The event took place the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN in Geneva last December.
GENEVA, 22 January 2024 – The Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN in Geneva and Justice Rapid Response (JRR) were proud to host an expert panel for the diplomatic community at the Finnish Mission to tackle the issue of international crimes affecting the environment in the context of the Ukrainian conflict with Mr. Samuel Emonet, Executive Director of JRR, two JRR experts and Ms. Marja Lehto, Finnish Ambassador for International Legal Affairs.
This gathering was an opportunity to explore how the war in Ukraine will shape the accountability efforts for this specific type of crimes and contribute to raising awareness about the newly adopted International Law Commission’s Principles on protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts.
“The magnitude of environmental devastation in Ukraine as a result of the ongoing armed conflict, for instance the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam, will have long-term consequences that will affect the population for generations,” explained a JRR Environment expert taking part into the event while introducing the topic at hand to the audience.
To fight impunity associated with these particular types of crimes, a main challenge that still needs to be overcome by justice actors is collecting evidence from the field and securing them in prevision of future judicial proceedings. In fact, most often, accessing the territory to collect samples for instance, proves to be laborious, even more so in the context of an armed conflict such as the one in Ukraine.
For this, the adequate expertise must be made available as rapidly as possible to ensure no evidence is being lost. Demonstrating this is the case of the Kakhovka Dam destruction. “Because of the high probability of losing crucial evidence considering the rapid flooding of vast areas, the swift deployment of highly technical expertise constituted a decisive factor in securing data that might be eventually be used as evidence before courts,” mentioned Samuel Emonet.
One of JRR’s legal expert specializing in international crimes affecting the environment also touched on the fact that many avenues to accountability are being pursued simultaneously for the case of Ukraine. This includes before Ukrainian courts, other national courts based on universal/extra-territorial jurisdiction, and international courts.
“The unprecedented political will to address these crimes and violations, associated with an increased awareness about the imperative to protect the environment, should hopefully result in new caselaw and the development of new accountability avenues for crimes affecting the environment in times of conflict,” the JRR expert also added.
This is where the new Principles of international law on the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts may come handy, as they bring coherence and clarity to this field of international law. Many of the Principles reflect existing international law while others contain proposals for its further development.
Ambassador Marja Lehto reminded guests that the Principles cover the entire lifecycle of armed conflict (pre-conflict, during the conflict and post-conflict) as well as different situations of interest, including non-international armed conflicts, situations of occupation, etc. She also highlighted that the fact that they had been prepared in close consultation with States, international organizations and other stakeholders makes them a very useful tool to be disseminated broadly.
Mr. Emonet concluded the event by emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to justice and accountability processes by indicating that “all international crimes and human rights violations impacting the environment are accounted for and that a true victim-centered approach is promoted.”