis of the fundamental principles of water sharing. And to confirm this strengthened dynamic, a new agreement, a new legal instrument was adopted in 2002, the famous Senegal River Water Charter. This charter is a pioneer. It is the first water charter for Africa and it inspired other river basins in Africa. It is also the very first water charter and the spirit, the philosophy behind the water charter, reinforces what is called the community of interest. So an extra step in sharing is taken. It's not just about sharing, but about creating a genuine community of interest based on the perfect equality of all riparian States who use of the river. It is also a community of interest which excludes any privilege of one riparian over another. So this is an additional step in terms of sharing water, and this is what makes it possible to set up what is called solidarity within water resource management and it is this that the OMVS model is based on, solidarity, a community of interest made up of these member States and therefore one could even say that the traditional perception of the principles of shared international watercourses have been surpassed. MUSIC