'After the War Is Before the War': The Environment, Preventive Measures under International Humanitarian Law, and Their Post-Conflict Impact (Chapter in "Environmental Protection and Transitions from Conflict to Peace")
Publisher: Oxford Scholarship Online
Author(s): Anne Dienelt
Date: 2018
Topics: Assessment, Governance, Land, Weapons, Waste, and Pollution
This chapter draws the bow between preventive measures under IHL and their relevance in a post-conflict situation regarding environmental protection. The author analyses the training of forces, the marking of protected zones and the weapons review according to Article 36 of Additional Protocol I. Since IHL provisions and principles protecting the natural environment are of relevance for the training of forces and the weapons review, they are briefly summarized as well. But do these preventive measures also impact post-conflict situations? The author studies post-conflict assessments of the environment. These can result in an updating of military manuals and military curricular relating to the training of forces. A monitoring of the conduct of hostilities can also influence the weapons reviews (including weapons instructions), leading to updating them by using the lessons learned extracted from the war theatre. Protected zones can also be assessed post-conflict, resulting in the conclusion of peace agreements including demilitarized zones detached from Article 60 AP I. To restore justice after war, post-conflict assessments of the environment can thus be a useful tool. The legal bases for this assertion are assessed in this chapter.