From Word to Deed: Implementation of UNEA-3 Resolution on Conflict Pollution.

Global awareness on the toxic consequences of conflicts gained new momentum in December 2017, when the United Nations Environmental Assembly adopted a new resolution by consensus on Pollution mitigation and control in areas affected by armed conflict or terrorism . The focus of this resolution, submitted by the Government of Iraq and co-sponsored by Ukraine and Norway, is the wide range of destructive environmental impacts caused by armed conflicts and terrorism. Iraq had to deal with the hazardous legacy of the fight against the so-called Islamic State, which applied scorched-earth tactics in their nihilistic attempt to destroy everything in their retreat. The ongoing fighting left towns and cities in rubble, while collapse of governance further compounded environmental issues. This policy brief will briefly explore concrete steps States can take to guide discussions and implement the resolution in order to make actual progress on pollution mitigation.