The Protection of Water Facilities under International LawSummary
Water has often been used as a strategic target in war since at least the time of the
siege of Tyre in 596 B.C. Even when water facilities are not targeted, they are often
among the first casualties of the violence. At the end of the twentieth century,
conflicts in Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East caused tremendous suffering to
the civilian populations after disruption of the water supply. This article focuses on the
extent to which water facilities are protected under international law. It outlines
principles of customary law and the existing international conventions and protocols in
this area, including principles of naval warfare.
At a time of increasing world concern over the quality and availability of water,
we face the prospect of disputes, sometimes violent, over limited freshwater
resources. International efforts to sustain supplies have focused on management
rather than conflict prevention, and international legal regimes have received too little
attention. This article focuses on protection of water facilities under international law,
defining such facilities in broad terms to include all retention and delivery facilities.
These issues become wide-ranging, as urbanization increases the need to import
water from further afield, as in the current plan to transfer water to Israel from
Turkey. Moreover, the increasing complexity of delivery systems, and their
relationship to power supplies, increase their vulnerability to conflict.
International law has evolved as the nature of conflict has changed, but has yet
to respond to the increasing phenomenon of intra- rather than interstate conflict, or to
the rise of terrorism. Little attention has been given to the implications of possible
terrorist attacks on water facilities, especially in view of the development of chemical
and biological threats. The article considers current problems and weaknesses in
existing law, and includes discussion of a hypothetical terrorist attack on a city water
supply in Turkey. It considers the present state of international law, and provides
recommendations for legal regimes that will better protect the civilian population and
the supply of fresh water.
Author
Fredrick Lorenz
Institution - Country
University of Washington; Sponsored by the International Water Academy, Oslo Norway - USA
More about : The Protection of Water Facilities under International Law
|