Application of the Duty not to Cause Significant Harm in the context of the Nile River Basin

Abstract

The duty not to cause significant harm is an obligation of customary
international law relating to utilization of international watercourses. This
duty requires a state sharing freshwater resources to refrain from causing
significant harm to other states through its use of a shared international
watercourse. It also requires consideration of all relevant factors that are
essential for its effective implementation in any given international
watercourse. In relation to this duty, the Nile Basin States adopted the Nile
Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement to regulate the use, development,
protection, conservation and management of the Nile River Basin and its
resources. However, the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement
did not set out detailed guidelines on how the Nile River Basin Commission
should promote and facilitate the implementation of the principles enshrined
under this Framework convention, which includes the duty not to cause
significant harm. This entails drawbacks for the application of the principle
in the Nile Basin. Thus, this Article examines how the duty not to cause
significant harm should be applied in the Nile Basin.