2026 UN Water Conference Stakeholders
Sat 08 Nov 2025, 12.28 am
General
In accordance with paragraph 4g of A/RES/78/327, the 2026 United Nations Water Conference to Accelerate the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, should involve all relevant stakeholders, bringing together Governments, the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, other interested international bodies, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the private sector, philanthropic organizations and other actors to assess challenges and opportunities relating to, as well as support further action to accelerate the implementation of, Sustainable Development Goal 6 and the water-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda;
Participation of representatives from non-governmental organizations, major groups and other relevant stakeholders at the 2026 UN Water Conference is guided by A/RES/78/327.
Opportunities for stakeholder’s participation in the preparations for and during the 2026 UN Water Conference will be posted on this webpage.
Stakeholders Participation
Participation of representatives from non-governmental organizations, major groups and other relevant stakeholders at the 2026 UN Water Conference is guided by A/RES/78/327.
Accredited Organizations
Organizations that fall under the following categories will be able to request registration to attend the 2026 UN Water Conference and its preparatory meeting:
Non-governmental organizations and major groups identified in Agenda 21 and other stakeholders in consultative status with ECOSOC. You can check if your organization has consultative status with ECOSOC here.
Organizations that were accredited to any of the following previous United Nations’ conferences (check the consolidated list here):
World Summit on Sustainable Development
the United Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028,
the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
- the intergovernmental conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction,
the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks
the Review Conference on the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks,
the international meeting entitled “Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity”.
the 2017 and 2022 United Nations Conferences to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development and
- United Nations conferences on the sustainable development of small island developing States (SIDS):
- Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, 26 April-6 May 1994, Bridgetown, Barbados;
- International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, 10-14 January 2005, Port Louis, Mauritius; and/or
- Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, 1-4 September 2014, Apia, Samoa.
- 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States, 27 – 30 May 2024, St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
Special Accreditation for Non-Governmental Organizations and Other Stakeholders
As guided by resolution A/RES/78/327other relevant non-governmental organizations, including civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector and philanthropic organizations whose work is relevant to the Conference and are not in consultative status with ECOSOC or accredited to the previous United Nations Conferences mentioned above, must receive special accreditation in order to participate in the Conference and the preparatory meeting as observers.
First Round of Special Accreditation - CLOSED - Final List now published
[NEW!] The President of the General Assembly has drawn up the list of recommended organizations and submitted it to Member States for their consideration on a non-objection basis.
Check the list of approved organizations (1st Round) here.
Once an organization or entity receives special accreditation, it will be able to register representatives to participate at the 2026 UN Water Conference and its preparatory meeting - when registration for those events opens for this category of participants.
A second round of special accreditation will be conducted in early 2026.
Webinars
Background
The high-level 2026 United Nations Water Conference to Accelerate the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all will be held in the United Arab Emirates from 2–4 December 2026, co-hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates.
The 2026 UN Water Conference will be comprised of plenary sessions and six interactive dialogues (A/RES/78/327). The Conference secretariat, UN-DESA, will prepare a background note on potential themes of the interactive dialogues, based on the inputs of Member States, the UN system, and a wide range of other stakeholders.
For more background information on the Conference, please see: https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/water2026.
Multi-Stakeholder Informative Webinar on the 2026 UN Water Conference
On 18 March, UNDESA organized a Multi-Stakeholder Informative Webinar to share updated information about the 2026 UN Water Conference with all stakeholders, and to offer an opportunity to build momentum towards the Conference preparations. The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the UN and the Deputy Ambassador of the Republic of Senegal to the UN, as co-hosts of the Conference, shared their vision for the Conference. Ms. Retno L.P. Marsudi, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Water, delivered a video message with a strong call to action for SDG6. The webinar also featured a presentation on stakeholder engagement opportunities, including on awareness-raising and creating space. Participants were informed about the open call for inputs to the 2026 UN Water Conference Global Online Stakeholder Consultation on themes for the Interactive Dialogues, which will remain open until 11 April 2025. A total of 1007 people registered to join the webinar, 862 joined live and it was also livestreamed through the DESA Sustainable Development YouTube. Participants engaged in the discussion by responding to interactive polls throughout the webinar, as shown below.
