In the context of the proceedings before the Sixth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015, some States have supported the temporal approach followed by the Special Rapporteur, while other States have expressed their doubts about this approach. In the latter scenario, however, the topic would be more difficult to manage and to delineate, and the issue of the temporal approach would still remain unresolved. The alternative would be to approach the issue at hand from the perspective of the different applicable international law regimes, such as international environmental law, the law of armed conflict and international human rights law. The temporal division enables a better understanding of the topic at hand, notwithstanding the fact that Part One of the draft principles’ text is devoted not only to the pre-conflict stage, but also to principles applicable throughout the three phases. The Special Rapporteur has noted that there are no clear-cut boundaries between the various phases and that it is essential to read the reports together. The ILC has decided to deal with the topic under consideration by dividing it into three temporal periods (pre-, in-, and post-conflict).
Subsequently, I will address the issue of the final form of the text and then I will offer certain concluding thoughts. Then, I will examine the draft principles that have been provisionally adopted by the ILC regarding the in bello phase, with particular emphasis placed to their relationship with existing international law. Against this background, I will first provide certain remarks regarding two general themes permeating the whole topic, namely the temporal approach chosen by the Special Rapporteur and the distinction between different types of armed conflict. Special Rapporteur Marie Jacobsson has already submitted three reports addressing the protection of the environment by reference to each relevant stage. Being responsive to the devastating effects that armed conflicts cause on the environment, the International Law Commission (ILC) has recently taken on board the issue of the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts.
0 kommentar(er)
