As the war in Iran continues, are attacks on civilian infrastructure war crimes? – Nationally
The escalation of the Iran conflict has led to airstrikes on infrastructure across the Middle East and threats to target oil facilities, power plants and desalination plants that supply civilians, which some experts say could amount to a war crime if carried out.
The 1949 Geneva Conventions on the humanitarian conduct of war forbids attacks on places considered important to the people: “In no case will measures be taken against such things as may be expected to leave the community with insufficient food or water to cause starvation or force movement.”
They expressly forbid attacks on “things essential to the survival of citizens, such as food, agricultural land that produces food, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and equipment and irrigation works.”
The International Criminal Court has cited attacks on critical infrastructure, such as Ukraine’s electricity and fuel plants, in arrest warrants issued to political and military leaders in Russia.
In July 2024, the ICC indicted Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s former defense minister, and Russia’s top general Valery Gerasimov, with war crimes for targeting Ukraine’s electricity grid during the winter.
Russia has denied allegations of war crimes and says it is launching a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 to defend itself.
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In the ICC’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the judges “found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals willfully and deliberately deprived the citizens of Gaza of essential items for survival, including food, water, medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
The power outages and reduced fuel supply “had a significant impact on the availability of water in Gaza and the ability of hospitals to provide medical care,” the judges found. These conditions “caused the death of civilians, including children, due to malnutrition and dehydration,” they said.
Israel also denies allegations of war crimes and says it targets activists in Gaza and Lebanon to protect itself from threats.
Could this be a ‘military target’?
The Geneva Conventions and additional treaties state that parties involved in a military conflict must distinguish between “civilian objects and military objectives,” and that attacks on civilian property are prohibited.
This prohibition is also included in the Rome Statute of the ICC, which is the last court that can use it in 125 countries, but does not include superpowers such as Russia, the United States and China.
The Geneva Conventions state that certain infrastructure owned and used by civilians can be counted as a military objective, but only “objects which by their nature, location, purpose or use contribute effectively to hostilities,” and their destruction or capture “gives a direct military advantage.”
Where can violations be prosecuted?
A case related to the current conflict in the Middle East is unlikely to end up in a war crimes tribunal anytime soon.
None of the Gulf states, Israel or Iran are members of the ICC.
That means no other agency has clear authority over alleged war crimes in the region.
Divisions within the UN Security Council, which can refer cases to The Hague, mean there is little chance of a case relating to the conflict being brought to court.
National authorities can gather evidence of alleged war crimes and prosecute them under so-called universal laws, but there are currently no public prosecutions.
