tailieunhanh - Protecting the Environment During Armed Conflict

All this was on my mind when the Secretary-General presented me with an argument to which there was no convincing rebuttal: No other political leader had become Prime Minister with a background of several years of political struggle, nationally and internationally, as an environment minister. This gave some hope that the environment was not destined to remain a side issue in central, political decision making. In the final analysis, I decided to accept the challenge. The challenge of facing the future, and of safeguarding the interests of coming generations. For it was abundantly clear: We needed a mandate for change | Protecting the Environment During Armed Conflict ia UNEP of International Law Nati About UNEP s Disasters and Conflicts Programme The United Nations Environment Programme UNEP seeks to minimize environmental threats to human well-being from the environmental causes and consequences of conflicts and disasters. Through its Disasters and Conflicts programme it conducts fieldbased environmental assessments and strengthens national environmental management capacity in countries affected by conflicts and disasters. Using state-of-the-art science and technology UNEP deploys teams of environmental experts to assess environmental damage and determine risks for human health livelihoods and security. Since 1999 UNEP has operated in more than thirty-five countries and published twenty environmental assessment reports. Based on this expertise UNEP is providing technical assistance to a number of UN and international actors including the Peacebuilding Support Office PBSO the Department of Peacekeeping Operations DPKO the Department of Field Support DFS the UN Development Programme UNDP and the European Commission in assessing the role of natural resources and the environment in conflict and peacebuilding. The main objective of this technical cooperation is to prevent natural resources and environmental stress from undermining the peacebuilding process while at the same time using environment as a platform for dialogue cooperation and confidence-building. For more information see http conflictsanddisasters About this report This report inventories and analyses the range of international laws that protect the environment during armed conflict. With a view to identifying the current gaps and weaknesses in this system the authors examine the relevant provisions within four bodies of international law - international humanitarian law IHL international criminal law ICL international environmental law IEL and international human rights law HRL . The report concludes with .