The connection between water and human creation myths is well-established: from the Vedic traditions to Navajo tales, these myths tell that where there is no water, there is no life. Scientific thought undoubtedly agrees. Given water’s vitality to health, food production, and industrial prosperity, the lack of suitable water access accounts for one of the greatest developmental challenges we face. It is an obstacle to education and growth, a leading cause of infant mortality, and a premier vector of disease transmission. And when paired with violent intent, water can be an incredibly destructive force too, sweeping entire cities and societies away. Withholding water access is a death sentence, killing society’s most important source of sustenance. Thus, the value and dangers of water cannot be underestimated. This article examines the phenomenon of water weaponization- using water to gain leverage over an adversary, with a focus on the Middle East. It will then argue that water weaponization’s current manifestation in the Middle East is a crime against humanity.
The acute scarcity of water in the Middle East makes the region uniquely susceptible to being held hostage to water– a condition that is exacerbated by rising global temperatures, weak governance, poor distribution of resources, and existing conflict in the Middle East. The subsequent scarcity resulting from weaponization can further cause conflict in the Middle East by affecting food security and migration patterns– thus leading to a vicious cycle.
Water’s vitality can be weaponized by political actors via three principal means: reducing the quality of water (contamination), supplying too much water (flooding), or restricting water access (constriction).
Introducing contaminants into the water supply is a targeted and destructive form of violence. Not only does it lead to disease and death, but it has long-term impacts on the environment. The contamination of water as a tool to specifically target civilians was observed during the Gulf War where Iraqi marshes were drained – leading to long-term deterioration of soil and water quality. Poisoning wells is also a common tactic used by ISIS to systematically clear out towns and villages. Water contamination is an irreversible action and affects civilians and combatants alike.
Of purely destructive intent is the creation of artificial floods or droughts. In 2014, Daesh notably diverted the flow of the Fallujah Dam to flood surrounding villages and prevent the advancement of Iraqi forces. In the aforementioned draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes during the Gulf War, deemed an environmental disaster by the UN, Saddam Hussein-led forces displaced several thousand Shi’ite civilian opponents; indiscriminately killing through artificial water scarcity and helicopter attacks. US forces indiscriminately targeted water supply routes in Raqqa in 2014 in a bid to weaken ISIS forces in the city, taking days to reconnect civilian pipelines. Of notice within these examples are two key concepts: the rise of water warfare, and the incredibly indiscriminate nature of weaponized water manipulation; entailing short-term civilian costs, and long-term development costs.
Water weaponization is more than a weapon of war and carries important psychological and political weight. There is a proven positive correlation between ISIS recruitment levels and water scarcity in Iraq and Syria as locally-recruited fighters are forced to join the organization because of water deprivation. By routinely attacking irrigation canals and poisoning wells in regions ISIS aims to annex, they deploy a warning call to those who dare to oppose them and violently create an environment conducive for subsequent occupation. Following their attacks, ISIS deploys a primal “carrot and stick” obedience system by monopolising rebuilding materials and remaining water supplies. Establishing such a monopoly after deprivation thus allows for the establishment of Ross Mittoga’s foundational legitimacy (i.e. a government’s ability to provide food, water, and shelter).
During occupation, ISIS further augments this legitimacy by centralizing water supply under their command, and distributing them as they see fit (discriminating against Christian minorities in Qaraqosh and Bartella and subsidizing for Sunni residents, for example). As such hydro-terrorism has become a staple of ISIS operations, furthering their desired religious divides and helping create a loyal base of operations.
Similar tactics have been employed by Israel in the West Bank: by bombing over 50 Palestinian water sanitation structures since 2016. Palestinians have thus been forced to accept hugely inflated Merkorot (Israel’s national water company) water prices or collect rainwater, a dangerous endeavour as evidenced by the spikes in diarrheal diseases in the affected regions. This strategy both displaces West Bank residents and forces the remaining to accept Israeli hegemony over the water supply.
Israel’s Arab Policy builds on the politicization of water resources to go further. The Jordan River, the sole tributary of the Dead Sea is of vital importance to the agricultural and industrial sectors of Jordan, Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. And it has repeatedly been diverted or diminished by Israel and in response, by other Arab countries. Recurrently, dams are built and treaties are signed as forms of diplomatic leverage between countries, with Israel’s water policy being used simultaneously as a tool for recognition, oppression, and surprisingly, cooperation with other Arab states. Beyond strategic or military means, water becomes weaponized in pursuit of modern diplomacy – at incommensurable cost.
Water weaponization is a crime against humanity
Despite this, the international community has, on multiple occasions, recognized that some weapons of war are inherently indiscriminate in their use meaning there is no human oversight when the weapon is set off. The global consensus against the use of anti-personnel mines is an example of this. The use of water as a weapon, particularly in the Middle East, shares these indiscriminate qualities in all its forms. Contamination, constriction, and flooding are all tactics of war that do not and cannot ensure a distinction between civilians and combatants. This is because water is consumed by everyone and there is no practical way to ensure that water is weaponized specifically against combatants (e.g. the Daesh diversion of the Fallujah dam). Water weaponization is thus a war crime.
While the above conclusion has not been directly drawn by the international community, there is some tacit recognition of it. The principle of “righteous conduct of war” which follows Lincoln’s Lieber Code (prohibition of well poisoning) broadly recognizes water infrastructure as protected during wartime. Instruments like the Geneva Conventions and the International Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD) make mention of water installations and natural water resources, for example. These provisions, however, are far from adequate in developing a collective consciousness against water weaponization as they largely recognize it as a mere consequence of war instead of the targeted form of violence that it is.
More crucially, the above instruments address water purely in the context of wartime. This article argues that water weaponization, even in peacetime, constitutes a crime against humanity. In the context of Palestine, for example, the aforementioned Merekot engages in water pillaging, discrimination in water supply, and artificial price inflation.
Accentuated by climate change and exacerbated by geopolitical tensions in some of the most arid and at-risk regions of the world, it is vital to restrict the use of water as a weapon. International organizations and governments must do so by supporting infrastructure to help those in need during water conflict. Existing mechanisms like the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (which currently focuses on climate resilience) could expand their mandate. They could more comprehensively address direct manmade challenges to infrastructure, specifically water infrastructure. Additionally, political willpower must be generated to address water weaponization. This can be achieved through the introduction of specific international legal frameworks addressing water weaponization (whereby states can sign conventions and make commitments).