Monitoring and Evaluation Tool 3
Monitoring Attacks against WASH: the Geneva List of Principles
Purpose
This Tool complements Section 1 ‘Risk-Informed Programme Monitoring – Integrating conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding into M&E’ of the WASH for Peace M&E Guide. A key dimension of conflict-sensitive monitoring is the monitoring of the conflict context in relation to WASH, including attacks against WASH infrastructure and personnel, and indirect actions that undermine access to WASH. The Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure is a key reference document prepared for the use of parties to armed conflicts, international organizations, and other practitioners working in the contexts of armed conflicts, including in pre- and post-conflict situations.
The Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure is the result of a think tank process started by the Geneva Water Hub’s Platform for International Water Law in 2016 during the reflection carried out by the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace. The objective of the Geneva List is to ensure the protection of WASH infrastructure during international and non-international armed conflicts as well as to safeguard their utilization in post-conflict situations, and is addressed to both States and non-State actors.
The selected Principles listed below can be leveraged to develop conflict-sensitive and risk-responsive monitoring frameworks and plans:
Principle 6
Attacks against water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure:
Water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure are presumed to be civilian objects and, in such case, must not be attacked.
Principle 7
Attacks against the personnel working for water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure:
Personnel responsible for carrying out tasks related to the operation, maintenance, assessment, repair and rehabilitation of water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure are presumed to be civilians and, in such case, must not be attacked.
Principle 8
Indiscriminate attacks:
Attacks which do not or cannot distinguish between military objectives and civilian objects, including water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure, are prohibited.
Principle 11
Precautions against the effects of attacks:
The parties to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to protect the civilian population and civilian objects, including water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure, under their control against the effects of attacks. The parties to the conflict are encouraged to establish protected zones around water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure.
Principle 16
Forced displacement:
The control over the delivery of water, and deprivation thereof, must not be used to force the displacement of civilians. Moreover, returnees’ access to water should be ensured through the reconstruction, rehabilitation and repair of water infrastructure if needed to support safe and voluntary return.
Principle 17
Humanitarian access and assistance:
Humanitarian relief personnel, including those involved in water-related activities, and their equipment must be respected and protected. The parties to the conflict are encouraged to negotiate water ceasefire agreements in order to allow the safe passage of humanitarian relief personnel, including those involved in water-related activities. The parties to the conflict are encouraged to collaborate for the operation, maintenance, assessment, repair and rehabilitation of water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure.
Principle 21
Reconstruction, rehabilitation and repair of water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure:
Destroyed and damaged water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure should be reconstructed, rehabilitated and repaired. The equipment and other goods necessary for the reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair, operation and maintenance of water infrastructure and water related infrastructure should be exempted from sanctions and other coercive measures.
Principle 22
Peacekeeping operations:
Protection of water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure and their reconstruction, rehabilitation and repair should be included in the mandates of the peacekeeping operations, where appropriate. Peacekeeping operations should support and provide assistance to the local authorities in the reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair, operation and maintenance of the water infrastructure and water-related infrastructure.
Principle 24
Implementation:
States must incorporate in their domestic frameworks their obligations relating to the protection of water infrastructure stemming from international law, as applicable. States must implement in their domestic frameworks international crimes relating to the protection of water infrastructure, as applicable. States are encouraged to incorporate in their domestic frameworks the recommendations of the Geneva List.
Background
The drafting of the Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure stems from the increasing use of water infrastructure as a means of warfare and the need to strengthen the role of water in peacebuilding efforts. The Geneva List was drafted in follow-up to the recommendations of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace, including on strengthening respect for and implementation of international humanitarian law in relation to water. The objective of the Geneva List is to gather for the first time in a single document the rules on the protection of water infrastructure during and after an armed conflict under different branches of international law, namely international humanitarian law, human rights law, international environmental law and international water law. Its aim is not only to restate existing binding obligations, but also to supplement them by setting forth further recommendations and good practices.
Additional principles and legal commentary are available from The Geneva List of Principles on the Protection of Water Infrastructure