Just as States and international organisations are updating their policy and practice to better integrate environmental considerations, so the currently inadequate and outdated legal framework must also be updated to better reflect the nature of contemporary armed conflicts, the requirements of human rights and environmental norms, as well as our increased understanding of the direct and derived consequences of warfare and insecurity on the environment. In this regard, we urge all States to support an outcome to the ILC’s PERAC study that leads to the progressive development of the legal framework.
This briefing seeks to identify areas where the Commission’s revised draft principles on occupation could be further strengthened, or where further clarification of terms is required in the commentaries. As it is imperative that the draft principles fully reflect the experiences of those living under occupation, and the environmental conduct of occupying powers, our suggestions are informed by the monitoring work that we undertake. The following themes are issues that we believe that States should address in their statements during the Sixth Committee debate on the work of the ILC.