On the International Day for Preventing the Use of the Environment in Wars and Conflicts, the environment is an undeclared victim of wars

Weather of Arabia - Wars result in massive losses and countless victims. They lead to the loss of lives and injury to soldiers and civilians, and often cause undeclared environmental destruction. In their pursuit of military gains, armies can sometimes pollute water sources, burn crops, cut down forests, Polluting the soil and killing animals. Although nature has the ability to recover in natural ways, avoiding environmental disasters remains the best way to protect the environment.

International Day for Preventing the Use of the Environment in Wars and Military Conflicts

The United Nations has been keen to integrate environmental issues into plans to control conflicts and maintain peace. This relates to preserving natural resources to support ecosystems. For this reason, the United Nations has decided to designate November 6th of each year as an international day to prevent the use of the environment in wars and conflicts.

This aims to spread awareness of the importance of preserving natural resources and protecting the environment, as well as promoting solidarity and ending military conflicts. Their goal is to make environmental preservation one of our top priorities and prevent its use as a result of the effects of wars.

This date was chosen based on the sixth anniversary of November , which is the day the last oil well ignited by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was extinguished. Kuwait was able to extinguish these wells within only 240 days . This achievement is a model of the human will to defend the environment and its resources, and it has broken expectations. Estimates predict that these wells will remain burning for many years.

The United Nations embodies the environmental challenges of war

“Preserving future generations from the effects of wars” is an essential part of the United Nations Charter, and this phrase was the main motivation behind the founding of the United Nations, as the organization was established after the global devastation and wars that the world witnessed by the year 1945 .

Since the founding of the United Nations on October 24, 1945 , it has been repeatedly called upon to prevent conflicts from escalating to the level of wars and to help restore peace after the outbreak of armed conflicts. The United Nations also seeks to promote lasting peace in societies suffering the effects of war.

Over the years, the United Nations has contributed to ending many conflicts, often through the actions of the Security Council, which is committed by the United Nations Charter to maintaining international peace and security. When a conflict turns into an armed conflict, the main task of the Security Council becomes to search for a way to end the conflict in As soon as possible.

In many cases, the Security Council has issued ceasefire directives, which has contributed to preventing the escalation of wider hostilities. The United Nations has also deployed peacekeeping forces to help reduce tension in troubled areas, separate opposing forces, and create conditions for a lasting peace after a settlement is reached. In some cases, the Security Council can decide to take certain measures, including collective economic and military sanctions, when necessary.

In this context, the United Nations Environment Program indicated that more than 40% of internal conflicts in recent years were linked to the control of valuable natural resources such as oil, gold, timber and diamonds, or to rare resources such as water and fertile lands. This happens; Because conflicts often make governments unable to protect their natural resources.

The impact of wars on the environment

Conflicts and the environment always interact, with environmental issues being a common cause of conflicts and competition over resources such as oil, gas, water, timber and pastures can lead to the outbreak of wars and conflicts.

The United Nations considers that environmental damage resulting from military conflicts extends for a long period after the end of the conflict, and transcends national borders and the current generation, as reports of the United Nations Environment Program show that modern wars cause environmental pollution that threatens security on a wide geographical scale, and it is also important to predict that the environmental impacts The destruction of wars does not adhere to geographical or political borders between countries, and this is partly due to the quality of modern weapons and the degree of their impact on the environment.

For example, World War II caused huge human losses and greatly destroyed the industrial infrastructure. Wildlife and marine life will not escape severe environmental changes as a result of wars, in addition to the spread of civil chaos, deterioration of infrastructure, increased pollution of water bodies, the spread of diseases, and increased rates of infertility and fetal deformities. .

The international community must activate the principles of environmental safety and justice among peoples and promote a culture of peace between countries. It should also study ways to reduce the negative environmental effects of wars and enhance cooperation between countries participating in conflicts to reduce widespread environmental destruction.

How important is it to have binding measures to protect the environment in war?

It should be noted that all previous attempts to take binding measures to protect the environment in cases of conflicts and armed conflicts did not go as planned. Although environmental protection issues have been present in international agreements and treaties since the beginning of the last century in the Geneva and Hague Conventions, the integration of the environment is clearly in International law and international treaties did not occur until after the exacerbation of environmental problems in the 1970s and the great environmental damage that resulted from wars and conflicts.

The horrific images of environmental devastation, such as the destruction of oil facilities, the drying up of lands, oil spills, and the pollution of the Arabian Gulf during previous wars, remind us of the importance of protecting the environment during conflicts. International law seeks to protect civilian populations during armed conflicts and ensure their survival, in addition to protecting the natural environment, which is fundamental. For human life, international humanitarian law takes into account the protection of the environment and stipulates the importance of this.

The 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court considers all acts that cause widespread and long-term damage to the natural environment a war crime, in violation of the principle.

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Sources:

maspero

un.org