States Adopt New Legal Framework on the Environmental Impact of War

Dec 8, 2022 | Conflict and Environment Observatory
View Original

The new legal principles on the Protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts (PERAC) have been developed by the UN’s International Law Commission, which is mandated by the UN General Assembly with the progressive development and codification of international law. The PERAC principles are a major step forward because they specifically address many different types of environmental harm. Also new is that they apply before, during and after armed conflicts, and are applicable to both conflicts between states, and in civil wars.

Under the existing rules of international humanitarian law – which the ICRC has recently clarified – the environment only enjoyed some protection during conflicts and under occupation, and primarily in international armed conflicts. The PERAC principles have expanded the temporal and thematic scope of protection by integrating elements of environmental, human rights and security law, as well as the existing practice of states and international organisations.

“The PERAC principles are a huge step forward for the legal framework, and rightly reflect the increasing international concern over how wars impact the environment and undermine the resilience of communities to environmental stress,” said CEOBS’ Doug Weir. “We view the principles as establishing a minimum standard of environmental conduct for militaries, as well as for a range of non-state actors.”