8630 Fenton Street, Suite 1100, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 USA

October 18, 2014

His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-HusseinHigh Commissioner for Human RightsUnited NationsPalais 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-HusseinHigh Commissioner for Human Rights

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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 BurgerCo-PresidentNational Nurses United United States

Linda SilasPresident Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions Canada

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

Roberto BombaTreasurerFdration interprofessionnelle de la sant du Qubec Canada

Judith KiejdaAssistant General Secretary New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association Australia

Luis LaraSecretary GeneralSindicato Nacional de los Trabajadores o de Salud de GuatemalaGuatemala

His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al Hussein

High Commissioner for Human Rights

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Maria Concepcion ChavezPresident Asociacin Paraguaya de EnfermeraParaguay

Juan Mastandrea General SecretarySindicato Unico de Enfermeria del UruguayUruguay

Jossel Ebesate PresidentAlliance of Health WorkersPhilippines

Paula Manzueta Secretaria de FinanzasAsociacin de Enfermera del Instituto Dominicano de Seguros Sociales, ADEIDSSDominican Republic

Clare MahonPresident Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization Ireland

Marios I. Pantzalis PresidentHellenic Nurses FederationGreece

Julio Cesar Garca CrucetaGeneral SecretarySindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de EnfermeriaDominican Republic

Ji-Hyun YooPresidentKorean Health and Medical Workers Union South Korea