The Ineffectiveness of PERAC 2022: Why Environmental Damage in Armed Conflict Demands a Binding International Convention?
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Abstract
Environmental damage in armed conflict causes severe ecological damage. Although various international legal instruments have attempted to protect the environment in situations of armed conflict, in reality many countries still ignore the principles contained in these international legal instruments. This study examines the urgency of establishing a binding convention through doctrinal legal research using a constructive approach. Existing legal instruments will be analyzed to identify systemic gaps in the form of: normative ambiguity in protection standards, the absence of operational accountability mechanisms, and the non-binding status of the most comprehensive instrument (PERAC). The results of the study show that various international legal instruments aimed at protecting the environment in situations of armed conflict still have legal gaps, therefore an international binding convention is needed to address this. In addition, this study also proposes a conceptual framework for the convention by integrating the principles of lex specialis, state responsibility, and lessons from successful international environmental agreements such as the Montreal Protocol, as well as the experience of the UNCC in the 1991 Gulf War. This study contributes to the progressive development of international law by bridging the gap between normative consensus and binding accountability for environmental damage in warfare.
Article Details
How to Cite
Rikiansyah, Mahendra Putra Kurnia, & Grizelda. (2026). The Ineffectiveness of PERAC 2022: Why Environmental Damage in Armed Conflict Demands a Binding International Convention?. Padjadjaran Journal of International Law, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.23920/pjil.v10i2.2649
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Alvarez, José E. International Organizations as Law-makers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Journals
Biggerstaff, W Casey, and Michael N Schmitt. “Protecting the environment in armed conflict: Evaluating the US perspective.” International Review of the Red Cross 105, no. 924 (2023): 1267–92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383123000516.
Bothe, Michael, Carl Bruch, Jordan Diamond, and David Jensen. “International Law Protecting the Environment during Armed Conflict: Gaps and Opportunities.” International Review of the Red Cross 92, no. 879 (2010): 569–92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383110000597
Boyle, Alan. “Human Rights Protection and the Environment: Where Next?” Human Rights and Environment, 2017.
Bruch, Carl, David Jensen, Mikiyasu Nakayama, Jon Unruh, Rebecca Gruby, and Ross Wolfarth. “Post-Conflict Peace Building and Natural Resources.” Yearbook of International Environmental Law 19, no. 1 (2009): 58–96. https://doi.org/10.1093/yiel/19.1.58.
Franck, Thomas M. “Legitimacy in the International System.” The American Journal of International Law 82, no. 4 (1988): 705–59.
Hulme, Karen. “Taking Care to Protect the Environment Against Damage: A Meaningless Obligation?” International Review of the Red Cross 92, no. 879 (2010): 675–91. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383110000512.
Idzna, Fadia, Adji Samekto, and L. Tri Setyawanta R. “Environmental Protection in Relation to Situations of International Armed Conflict.” Diponegoro Law Review 5, no. 3 (2016): 1– 20.
Jong, Daniëlla Dam-de, and Britta Sjöstedt. “Enhancing Environmental Protection in Relation to Armed Conflict: An Assessment of the ILC Draft Principles.” Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review 44, no. 2 (2021): 2021.
Kempen, Bernhard, and Zan He. “The Practice of the International Court of Justice on Provisional Measures: The Recent Development.” Heidelberg Journal of International Law 69, no. 2 (2009): 919–29.
Koh, Harold Hongju. “Why Do Nations Obey International Law?” Yale Law Journal 106 (1995): 2599–2660.
Koremenos, Barbara, Charles Lipson, and Duncan Snidal. “The Rational Design of International Institutions.” International Organization 55, no. 4 (2001): 761–99.
Mantle, Ryan. “The Forgotten Floods: Examining the Consequences of the Yellow River Disaster, 1938-1947.” History Undergraduate Theses, 2022.
Raustalia, Kal, and David G. Victor. “The Regime Complex for Plant Genetic Resources.” International Organization 58, no. 2 (2004): 277–309.
Sand, Peter H. “Catastrophic Environmental Damage and the Gulf War Reparation Awards: The Experience of the UN Compensation Commission.” Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting, 2011, 430–33. https://doi.org/10.5305/procannmeetasil.105.0430.
Saputra, Muhammad Ryan Dwi. “The Use of Methods or Means of Warfare Which Caused Damage to the Natural Environment Based on International Humanitarian Law.” Padjadjaran Journal of International Law 4, no. 2 (2020): 207–25.
Sasake, Eliezer, Josina Augustina Yvonne Wattimena, and Richard Marsilio Waas. “State Responsibility for Pollution Caused by the Mining Industry in Maritime Border Areas According to International Environmental Law.” Jurnal Ilmu Hukum 2, no. 4 (2022): 318– 32. https://doi.org/10.21143/jhp.vol20.no3.894.
Terry, Fiona. “Humanitarian Ethics: A Guide to the Morality of Aid in War and Disaster.” International Review of the Red Cross 97, no. 897 (2016): 469–75. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383115000624.
