International Responsibility for Environmental Pollution during Armed Conflicts

Abstract

The issue of environment protection during armed conflicts is considered a very important issue in the international law, particularly for the environment destruction due to wars and armed conflicts which affects the land ,water and air. However, these conflicts use various types of weapons such as traditional , mass destruction, nuclear and overall chemical or germ weapons. The reality shows wars that have been happening  in the world have led to the violation of the fundamental of human rights, the human right to live in a peaceful , healthy and clean environment.
Internationally and before the establishment of the United Nations, there are a quite number of international agreements in the field of environmental protection during  the armed conflicts, but these international agreements lacked effective tools  to compel parties of the conflict to abide by and comply with the these approved agreements between the conflicting parties during the armed conflicts.
These international agreements and mechanisms need to be continuously developed and reformed in order to activate them, and bringing them to the main goal, which is to strengthen the protection of the human right to live in a healthy and clean environment, not only at the  time of peace but also during  war time.
In recent decades, many armed conflicts have been associated with a variety of threats to the environment, and among these threats include: chemical pollution in the long term for the land, water, atmosphere and other elements that formed on the surface of the earth as well as  the incapability of using the earth's resources because of mines and other hazardous substances exist; a threat of water supplies and other essential materials to ensure life.
These threats do not only affect the conflicting  countries, but also affect the civilians and neutral countries, and these effects often remain  for a long time after the end of the armed conflict. Perhaps the conditions of the world today, including armed conflicts, and no considerations relating to the need of protecting the environment encourage legal systems to develop and protect the environment issues among the priorities and concerns.
As the international environment law is only interested in the issues of the environment during a period of peace, so it is necessary to look for other laws related to the period of armed conflict, which is the international humanitarian law. Hence, this research studies and analyzes  the international conventions in this field, and explaining the international humanitarian law on the protection of the environment during armed conflicts through:
A) Studying the environmental crime of Ecocide which is considered  the most serious international crimes recently because there is a clear increase in the recognition by the scientific community in international law that the crime of ecocide is considered an international crime.
B) Studying the international responsibility of countries and international criminal responsibility of individuals for  the damage to the environment during the armed conflict, and how to carry out this responsibility.
Finally, it should be emphasized that the prosecution of countries and individuals for  the violation of both international humanitarian law and to protect the environment in times of armed conflict, in particular, are extremely rare, in addition to mechanisms of international humanitarian law in its current state has not ensured the natural environment protection during the period of armed conflicts. Moreover, there are shortages and deficiencies in these mechanisms, which should fill this legal vacuum.