4. Humanitarian Law and the Right to Water: Potential Violations in Iraq
Humanitarian law, derived from the Geneva and Hague Conventions, places limits on the means and methods of combat. It is built on the fundamental principles of distinction and proportionality. 32 Under humanitarian law it is illegal to launch either indiscriminate attacks that do not distinguish between military and civilian targets, or attacks against military targets if the result would be excessive civilian casualties “in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.”33 The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court prohibits “intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives.”34
It is also illegal to launch attacks intended to demoralize or spread terror among the civilian population. According to the Geneva Conventions, “It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove, or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as… drinking water installations and supplies.”35
Depriving civilians of access to safe water—whether through direct attacks against water or electricity or the indirect effect of extended blockades—clearly violates these basic principles of international law and constitutes a war crime.
Humanitarian law also guarantees the right of affected civilians to receive aid.36 The Geneva Conventions require all warring parties to allow aid agencies to deliver humanitarian relief “in accordance with Red Cross principles.”37 The founding principle of the Red Cross is complete independence from the military.38 The ICRC therefore rejects any direct involvement of military forces in relief operations:39
Military operations should be clearly distinct from humanitarian activities. Particularly at the height of hostilities, military forces should not be directly involved in humanitarian action, as this would or could, in the minds of the authorities and the population, associate humanitarian organizations with political or military objectives that go beyond humanitarian concerns.40
As the UN General Assembly has declared, “Humanitarian assistance must be provided in accordance with the principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality.”41 These legal principles of humanitarian aid have not been respected by Anglo-American military forces invading Iraq.
32 G.A. Res. 2444, “Respect for Human Rights in Armed Conflict,” 23 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 18) (1968), at 164.
33 Protocol Additional to the Geneva Convention of 12 Aug. 1949, and Relating to the Protections of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) of June 8, 1977, opened for signature Dec. 12, 1977, UN Doc. A/32 144, Annex I, II (1977), reprinted in 16 I.L.M. 1391 (1977), art. 51(5)(b).
34 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of July 17, 1998, entry into force July 1, 2002. UN Doc. A/CONF.183/9*, Part 2, art. 8(2)(b)(ii).
35 Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions, Article 54.
36 4th Geneva Convention, Articles 23, 30, 38, 59 and 63.
37 4th Geneva Convention, Article 23; Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions Articles 55, 63 and 81.
38 See Resolution 4(g)(2) of the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. See also A/RES/43/131.
39 Kung, Peter, “Difficulty of Providing Military Support for Humanitarian Operations While Ensuring Impartiality,” ICRC Press Release SC/6371, 3778th Meeting, (21 May 1997).
40 Tauxe, Jean-Daniel, 45th Rose-Ross Seminar, ICRC, Montreux, (March 2, 2000).
41 G.A. Res. A/RES/46/182.
