Report launch: Pollution Politics: Power, Accountability and Toxic Remnants of War

Jul 2, 2014 | The Toxic Remnants of War Project
Amnesty International UK, London

Our new report Pollution Politics examines where responsibility lies for reducing the health and environmental risks from military and conflict pollution. Where are the weaknesses in the current legal regimes for environmental protection? What capacity do affected states have to ensure that the fundamental rights of their citizens are protected? Are obligations to minimise and remedy damage necessary and justified? Should polluters pay for contamination and is a new mechanism needed to reduce the civilian and environmental harm from toxic remnants of war?

Speakers:

Aneaka Kellay (author) (TRWP): introducing Pollution Politics.

Doug Weir (TRWP): time for a new approach on conflict and the environment.

Facilitator: Dr Widad Akrawi (Defend International)

The TRWP seeks to inform a global civil society initiative to help strengthen protection for the environment, and those who depend on it, during and after conflict. The weakness of existing International Humanitarian Law has been documented by many, including the UN Environment Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross and International Law Commission. However, peacetime environmental norms and standards, and developments at the interface between Environmental and Human Rights Law, are providing new opportunities for informing progress on the topic, progress that could be facilitated by a partnership between NGOs active in the fields of humanitarian disarmament and the environment.