The Environment and Armed Conflict

Humanitarian Law ◽

Irreversible Damage ◽

Peace Agreements ◽

Sustainable Peace ◽

Fertile Ground

Armed conflict is inherently destructive of the environment. It can cause serious and irreversible damage and threaten the health and livelihoods of individuals and the planet as a whole. International environmental law (IEL) cannot and is not relegated to peacetime, but continues to apply and interact with international humanitarian law (IHL). Therefore, principles of IEL must play a role before, during, and after conflict. This chapter focuses on general principles of IEL, specifically intergenerational equity and the precautionary principle. It demonstrates that these principles can and should be used to interpret and apply existing IHL for civilian and environmental protection. It concludes with a look at peace agreements and truth commissions, arguing that despite limitations of their past use they can provide fertile ground for building sustainable peace.

International law protecting the environment during armed conflict: gaps and opportunities

International Review of the Red Cross ◽

10.1017/s1816383110000597 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 92 (879) ◽

pp. 569-592 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Michael Bothe ◽

Carl Bruch ◽

Jordan Diamond ◽

David Jensen

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Environmental Damage ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

Basic Principles ◽

Principle Of Proportionality ◽

Definition Of

AbstractThere are three key deficiencies in the existing body of international humanitarian law (IHL) relating to protection of the environment during armed conflict. First, the definition of impermissible environmental damage is both too restrictive and unclear; second, there are legal uncertainties regarding the protection of elements of the environment as civilian objects; and third, the application of the principle of proportionality where harm to the environment constitutes ‘collateral damage’ is also problematic. These gaps present specific opportunities for clarifying and developing the existing framework. One approach to addressing some of the inadequacies of IHL could be application of international environmental law during armed conflict. The detailed norms, standards, approaches, and mechanisms found in international environmental law might also help to clarify and extend basic principles of IHL to prevent, address, or assess liability for environmental damage incurred during armed conflict.

The Protection of the Natural Environment in Armed Conflict – Existing Rules and Need for Further Legal Protection

Nordic Journal of International Law ◽

10.1163/15718107-08201003 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 82 (1) ◽

pp. 21-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Cordula Droege ◽

Marie-Louise Tougas

Keyword(s):

Natural Environment ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Legal Protection ◽

Armed Conflicts ◽

International Human Rights Law ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

General Rules

Considerable research has been conducted, particularly since the Iraq-Kuwait war of 1991, on the legal protection of the environment in armed conflicts. Much of this research has focused either on the specific protections provided in international humanitarian law (IHL), or on the applicability of international environmental law to situations of armed conflict. Rather than focusing on these specific provisions, this article seeks to examine the general protections under IHL, in particular the characterisation of the natural environment as a civilian object and the legal protection flowing from this characterisation – namely the general rules on the conduct of hostilities. After addressing these general rules, it briefly recalls some other relevant provisions of IHL before turning to possible avenues to strengthen the legal protection of the environment in armed conflict by clarifying or further developing IHL in this respect, taking into account the protection provided by international human rights law and international environmental law.

Part VII Inter-linkages with Other Regimes, Ch.50 Armed Conflict and the Environment

10.1093/law/9780198849155.003.0050 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Bruch Carl ◽

Payne Cymie R ◽

Sjöstedt Britta

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Legal Framework ◽

International Criminal Law ◽

International Human Rights Law ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

Starting Point

This chapter looks at how the concern for the environment in relation to armed conflict can be addressed from several bodies of international law. These diverse bodies of law emerged largely isolated from one another: international humanitarian law, international environmental law, international criminal law, international human rights law, the United Nations (UN) Charter, and so on. Hence, a fragmented and unclear legal framework protects the environment in times of armed conflict. The chapter focuses on the interlinkages between international environmental law and other bodies of international law to protect the environment in relation to armed conflict. The thesis is that international environmental law norms are increasingly shaping protection of the environment in relation to armed conflict, in contrast to the relative rigidity of international humanitarian law norms, which is traditionally the starting point for analysing wartime environmental protection. The chapter begins with a brief consideration of international law applicable during all temporal phases of armed conflict: before conflict (including conflict prevention); during conflict; and after conflict. It then explores the issues and relevant law particular to specific phases.

