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Kuwait stresses UN role in environment protection during wartime

Kuwait's  Ambassador to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi
Kuwait's Ambassador to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi
NEW YORK, Dec 10 (KUNA) -- Kuwait stressed the important role played by the United Nations to protect the environment during times of war and armed conflicts.
This came in a speech delivered by Kuwait permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi during a special session to discuss environmental protection during armed conflicts.
Ambassador Al-Otaibi said that the environment is the silent victim of wars, often used to provoke more social, economic, security and political conflicts in the short and long term.
" We've seen this clearly in the latest conflict witnessed in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe", he mentioned, stressing the importance to find obligatory laws and resolutions to protect the environment during the wars.
He called for the application of the international humanitarian law, which provides special protection for the natural environment, and attended warfare methods and means that would cause long-term and widespread damage to the natural environment.
In this regard, Ambassador Al-Otaibi indicated that the International Law Commission has approved 28 projects to protect the environment in conflict and war situations.
He added that the Commission will issue a revised version of the military guidelines and instructions on protecting the environment in times of war and conflict.
He stressed the importance of applying the law to protect the environment during times of peace so that countries can confront or reduce any environmental risks during wars and armed conflicts, at a time when efforts must be coherent to implement the goals of the 2030 sustainable development plan.
He stressed the need to use techniques and monitoring mechanisms to identify environmental damage and risks caused by armed conflict in order to protect civilians and provide a decent life for societies.
"This includes placing environmental protection on the agendas of the United Nations peacekeeping missions and informing the representatives of the Secretary-General and his special envoys to submit reports in this regard to the Council", he clarified.
The ambassador expressed his confidence that the Security Council could play an active role in holding accountable those responsible for the damage to the environment and use it as a weapon.
The meeting, which is the second of its kind, organized by the delegations of the State of Kuwait, Germany, Peru, and Estonia, after the first meeting held by Kuwait in cooperation with Germany in 2018.
Kuwait's interest in this issue comes from its experience in dealing with the environmental disaster that it was exposed to after the burning of its oil wells in 1991, which led to one of the worst natural disasters in history made by humans. (end) asf.nhq