When Water Becomes a Strategic Weapon

27.04.2026 Protection of Water During and After Armed Conflict

Desalination plants targeted in the Gulf have thrust water back into the center of armed conflict. In an analysis for the UNIGE Journal, Dr Mara Tignino examines the legal and strategic stakes of attacks on infrastructure vital to civilian survival.

In a recent analysis published by the UNIGE Journal, our Scientific Director Dr Mara Tignino explores the implications of attacks against desalination facilities amid tensions involving Iran, the United States, and their regional allies. In Gulf countries, these plants are the primary source of drinking water, making them a critical civilian lifeline and a major strategic vulnerability.

Beyond depriving populations of a basic necessity, targeting water infrastructure sends a powerful political and economic signal. The analysis highlights the far‑reaching humanitarian, environmental, and economic consequences of such attacks, and examines the legal framework protecting objects indispensable to civilian survival under international humanitarian law.

Mara Tignino also underscores the need to better integrate serious harm to water resources into international criminal law, as such acts may amount to war crimes and, in certain circumstances, crimes against humanity. Through research, training, and initiatives such as the Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure, the Geneva Water Hub works to strengthen the protection of water in both peace and armed conflict.

🔗 Read the full analysis: www.unige.ch/lejournal/analyse/printemps-2026/usines-dessalement/