Civilian objects are protected from attack under general provisions of IHL. Some objects are also accorded specific protection under IHL, either because of their particular importance for the protection of victims of armed conflicts, the civilian population or mankind in general or because of their particular vulnerability to destruction and damage in times of armed conflict. Some examples are given below.
Medical units and transports
The term ‘medical units’ refers to establishments and other units – military or civilian, fixed or mobile, permanent or temporary – organized for medical purposes. The term includes, for example, hospitals and other similar units, blood transfusion centres, preventive medicine centres and institutes, medical depots and the medical and pharmaceutical stores of such units.
The term ‘medical transports’ refers to any means of transportation – military or civilian, permanent or temporary – assigned exclusively to medical transportation under the control of a competent authority of a party to the conflict. This includes means of transportation by land, water or air, such as ambulances, hospital ships and medical aircraft.
The specific protection for medical units and transports under IHL is a subsidiary form of protection afforded to ensure that the wounded and the sick receive medical care. The IHL protection for medical units and transports is an old one. It can be found in the 1864 Geneva Convention or the 1899 and 1907 Hague Regulations. It was further elaborated in the First and Fourth Geneva Conventions for military medical units and transports, civilian hospitals, and certain means of medical transport. In 1977, this protection was expanded to cover, in particular, civilian medical units and transports in all circumstances. The protection for medical units and transports in non-international armed conflicts is derived implicitly from common Article 3, which requires that the wounded and the sick be collected and cared for. This protection is also explicitly set forth in Additional Protocol II. State practice has now established the obligation to respect and protect all medical units and transports, whether civilian or military, as a norm of customary international law applicable in both international and non-international armed conflicts.
In the obligation to respect and protect medical units and transports exclusively assigned to medical purposes in all circumstances:
• respect means, in particular, that medical units and transports may not be attacked and that their functioning may not be unduly impeded;
• protect means that medical units and transports must be actively assisted in their functioning, as well as protected from attacks or undue interference by third parties. In particular, medical units must, as far as possible, not be situated in the vicinity of military objectives. Moreover, medical units and transports may under no circumstances be used to shield military objectives from attack.
If medical units and transports are used to commit, outside their humanitarian function, acts harmful to the enemy, they will lose their protection and may be subject to attacks. Before attacking them, however, a warning must be issued, setting, whenever appropriate, a reasonable time limit; the attack may be authorized only if the warning has remained unheeded. Examples of acts harmful to the enemy include the use of medical units to shelter able-bodied combatants or store arms or munitions, or as military observation posts or shields for military action. Even then, however, as with all attacks on a military objective, the rules on proportionality and precautions must be complied with for the benefit of the wounded and the sick or medical personnel who may be inside a medical unit or transport from which acts harmful to the enemy are being committed.
Finally, authorized medical units have the right to display the distinctive emblems. It should be noted that medical units and transports must be specifically respected and protected whether or not they display the distinctive emblem; but displaying the emblem facilitates identification.
Cultural property
Cultural property is generally protected as a civilian object. In addition, special care must be taken to avoid any damage to cultural property, as it is among the most precious civilian objects; the need for such caution becomes even more important when the cultural property in question is a vital aspect of the heritage of the people concerned.
The term ‘cultural property’ refers to any movable or immovable property dedicated to religion, art, science, education or charitable purposes, or to historic monuments. Property of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people – such as architectural or historic monuments, archaeological sites, works of art, books or any building whose main and effective purpose is to contain cultural property, and centres containing a large amount of cultural property – may display and can be recognized by the emblem of the blue-and-white shield.
The legal basis for providing special protection for cultural property is found in the 1907 Hague Regulations, the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Protocols, and in the Additional Protocols of 1977. The obligation to respect and protect cultural property also exists in customary law governing both international and non-international armed conflict.
In the obligation to respect and protect cultural property:
• respect means that special care must be taken in military operations to avoid damage to cultural property, unless they are turned into military objectives;
• protect means that all seizure of or destruction or wilful damage done to cultural property is prohibited. The occupying power must also prevent the illicit export of cultural property from occupied territory and must return illicitly exported property to the competent authorities of the occupied territory.
There are, in addition, further obligations to respect and protect property that is considered of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people.
• The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property sought to reinforce the protection for property that is considered of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people by, first, encouraging the marking of such property with a blue-and-white shield.
