While a certain amount of environmental damage may be inherent to war, it cannot be unlimited international humanitarian law (IHL) contains rules that protect the natural environment and that seek to limit the damage caused to it by armed conflict. When environmental degradation collides with climate risks, it compounds the challenges for people trying to survive in contemporary armed conflicts. The consequences of environmental damage for conflict-affected populations are severe and complex, affecting their well-being, health and survival. The European Commission, through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO), promotes the global compliance with IHL and humanitarian principles in general.The natural environment has frequently remained a silent casualty of war. Every year since then, the EU has continued to publish such reports. In 2018, it published an initial report on how they were being implemented, highlighting the wide-ranging measures the EU carries out in support of IHL.
In 2009, the EU issued guidelines on promoting compliance with IHL. It stresses how important it is for the EU to continue to put the promotion and application of IHL consistently at the heart of its external action. In March 2021, the Commission adopted a Communication on the EU's humanitarian action: new challenges, same principles. The EU also is the only regional organisation to adopt (in 2005 updated in 2009) guidelines on promoting compliance with IHL.
Therefore, as one of the world’s largest humanitarian donors, the EU has always been firmly committed to promoting compliance with IHL.Īll EU countries have ratified the 4 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. As most humanitarian action takes place in areas of armed conflicts, violations of IHL greatly hinder the EU's ability to fulfil its humanitarian aid objectives of meeting the needs of those affected, and also endanger the security of EU humanitarian partners.
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