Legal Protection of the Environment during International Armed Conflicts under the African Union Law

Abstract

International Armed conflicts today have more consequences than those generally suffered by humans. While wars are known for loss of lives, forced displacement, and destruction of infrastructure, environmental destruction is a common yet silent victim of international armed conflicts. This is mostly because of weapons and chemical explosions used in military operations, without regard to the aftermath of such weapons. Environmental protection during international armed conflict is an issue that policymakers have not given sufficient attention to. The African Union (AU) has a plethora of instruments relevant to environmental protection. Still, it has not yet developed adequate instruments to address or regulate environmental protection in international armed conflicts involving its member states. As a result, this study aims to answer the following question: How may the existing African Union legal instruments provide adequate environmental protection during international armed conflicts in Africa? Therefore, while deploying a doctrinal research method, the purpose of this mini dissertation is to assess the adequacy of the existing framework and its applicability to protecting the environment and prohibiting environmental degradation during armed conflicts among states in Africa. This is significant as the destruction of the environment during armed conflicts frequently results in breaches of human rights. This includes the right to life, health, food, water, and development, all of which necessitate proper protection. The research has demonstrated that the lack of appropriate tools for addressing environmental protection during international conflicts leads to ineffective enforcement of current laws and irregular application by nations. Therefore, the study finds that, despite the AU establishing a normative framework that acknowledges the importance of environmental protection, the main hurdle lies in its application by member states amid international armed conflicts.