Making water protection operational in armed conflict

On 9 July 2026, Mr. Tadesse Kebebew, a Project Manager at the Geneva Water Hub, contributed as a panellist to the webinar “Protection of the natural environment in armed conflict: How can parliaments ensure environmental protection through the implementation of international humanitarian law?”

The webinar was part of a series for parliamentarians on international humanitarian law, organized as an initiative of the IPU Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law, with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Mr. Kebebew’s intervention focused on water and water systems as part of the natural environment in armed conflict. He emphasized that water protection is not a side issue: it is where civilian protection, environmental protection and post-conflict recovery meet.

Water systems in armed conflict can be harmed in several ways. They may be directly attacked or incidentally damaged. They may also stop functioning when consumables such as chlorine, fuel and spare parts are unavailable and the people who operate and maintain the system are affected. In some contexts, water may also be deliberately restricted, manipulated or contaminated as a means or method of warfare.

The consequences are equally layered. First, there is direct harm: families lose safe drinking water, hospitals cannot function safely, and rivers, wells or soil may be contaminated. Second, there are indirect or reverberating effects: disease spreads, crops fail, livelihoods disappear, displacement increases and tensions rise over scarce resources. Third, there is cumulative harm: repeated damage, delayed repairs and long-term contamination can undermine ecosystems, agricultural land, biodiversity, rivers and aquifers long after hostilities have ended.

The key message was clear! If water protection remains only a principle, it will arrive too late. If it is built into national preparedness, military practice, parliamentary oversight and accountability, it can save lives, protect ecosystems and preserve the possibility of recovery after war.

The intervention also recalled the importance of existing frameworks and initiatives, including the PERAC principles, the Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure, and the Global Alliance to Spare Water from Armed Conflicts.

Mr. Kebebew called on parliamentarians to make water protection operational. This means translating legal and policy commitments into domestic legislation, military doctrine, rules of engagement, operational planning, budgets, training, oversight and accountability mechanisms.

'The Geneva Water Hub calls on parliamentarians to strengthen the protection of water resources and infrastructure during armed conflict'