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Gaafar, Roba. “The Environmental Impact of Syria’s Conflict: A Preliminary Survey of Issues.” Arab Reform Initiative, 2021. https://www.arab-reform.net/publication/the-environmental- impact-of-syrias-conflict-a-preliminary-survey-of-issues/, accessed on 5 December 2025.
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United Nations Compensation Commission, “UNCC at a glance,” https://uncc.un.org/en/who-we- were/uncc-glance, accessed on 13 August 2025.
Legal Documents
Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques, December 10, 1976, 1108 UNTS 151.
Global Environment Facility. “Instrument for the Establishment of the Restructured Global Environment Facility,” 2015.
Good Humanitarian Donorship. “23 Principles and Good Practice of Humanitarian Donorship,” 2003.
Gowdy, John Malcolm, Richard B. Howarth, and Clement Allan Tisdell. “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Foundations,” 2010.
International Committee of the Red Cross, 1987. “Commentary on the Additional Protocols of June 8, 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949.” Geneva: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
International Court of Justice. “Case Concerning the Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company, Limited,” 1970.
International Law Commission. Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, 2001, U.N. doc. A/56/10 43 (2001).
International Law Commission. Draft Principles on Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts, UN Doc. A/77/10 (2022).
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “Environment, Climate Change and Security,” 2024.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). “Scaling-up Finance Mechanisms for Biodiversity,” 2013.
Secretariats of the Basel Convention and United Nations Environment Programme. “Procedures and Mechanism on Implementation and Compliance with the Basel and Rotterdam Conventions,” 2019.
Society for Ecological Restoration International Science & Policy Working Group. “The SER International Primer on Ecological Restoration.” Vol. 2, 2004.
The United States Department of Defense, “Law of War Manual,” (Washington: Office of General Counsel), 2023.
The German Red Cross and the Federal Ministry of Defense. “Documents on International Humanitarian Law (Sankt Augustin: Academia Verlag, 2012; 2nd edition),” 2013.
UNEP Ozone Secretariat. “Handbook for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.” 14th ed. Nairobi: Ozone Secretariat, 2020.
United Nations Compensation Commission. “Report and Recommendation Made by the Panel of Commissioners Concerning the Seventh Instalment of Individual Claims for Damages up to US$100,000 (Category ‘C’ Claims),” 1999.
United Nations Compensation Commission. “Report and Recommendations Made by the Panel of Commissioners Concerning the Fifth Instalment of ‘F4’ Claims,” 2005.
United Nations Environmental Programme. “Kakhovka Dam Breach Kakhovka Dam Breach.” Nairobi, Kenya, 2023.
United Nations Environmental Programme. “From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of Natural Resources and the Environment,” 2009.
United Nations Environmental Programme. “Protecting the Environment During Armed Conflict: An Inventory and Analysis of International Law.” Nairobi, Kenya, 2009.
United Nations Environmental Programme. “UNEP marks International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict,” 2015.
United Nations General Assembly. “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” 1992.
United Nations General Assembly. Resolution 47/37: Protection of the environment in times of armed conflict, UN Doc. A/RES/47/37, November 25, 1992.
Alvarez, José E. International Organizations as Law-makers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Journals
Biggerstaff, W Casey, and Michael N Schmitt. “Protecting the environment in armed conflict: Evaluating the US perspective.” International Review of the Red Cross 105, no. 924 (2023): 1267–92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383123000516.
Bothe, Michael, Carl Bruch, Jordan Diamond, and David Jensen. “International Law Protecting the Environment during Armed Conflict: Gaps and Opportunities.” International Review of the Red Cross 92, no. 879 (2010): 569–92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383110000597
Boyle, Alan. “Human Rights Protection and the Environment: Where Next?” Human Rights and Environment, 2017.
Bruch, Carl, David Jensen, Mikiyasu Nakayama, Jon Unruh, Rebecca Gruby, and Ross Wolfarth. “Post-Conflict Peace Building and Natural Resources.” Yearbook of International Environmental Law 19, no. 1 (2009): 58–96. https://doi.org/10.1093/yiel/19.1.58.
Franck, Thomas M. “Legitimacy in the International System.” The American Journal of International Law 82, no. 4 (1988): 705–59.
Hulme, Karen. “Taking Care to Protect the Environment Against Damage: A Meaningless Obligation?” International Review of the Red Cross 92, no. 879 (2010): 675–91. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383110000512.
Idzna, Fadia, Adji Samekto, and L. Tri Setyawanta R. “Environmental Protection in Relation to Situations of International Armed Conflict.” Diponegoro Law Review 5, no. 3 (2016): 1– 20.
Jong, Daniëlla Dam-de, and Britta Sjöstedt. “Enhancing Environmental Protection in Relation to Armed Conflict: An Assessment of the ILC Draft Principles.” Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review 44, no. 2 (2021): 2021.
Kempen, Bernhard, and Zan He. “The Practice of the International Court of Justice on Provisional Measures: The Recent Development.” Heidelberg Journal of International Law 69, no. 2 (2009): 919–29.
Koh, Harold Hongju. “Why Do Nations Obey International Law?” Yale Law Journal 106 (1995): 2599–2660.
Koremenos, Barbara, Charles Lipson, and Duncan Snidal. “The Rational Design of International Institutions.” International Organization 55, no. 4 (2001): 761–99.