Law-making at the intersection of international environmental, humanitarian and criminal law: the issue of damage to the environment in international armed conflict

International Review of the Red Cross ◽

10.1017/s1816383110000536 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 92 (879) ◽

pp. 593-646 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Julian Wyatt

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Criminal Law ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Environmental Law ◽

International Criminal Law ◽

Environmental Damage ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

The Relationship

AbstractThe relationship between international environmental law and international humanitarian law, like relationships between many other subsystems of contemporary international law, has not yet been articulated. The problem of environmental damage in international armed conflict lies at the intersection of these two branches and thus provides an ideal opportunity to investigate this relationship. Rather than simply evaluating the applicable international law rules in their context, we break them into elements that we separately assess from both (international) environmental law and international humanitarian/international criminal law perspectives. By doing so, we identify how international law rules for cross-sectoral problems may appropriately combine the existing expertise and institutional strengths of simultaneously applicable branches of international law, and also discover how an evaluation of the ultimate appropriateness of the cross-sectoral rules adopted may be substantially affected by the different frames of reference that are used by those working within the different fields.

Pengaturan Perlindungan Satwa Terancam di Daerah Konflik Bersenjata

Jurist-Diction ◽

10.20473/jd.v4i5.29834 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. 2073

Author(s):

Yunia Utami ndah Haloho

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Extinction Risk ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Armed Conflicts ◽

Risk Level ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

International Environmental Law

AbstractHumans are often regarded as the only victims that are affected by the armed conflicts. But apparently not only humans, there are also the other living creatures that become the victims of the armed conflicts those are animals included threatened animals. Threatened animals are part of biological diversity that have a high extinction risk level because of the small amount of their populations that requires intensive protection. There are numbers of armed conflicts that happened in the world states where the threatened animals become the victims of it. Threatened animals have to experience the declining of their populations due to the destruction of their habitat, illegal trades of them for financing the conflicts, illegal poaching for their meats, or killed by the weapons that used during the conflicts. The results of this research demonstrates that the International Law through the International Environmental Law and International Humanitarian Law have indirectly provided the regulations about threatened animals in the armed conflict area.Keywords: Threatened Animals; Protection; Regulation.AbstrakManusia sering kali dianggap sebagai satu-satunya korban yang terdampak akibat terjadinya konflik bersenjata. Namun ternyata bukan hanya manusia saja, terdapat makhluk hidup lain yang juga turut menjadi korban akibat dari konflik bersenjata di suatu wilayah negara yaitu satwa termasuk satwa terancam. Satwa terancam yang merupakan bagian dari keanekaragaman hayati memiliki tingkat risiko kepunahan yang tinggi karena populasinya yang sedikit sehingga memerlukan perlindungan yang intensif. Terdapat beberapa konflik bersenjata yang terjadi di berbagai negara di dunia di mana satwa terancam menjadi salah satu korban dari konflik tersebut. Satwa terancam mengalami pengurangan jumlah populasi akibat rusaknya habitat mereka, perdagangan satwa terancam tersebut untuk membiaya konflik, perburuan liar satwa terancam untuk dikonsumsi, atau terbunuhnya satwa terancam akibat terkena serangan senjata yang digunakan dalam konflik. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Hukum Internasional melalui Hukum Lingkungan Internasional dan Hukum Humaniter Internasional telah sama-sama memberikan pengaturan terkait perlindungan satwa terancam di daerah konflik bersenjata walaupun bukan merupakan pengaturan yang mengatur secara langsung. Kata Kunci: Satwa Terancam; Perlindungan; Pengaturan.

Restrictions on the use of force at sea: An environmental protection perspective

International Review of the Red Cross ◽

10.1017/s181638311700039x ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 98 (902) ◽

pp. 515-541

Author(s):

Jinxing Ma ◽

Shiyan Sun

Keyword(s):

Environmental Protection ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Use Of Force ◽

Law Of The Sea ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

The Law ◽

Marine Environmental

AbstractThe restrictions on the use of force at sea exist in different branches of international law: the law of the sea and environmental law, mainly applicable during peacetime, and international humanitarian law (IHL), as the law applicable in times of armed conflict. Different rules from these areas must be compared and analyzed to determine the common principles applicable to restricting the use of force at sea for the purposes of environmental protection. Taking into account the particular problems of protecting the marine environment in the context of the use of force, the law of the sea and international environmental law should be applied to restrict means and methods of using force at sea during armed conflict. The detailed concepts and approaches in the law of the sea and environmental law may complement IHL, and the precautionary principle of international environmental law should be triggered to address the lacunae in IHL protecting the marine environmental during armed conflict.

