Chapter

Legal liability for environmental damage : the United Nations Compensation Commission and the 1990-1991 Gulf War

Cymie R. Payne

Governance, natural resources and post-conflict peacebuilding

London : Earthscan, 2016

p. 719-760 : carte, tabl.

English

Bibliographie : p. 752-760. - Photocopies

The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) established by the United Nations Security Council proved to be an innovative institution that implemented a law-based approach to the transition from conflict to peace and to the restoration of war-damaged environmental resources. This chapter illustrates how the UNCC adapted the traditional bilateral compensation commission model to address the substantial environmental damage that resulted from the 1990-1991 Gulf War. The UNCC demonstrates that states can be held accountable for wartime environmental damage, and reveals the benefits that can be obtained from multilateral engagement and long-term commitment to environmental restoration. After discussing the role of natural resources in Iraq's decision to invade Kuwait and the resulting environmental damage, the chapter considers the legal procedures and principles that shaped the work of the UNCC, including the review of environmental claims. It then provides an assessment of the UNCC as an instrument of reparations and post-conflict restoration.

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