Navigating The Nexus: Climate Insecurity, Environmental Rights Violations And Conflict In Fragile Settings
Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
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Abstract: This brief examines the convergence of climate insecurity, environmental degradation, and violent conflict in fragile settings. The paper identifies how climate stress?such as droughts, floods, and ecosystem loss?can exacerbate competition for resources, triggering displacement, intercommunal clashes, and instability. It highlights deliberate environmental harm during armed conflict, including infrastructure sabotage and extractive exploitation by state and non-state actors. Through case studies in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, and the Nile Basin, the paper analyzes how climate shocks intersect with weak governance, particularly impacting women and marginalized groups. It calls for conflict-sensitive climate policy, robust environmental safeguards in humanitarian law, and accountability mechanisms for ecological violations. Emphasis is placed on local solutions, inclusive governance, and youth engagement in climate-security strategies. The paper contributes valuable context for designing interventions in climate-vulnerable conflict zones.