Water sharing and the right to water: Refusal, rebellion and everyday resistance

Introduction to the article: Recent newspaper headlines have featured US-based humanitarian groups facing criminal charges. The alleged crime? Placing water canisters on desert routes used by undocumented migrants along the US-Mexico border. Migrant advocates note that this criminalization contradicts the basic moral principle that all people deserve access to water, regardless of legal status or ability to pay, in line with the human right to water doctrine (endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010). Nonetheless, such charges have led to detention, felony and smuggling charges for US citizens, and deportation threats for non-citizens.