International Environmental Law during armed conflicts. A case study of Lebanons Oil Spill during the July 2006 Israeli War on Lebanon

Running Head : Environment

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INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW DURING ARMED CONFLICTS

Introduction

International environmental law has been described variously by different people . Professor Boyle has described the law as the aggregate principles which are aimed at protecting the global environment and controlling the activities within the national jurisdiction that may affect another state 's environment or areas beyond national jurisdiction (Sonja , 1996

The international environmental of armed conflict has been in existence for many centuries . This is because , dating back to early

civilization many nations have attempted to use the force of nature in to gain military advantage over their foes , some with remarkable success . Recent conflicts have highlighted the role of oil as targets during conflicts Examples include 2nd World War in which British forces destroyed Rumanian oil fields in to deny the Axis powers access to them . The Israel-Egypt conflict in which Israel destroyed the latter 's oil fields and the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war are other examples . Another example is the 1990-1991 Gulf War in which some 600 oil wells were burnt

As such , there have been attempts prescribe the limits to which mankind can go in event of armed conflict . The recent conflicts that have taken place have raised a fundamental concern about the adequacy of the international environmental law in times of armed conflicts (Sonja ,1996 This is especially so for maritime environments

This seeks to analyze the various laws pertaining to protection of the environment during conflict and the role of various international organizations in formulating and enforcing environmental law . The Lebanon oil spill is used as a case study . It also discusses Israel 's liability in the oil spill , inefficacy of the international law and suggests the policy changes required to address the problem

Geneva (ENMOD

Although the environmental laws governing warfare have been there for a long time , the depth and concern over the effects of war on the environment emerged after the 2nd World War . The modern international environmental law is widely believed to have been formulated during the late 1960s and early 1970s (Sonja , 2006

United Nations general Assembly adopted the Convention on the prohibition of Military or any other Hostile use of Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD ) The Geneva convention was signed on May 18 , 1977 and came into effect in October 5 , 1978 . The convention was concluded under the backdrop of the Vietnam War , in which the United States of America used massive amounts of herbicides against Vietnam Article I of the treaty states that

Each State Party to this Convention undertakes not to engage in military or any other hostile use of environmental modification techniques having widespread , long-lasting or severe effects as the means of destruction , damage or injury to any other State Party (United Nations , 1977

Article II reads as such

The term environmental modification techniques ' refers to any technique for changing - through the deliberate manipulation of natural processes - the dynamics , composition or structure of the Earth including its biota , lithosphere , hydrosphere...