Mantle, Ryan. “The Forgotten Floods: Examining the Consequences of the Yellow River Disaster, 1938-1947.” History Undergraduate Theses, 2022.
Raustalia, Kal, and David G. Victor. “The Regime Complex for Plant Genetic Resources.” International Organization 58, no. 2 (2004): 277–309.
Sand, Peter H. “Catastrophic Environmental Damage and the Gulf War Reparation Awards: The Experience of the UN Compensation Commission.” Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting, 2011, 430–33. https://doi.org/10.5305/procannmeetasil.105.0430.
Saputra, Muhammad Ryan Dwi. “The Use of Methods or Means of Warfare Which Caused Damage to the Natural Environment Based on International Humanitarian Law.” Padjadjaran Journal of International Law 4, no. 2 (2020): 207–25.
Sasake, Eliezer, Josina Augustina Yvonne Wattimena, and Richard Marsilio Waas. “State Responsibility for Pollution Caused by the Mining Industry in Maritime Border Areas According to International Environmental Law.” Jurnal Ilmu Hukum 2, no. 4 (2022): 318– 32. https://doi.org/10.21143/jhp.vol20.no3.894.
Terry, Fiona. “Humanitarian Ethics: A Guide to the Morality of Aid in War and Disaster.” International Review of the Red Cross 97, no. 897 (2016): 469–75. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383115000624.
Vöneky, Silja. “Limiting the Misuse of the Environment during Peacetime and War – The ENMOD Convention.” Uni Freiburg, no. 5 (2020).
Websites
Gaafar, Roba. “The Environmental Impact of Syria’s Conflict: A Preliminary Survey of Issues.” Arab Reform Initiative, 2021. https://www.arab-reform.net/publication/the-environmental- impact-of-syrias-conflict-a-preliminary-survey-of-issues/, accessed on 5 December 2025.
Government of Ukraine. “EcoZagroza: Environmental Crimes of Russia in Ukraine,” https://ecozagroza.gov.ua/en, accessed on 15 July 2025.
Sparks, Riley. “War’s hidden toll: How scientists are confronting the environmental devastation left in conflict’s wake.” International Science Council, 2024, https://council.science/blog/wars-hidden-toll-how-scientists-are-confronting-the- environmental-devastation-left-in-conflicts-wake/, accessed on 10 February 2025.
United Nations Compensation Commission, “UNCC at a glance,” https://uncc.un.org/en/who-we- were/uncc-glance, accessed on 13 August 2025.
Legal Documents
Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques, December 10, 1976, 1108 UNTS 151.
Global Environment Facility. “Instrument for the Establishment of the Restructured Global Environment Facility,” 2015.
Good Humanitarian Donorship. “23 Principles and Good Practice of Humanitarian Donorship,” 2003.
Gowdy, John Malcolm, Richard B. Howarth, and Clement Allan Tisdell. “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Foundations,” 2010.
International Committee of the Red Cross, 1987. “Commentary on the Additional Protocols of June 8, 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949.” Geneva: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
International Court of Justice. “Case Concerning the Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company, Limited,” 1970.
International Law Commission. Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, 2001, U.N. doc. A/56/10 43 (2001).
International Law Commission. Draft Principles on Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts, UN Doc. A/77/10 (2022).
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “Environment, Climate Change and Security,” 2024.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). “Scaling-up Finance Mechanisms for Biodiversity,” 2013.
Secretariats of the Basel Convention and United Nations Environment Programme. “Procedures and Mechanism on Implementation and Compliance with the Basel and Rotterdam Conventions,” 2019.
Society for Ecological Restoration International Science & Policy Working Group. “The SER International Primer on Ecological Restoration.” Vol. 2, 2004.
The United States Department of Defense, “Law of War Manual,” (Washington: Office of General Counsel), 2023.
The German Red Cross and the Federal Ministry of Defense. “Documents on International Humanitarian Law (Sankt Augustin: Academia Verlag, 2012; 2nd edition),” 2013.
UNEP Ozone Secretariat. “Handbook for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.” 14th ed. Nairobi: Ozone Secretariat, 2020.
United Nations Compensation Commission. “Report and Recommendation Made by the Panel of Commissioners Concerning the Seventh Instalment of Individual Claims for Damages up to US$100,000 (Category ‘C’ Claims),” 1999.
United Nations Compensation Commission. “Report and Recommendations Made by the Panel of Commissioners Concerning the Fifth Instalment of ‘F4’ Claims,” 2005.
United Nations Environmental Programme. “Kakhovka Dam Breach Kakhovka Dam Breach.” Nairobi, Kenya, 2023.
United Nations Environmental Programme. “From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of Natural Resources and the Environment,” 2009.
United Nations Environmental Programme. “Protecting the Environment During Armed Conflict: An Inventory and Analysis of International Law.” Nairobi, Kenya, 2009.
United Nations Environmental Programme. “UNEP marks International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict,” 2015.
United Nations General Assembly. “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” 1992.
United Nations General Assembly. Resolution 47/37: Protection of the environment in times of armed conflict, UN Doc. A/RES/47/37, November 25, 1992.