War is terrible for people, communities and nations. The abuse they suffer demands our immediate attention, compassion and action. While some violations are clear and there are mechanisms and institutions to investigate them and provide remedies, others are not so obvious. An example of the latter is environmental war crimes.
We are only beginning to understand the full extent of the impact of wars on air, water and the natural environment; on soils and agriculture; on energy and water infrastructure; and, ultimately, on public health and safety. The challenge is that much of this cannot be easily seen and has not yet been sufficiently studied, and the victims of this less visible side of the war are likely to be much greater than imagined.
Where there are collapsed buildings, there may be deadly asbestos and silica dust dispersed in the air. Where there are landmines and unexploded ordnance, or damaged industrial sites, there can be leaks of heavy metals and other potent pollutants, some of which last for generations. When lakes and agricultural fields are poisoned, food security is affected.
Current international law already includes tools to prosecute war crimes that cause disproportionate damage to the environment, but prosecutions for such crimes have been rare in local or international courts. Reparations for this damage have also been too limited, and lawsuits before international courts have encountered evidentiary obstacles.
There are some positive signs that this could change. The UN General Assembly drew attention to this issue in an important 2022 resolution on the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflict, which notes the responsibility of States to provide comprehensive reparations for environmental damage due to unlawful acts. in the war. On March 1, the United Nations Environment Assembly passed a consensus resolution calling for better data collection on environmental damage associated with armed conflict.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan also recently announced that his office is developing a comprehensive policy on environmental crimes, with a strong commitment to advancing accountability for these crimes.
A real challenge is tracking environmental damage even while a conflict is underway. But this is essential to protect public health and take urgent action to limit damage, such as stopping active leaks of deadly pollutants into rivers or farmland. Documenting damage is also important to ensure that full reparations are eventually paid, as is required if caused by unlawful acts of war, and so that individual perpetrators can be held accountable.
An important contribution in this area is emerging in Ukraine.
The large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has had a terrible impact on the natural environment. Ukraine is a country with impressive biodiversity and important natural reserves, but war has devastated many areas. Soils and waterways have been contaminated with chemicals, while farmland, forests and green spaces have been devastated by bombings, fires and floods.
The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam a year ago, presumed to be an intentional act by Russian occupation forces, flooded villages and farmland and caused widespread ecological damage as far as the Black Sea.
On top of this, a third of Ukraine's territory is now suspected to be contaminated with landmines or unexploded ordnance, surpassing any other country in the world, according to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
We have been part of an effort to draw the world's attention to these environmental concerns by joining a bold initiative by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The president created the High-Level Working Group on the Environmental Consequences of the War in Ukraine, of which we are pleased to be a member, and included environmental security as a central element of the Peace Formula he proposed as a framework for ending the war. .
This working group recently published a broad set of recommendations in an “Environmental Pact” (PDF) that points to three priorities.
Firstly, it is necessary to establish clear guidelines for documenting environmental damage, using modern technologies. By working with international partners to establish such standards, Ukraine can help guide how environmental damage is documented in all conflicts.
Secondly, with this data and evidence in hand, we must guarantee criminal liability and comprehensive reparations. Important efforts are already being made at the national and international level, but there is room to expand them.
A national strategy for environmental justice, currently being developed by Ukraine's prosecutor general, is a step in the right direction. Internationally, more attention should be paid to these crimes in foreign courts, including through cases applying universal jurisdiction.
Investigators and prosecutors should take a victim-centered approach to understanding environmental harms and necessary redress. Human rights investigations in Ukraine should pay special attention to environmental harms and public health risks when assessing rights violations.
Finally, the working group points out the imperative of sustainable reconstruction, incorporating climate and environmental friendly development strategies. Efforts to apply these principles must begin now, as reconstruction is already underway in some parts of Ukraine.
Green justice and green recovery in Ukraine will benefit all conflict-affected countries around the world. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the Kremlin put the international legal order at risk. Their actions are a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter. The future of this international order and the expectations of justice for such flagrant violations will be determined by how the world continues to respond to this aggression, including the terrible and disproportionate attacks on the environment.
We all know that environmental threats do not stop at borders. The risk of a major nuclear radiation disaster looming over Ukraine – due to the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhya nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe – is a worrying example of the regional threat. Another is the impact of war in the Black Sea, where environmental damage is having deadly effects on marine life and affects all countries bordering this important body of water.
Now that the world is waking up to the magnitude of environmental crimes in conflict, we must work to ensure accountability, addressing both individual crimes and the responsibility of the perpetrator state to repair the harm.
Justice must be done in Ukraine. And justice must be done equally in all conflicts where force exceeds agreed legal limits. Let us work together for a green, just and peaceful future for those nations now suffering from such attacks.
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.
