8630 Fenton Street, Suite 1100, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 USA October 18, 2014 His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Your Royal Highness:

We write to express our grave concerns related to the man-made, unnecessary and ongoing calamity befalling the people of Detroit, Michigan. Over the past four months, tens of thousands of Detroit families have lost access to household tap water. This most basic resource is being denied to the citys most vulnerable including children, the elderly and the ill due to draconian, austerity measures imposed by the citys unelected Emergency Manager. As the representatives of hundreds of thousands of nurses from six continents, we see the denial of clean water as a public health and humanitarian crisis, and call on your office to continue your efforts to influence the offices of the Detroit Emergency Manager and the Governor of Michigan. Water currently shut off must be immediately restored and planned shutoffs must be halted. As we all work to find a permanent end to this crisis, we applaud the Special Rapporteurs upcoming fact-finding mission to Detroit. It is our understanding that during the Special Rapporteurs time in Detroit, they will meet with the communities most affected and investigate the threats to human health and life resulting from the water shutoffs. Through our US affiliate, National Nurses United, we have been involved in fighting to end this preventable tragedy. We welcome any opportunities to work with your office on international

His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein High Commissioner for Human Rights Page two and domestic US efforts to find a humane and just solution that respects this most basic of human rights. Sincerely, The Unions of Global Nurses United

Deborah Burger Co-President National Nurses United United States

Linda Silas President Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions Canada

Mari Esther Hernndez Sols Member of Executive Committee Associacion Nacional de Profesionalies en Enfermeria Costa Rica

Roberto Bomba Treasurer Fdration interprofessionnelle de la sant du Qubec Canada

Judith Kiejda Assistant General Secretary New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association Australia

Luis Lara Secretary General Sindicato Nacional de los Trabajadores o de Salud de Guatemala Guatemala

His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al Hussein High Commissioner for Human Rights Page three

Maria Concepcion Chavez President Asociacin Paraguaya de Enfermera Paraguay

Juan Mastandrea General Secretary Sindicato Unico de Enfermeria del Uruguay Uruguay

Jossel Ebesate President Alliance of Health Workers Philippines

Paula Manzueta Secretaria de Finanzas Asociacin de Enfermera del Instituto Dominicano de Seguros Sociales, ADEIDSS Dominican Republic

Clare Mahon President Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization Ireland

Marios I. Pantzalis President Hellenic Nurses Federation Greece

Julio Cesar Garca Cruceta General Secretary Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de Enfermeria Dominican Republic

Ji-Hyun Yoo President Korean Health and Medical Workers Union South Korea