Sign up here to receive regular updates and information about the 2026 UN Water Conference.
Online Consultations
Second Global Online Stakeholder Consultation: Inputs For The Interactive Dialogues Concept Papers - CLOSED
Working closely with UN-Water, the Secretariat is preparing concept papers for each of the Interactive Dialogues of the 2026 UN Water Conference. Member States are currently being consulted to provide their inputs.
In parallel, to ensure meaningful and substantive engagement of stakeholders in preparation for the 2026 UN Water Conference, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, persons with disabilities, the private sector and philanthropic organizations, and other actors were invited to contribute their views, comments and inputs on the Concept Papers of the Interactive Dialogues through a second global online consultation. Contributions may have included relevant, up-to-date data, analysis, and good practices related to advancing the implementation of SDG 6 and its targets, as well as interlinkages with other SDGs and the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework (financing, data and information, capacity development, innovation, and governance).
The online consultation will also serve to promote broad and participatory engagement for the 2026 UN Water Conference. It will complement and feed into other on-going processes for stakeholder participation.
The deadline for contributions was 17 October 2025. A summary report will be made available soon.
Learn more here: https://sdgs.un.org/basic-page/2026-un-water-conference-second-global-online-stakeholder-consultation-inputs
READ THE SUMMARY REPORT HERE
Summary Report: 2026 UN Water Conference Global Online Stakeholder Consultation: Themes of the Interactive Dialogues
Non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, persons with disabilities, the private sector and philanthropic organizations, and other actors were invited to contribute inputs on the themes for the Interactive Dialogues of the 2026 UN Water Conference through a global online stakeholder consultation. They were asked to indicate which Interactive Dialogue themes from the UN 2023 Water Conference remain relevant, propose amendments to the existing themes or revised titles, suggest additional themes, and share a message to world leaders.
Meeting of the PGA and Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue
2026 United Nations Water Conference
Meeting of the President of the General Assembly and Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue
9 July 2025, UNHQ, New York
Registration for accredited stakeholders is closed.
The President of the United Nations General Assembly convened a one-day meeting on Wednesday, 9 July 2025 in the General Assembly Hall to promote the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 and to agree on the themes of interactive dialogues for the Conference. More information is available here. Related events included a multistakeholder interactive session (3 pm – 6 pm on 9 July) for Member States, UN System and other stakeholders, and a stakeholder brainstorm (10 am – 1 pm on 10 July). The 10 July meeting provided an additional opportunity for stakeholder engagement, which is a priority for the Conference co-hosts.
Registration for Accredited stakeholders is now closed!
Participation of representatives from non-governmental organizations, major groups and other relevant stakeholders at the 2026 UN Water Conference is guided by A/RES/78/327.
Non-governmental organizations, major groups and other relevant stakeholder organizations that fall under the categories indicated here were able to request for registration to attend the 2026 UN Water preparatory meeting in person.
Stakeholder engagement highlights from each preparatory event are summarized in the documents below:
9 July 2025 - Summary of Member States Interventions and References to Stakeholder Engagement
9 July 2025 - Multi-Stakeholder Session - Summary of Interventions and Recommendations
10 July 2025 - Summary of Reflections and Recommendations from Stakeholders
Informal Summary
The Stakeholder Engagement Informal Summary 
of the 9–10 July 2025 Preparatory Meetings provides an overview of how stakeholders contributed to discussions ahead of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference. It captures how civil society organizations, youth, Indigenous Peoples, academia, the private sector, and other actors engaged with Member States on the themes of the Interactive Dialogues and broader conference priorities.
The summary highlights key messages, proposals, and perspectives shared by stakeholders, underscoring their active role in shaping an inclusive preparatory process and ensuring that diverse voices inform the road toward the 2026 UN Water Conference.