The formation of international environmental standards in the context of armed conflict: the experience of the late XX – early XXI centuries

The subject of the study is the evolution of international legal norms governing environmental protection in the context of armed conflict. The object of the study is a set of international treaties, resolutions and practices of international organizations aimed at protecting the natural environment in times of war. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the consolidation of environmental norms in international humanitarian law in the 1970s, including the Vietnam War and its consequences, the adoption of the ENMOD Convention and Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the major environmental disasters of the late 20th century – the burning of oil wells in Kuwait in 1991 and the bombing of industrial facilities in Yugoslavia in 1999, as well as their impact on the development of international law. The article examines the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, as well as the activities of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the field of environmental protection in the context of war. The methodological basis of the research consists of historical and legal analysis, which made it possible to identify the evolution of legal norms, and the comparative legal method, which provided a comparison of various international treaties and their implementation mechanisms. The scientific novelty of the research lies in an integrated approach to the consideration of international standards governing environmental protection in armed conflicts. The author summarizes the experience of the second half of the 20th century, showing that individual international treaties and resolutions, despite the importance of their formal consolidation, often remain declarative and insufficiently effective in practice. The article identifies gaps in international law, including the lack of generally accepted criteria for assessing environmental damage and weak enforcement mechanisms. At the same time, the importance of the practice of the UN Compensation Committee is emphasized as an example of the successful implementation of the international mechanism of compensation for damages. It is concluded that there is a need for further development of international law in this area, including the development of unified methods for assessing damage and strengthening the role of international organizations in ensuring environmental protection during wars.