Water Crimes: What Legal Protection in Periods of Armed Conflict?

Eloïse Pelletier, Independent (Switzerland)

In a global context marked by the scarcity of resources and the intensification of conflicts, water, long perceived as a symbol of life,
becomes an instrument of domination, siege or forced displacement. This
presentation highlights the rise in the instrumentalization of water in
armed conflicts in the light of international criminal law (IPR), identifying its current limits and the developments necessary to sanction these abuses. It is based on research carried out as part of an LLM thesis in international
humanitarian law and human rights at the Geneva Academy, entitled “Crimes against water and
environmental attacks: what legal protection in times of armed conflict?”, directed by Prof. Damien Scalia. The study mobilizes the typologies of crimes against water and analyzes their possible classification with regard to the three crimes of the Rome Statute: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The methodology
is based on the examination of IHL standards (notably Articles 54 and 55), IPR and
ICC jurisprudence. The lack of a universal and legally binding definition of water crimes constitutes a central obstacle. The Draft General Policy Document of the Office of the Prosecutor on environmental
crimes and the work of the Geneva Water Hub provide important
basics and thus aim to clarify this notion, as well as that of environmental
crime. The presentation also highlights the strategic and geopolitical dimension of water in contemporary conflicts and shows that its destruction or appropriation seriously undermines the fundamental rights of civilians. Finally, it analyzes current reforms, notably the proposal
to integrate ecocide into the Rome Statute and national progress, including that of
Belgium.