• Such property must not be the object of attack unless imperatively required by military necessity. The Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention clarifies that the waiver of imperative military necessity may be invoked only when and for as long as: (1) the cultural property in question has, by its function, been made into a military objective; and (2) there is no feasible alternative for obtaining a military advantage similar to that offered by attacking that objective. The Second Protocol further requires that the existence of such necessity be established at a certain level of command and that in case of an attack, effective advance warning be given whenever circumstances permit. It should be noted that Article 53, paragraph 1, of Additional Protocol I and Article 16 of Additional Protocol II go even further: they do not provide for a waiver in case of imperative military necessity. These articles cover only a limited amount of very important cultural property, namely that which forms part of the cultural or spiritual heritage of ‘peoples’ (i.e. mankind). The property covered by the Additional Protocols has to be of such importance that it is sure to be recognized by everyone and may not even have to be marked.
• The military use of such property – which is likely to expose it to destruction or damage – is prohibited, unless imperatively required by military necessity. Here again, the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention clarifies that the waiver of imperative military necessity may be invoked to use cultural property for purposes that are likely to expose it to destruction or damage only “when and for as long as no choice is possible between such use of the cultural property and another feasible method for obtaining a similar military advantage.”
The Second Protocol further requires that the existence of such necessity be established at a certain level of command. It should be noted that Article 53, paragraph 1, of Additional Protocol I and Article 16 of Additional Protocol II go even further: they do not provide for a waiver in case of imperative military necessity.
• Any form of theft, pillage or misappropriation of such property and all acts of vandalism directed against it are prohibited.
Emblem of the blue-and-white shield to indicate protection for property that is considered of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people.
The natural environment
The term ‘natural environment’ refers to the dynamics, composition or structure of the Earth, including its biota, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, and outer space. It includes, for instance, all vegetation (plants, forests, etc.), wildlife, micro-organisms, soil, rocks, air, water and other natural resources, and climate.
Armed conflict can cause long-lasting damage to the natural environment. The use of certain weapons, in particular chemical or nuclear weapons, may have a long-lasting adverse impact on the environment. Such impact can be an aspect of military strategy, parties to the conflict targeting parts of the environment in order to weaken their enemy’s capacities. But it may also occur as an unintended consequence of conflict. Destruction – of drains and sewers, power stations, and chemical plants and other industries – and the mere creation of rubble may result in the contamination of water sources, arable land and the air, affecting the health of entire populations. While a certain amount of environmental damage may be accepted as inherent in armed conflict, such damage must not be disproportionate.
IHL therefore recognizes a limit to environmental damage. First, the environment is generally protected as a civilian object and therefore also protected against direct attacks as well as against excessive incidental damage; IHL also requires that all feasible precautions be taken to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental damage to the environment. The natural environment is also accorded special protection under IHL. In fact, IHL protects the natural environment against “widespread, long-term and severe damage.” In particular, methods or means of warfare that are intended, or may be expected, to cause such of damage to the natural environment Armed conflict can cause long-lasting damage to the natural environment.
The use of certain weapons, in particular chemical or nuclear weapons, may have a long-lasting adverse impact on the environment. Such impact can be an aspect of military strategy, parties to the conflict targeting parts of the environment in order to weaken their enemy’s capacities. But it may also occur as an unintended consequence of conflict. Destruction – of drains and sewers, power stations, and chemical plants and other industries – and the mere creation of rubble may result in the contamination of water sources, arable land and the air, affecting the health of entire populations. While a certain amount of environmental damage may be accepted as inherent in armed conflict, such damage must not be disproportionate.
IHL therefore recognizes a limit to environmental damage. First, the environment is generally protected as a civilian object and therefore also protected against direct attacks as well as against excessive incidental damage; IHL also requires that all feasible precautions be taken to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental damage to the environment. The natural environment is also accorded special protection under IHL. In fact, IHL protects the natural environment against “widespread, long-term and severe damage.” In particular, methods or means of warfare that are intended, or may be expected, to cause such of damage to the natural environment
Works and installations containing dangerous forces
The term ‘works and installations containing dangerous forces’ refers to dams, dykes and nuclear electricity generating stations.
Works and installations containing dangerous forces must not be attacked even when these objects are turned into military objectives because such attacks may cause the release of dangerous forces and as a result, serious loss of civilian life. Military objectives situated at or in the vicinity of these works or installations must not be attacked either, if such an attack would lead to equally serious loss of civilian life. These rules are explicitly stated in Additional Protocol I and exist in customary law for both international and non-international armed conflicts. In order to facilitate identification of such objects, parties to the armed conflict may mark them with a special sign consisting of a group of three bright orange circles placed on the same axis.
