![]() Relevant international organizations should, where appropriate, play a facilitating role in this regard. Parties to an armed conflict should, as part of the peace process, including where appropriate in peace agreements, address matters relating to the restoration and protection of the environment damaged as a result of the conflict.Ģ. States and international organizations involved in peace operations established in relation to armed conflicts shall consider the impact of such operations on the environment and take, as appropriate, measures to prevent, mitigate and remediate the harm to the environment resulting from those operations.ġ. Thus, Canada’s domestic laws and policies may contribute to the development and execution of PERAC's general principles and those applicable after armed conflict, such as Principles 7 (peace operations) and 22 (peace processes), which provide: While Canada has not been an “occupying power” within the meaning of international law, its military forces have participated in international operations on counterinsurgency and peace support. This concern, though, may have been addressed in the recent adoption of PERAC, which states that “to the extent that they do not reflect customary or treaty-based obligations of States," the principles provide "recommendations for the progressive development of international law through examples of effective voluntary measures to enhance the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts.” Araya held that customary international law is automatically incorporated into domestic Canadian law as part of the common law. In the 2021 Comments and Observations on the draft principles adopted at the ILC’s Seventy-Third Session, Canada submitted that PERAC created ambiguity and recommended that each Principle should indicate whether it is “an obligation or a recommendation for the progressive development of law.” Such clarifications would have a serious effect on state obligations, given that the Supreme Court of Canada in Nevsun Resources Ltd v. I n December 2022, the UN General Assembly formally adopted PERAC, which contains 27 principles divided into five Parts: Parts One and Two cover scope and principles of general application (Principles 1-11) Part Three states principles applicable during armed conflict (Principles 12-18) Part Four deals with principles applicable in situations of occupation (Principles 19-21) and Part Five declares principles applicable after armed conflict (Principles 22-27). The timing was sadly opportune, as environmental damage in the war in Ukraine was already estimated at US $35 billion. In early 2022, ILC released the “ Draft principles on protection of the environment in relation to armed conflict ” ( PERAC). ![]() This work item was then included in the ILC program in 2013. In 2011, in recognition that the environmental effects of war may be long-term and irreparable, an International Law Commission (ILC) Working Group recommended the development of a draft framework convention or statement of principles on the protection of the environment in times of armed conflict. One such destructive activity is war, where the environment is a silent witness to atrocities and a silent victim as well. It painted a grim picture of how human activities harm the planet. This was the opening statement of United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres at Columbia University in December 2020.
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