Protection of the Environment in Times of Non-international Armed Conflicts – a Gap to be Filled in

Studia Iuridica ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0013.2160 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 78 ◽

pp. 184-198

Author(s):

Maria Magdalena Kenig-Witkowska

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Environmental Protection ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Environmental Law ◽

Armed Conflicts ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

Legal Regulations ◽

International Conflicts ◽

Law Of Armed Conflict

Environmental protection in times of non-international armed conflicts is not subject to the sectoral or particular protection categories of environmental law and to date it has not been comprehensively regulated by international law. Except for generalities, it was also ignored in the 1992 Rio Declaration Principle 24 of which is not unambiguous in its expression. In fact, only the international humanitarian law of armed conflict contains norms which address the natural environment in times of armed conflicts. On the basis of a review of legal acts addressing the issues of environmental protection in times of non-international conflicts, negative conclusions de lege lata can be drawn as part of an attempt to answer the question whether international law ensures sufficient environmental protection in such circumstances. In the Author’s opinion, in international law there is a gap relating to the protection of the environment in times of non-international armed conflicts; the existing legal regulations which could be applied in these matters have a rudimentary characters.

Part I: Conclusion

10.1093/oso/9780198821946.003.0005 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Tilman Rodenhäuser

Keyword(s):

Eighteenth Century ◽

Civil War ◽

Basic Principle ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

Laws Of War ◽

Connected Group ◽

The Individual ◽

Contemporary Practice

Analysing the development of the concept of non-state parties to an armed conflict from the writings of philosophers in the eighteenth century through international humanitarian law (IHL) treaty law to contemporary practice, three threads can be identified. First, as pointed out by Rousseau almost two and a half centuries ago, one basic principle underlying the laws of war is that war is not a relation between men but between entities. Accordingly, the lawful objective of parties cannot be to harm opponents as individuals but only to overcome the entity for which the individual fights. This necessitates that any party to an armed conflict is a collective, organized entity and not a loosely connected group of individuals. Second, de Vattel already stressed that civil war is fought between two parties who ‘acknowledge no common judge’ and have no ‘common superior’ on earth....

Insufficient Knowledge in Kunduz: The Precautionary Principle and International Humanitarian Law

Journal of Conflict and Security Law ◽

10.1093/jcsl/krz033 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 53-79

Author(s):

Emma J Marchant

Keyword(s):

Precautionary Principle ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Federal Court ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

The Precautionary Principle ◽

Lack Of Information ◽

Operational Application ◽

Federal Court Of Justice ◽

Insufficient Knowledge

Abstract The targeting protocols applied by forces during armed conflict are some of the most secretive documents held by any military. However, their role in applying principles of international humanitarian law (IHL) means that they are key to understanding their development. This piece is primarily concerned with practical and operational application of the precautionary principle under IHL; how much knowledge is sufficient to carry out an attack lawfully during modern armed conflict. In order to establish if a standard has developed with the increase in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology, this piece uses the framework of an investigation into an incident in Kunduz, Afghanistan in 2009. I explore the difficulties of obtaining information post-incident, the differential standards expected by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Bundesgerichtshof (German Federal Court of Justice), and the manner in which these can be evaluated through the principles of proportionality, distinction and precautions in attack. The piece looks at the interrelated issues raised by the Rules of Engagement and Tactical Directives, as well as the problems surrounding the clarity of intelligence available. I argue that this case is demonstrative of the failings inherent in the application and practical use of the precautionary principle outlined by IHL. The lack of transparency afforded in, and after, incidents of this nature prevents objective analysis and so the development of IHL can be obfuscated. I conclude that the lack of information following incidents of this kind confuses any intelligence standard that exists under IHL.

Thresholds in Flux—the Standard for Ascertaining the Requirement of Organization for Armed Groups under International Humanitarian Law

Journal of Conflict and Security Law ◽

10.1093/jcsl/kraa024 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yutaka Arai-Takahashi

Keyword(s):

Armed Conflict ◽

Geneva Convention ◽

Prisoners Of War ◽

Organizational Level ◽

Threshold Condition ◽

Special Importance ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

Armed Groups ◽

International Criminal Tribunals

Abstract The requirement of organization is supposed to be of special importance in international humanitarian law (IHL). In the situation of international armed conflict (IAC), this requirement is implicit as part of the collective conditions to be fulfilled by irregular/independent armed groups to enable their members to claim the prisoners of war status under Article 4 A(2) of the Third Geneva Convention. In a non-international armed conflict (NIAC), the eponymous requirement serves, alongside the requirement of intensity of violence, as the threshold condition for ascertaining the onset of a NIAC. While the requirement of organization has not caused much of disputes in IACs, the international criminal tribunals have shown a willingness to examine scrupulously if armed groups in NIACs are sufficiently organized. Still, this article argues that there is need for a nuanced assessment of the organizational level of an armed group in some specific phases of the ongoing armed conflict whose legal character switches (from an NIAC to an IAC, vice-versa, and from a NIAC to a law-enforcement model). It explores what rationales and argumentative model may be adduced to explain such varying standards for organization in different contexts.