This paper examines the UN Security Council’s [UNSC] response to the environmental impact of the 1990–91 Gulf War and its relevance to ongoing debates on environmental protection during armed conflict. With Resolution 687/91, the UNSC referred to “environmental damage and depletion of natural resources” in the context of war reparations, and established the UN Compensation Commission [UNCC] to process environmental claims. Whilst this is often hailed as a success story, this paper raises questions about certain dimensions of the UNCC: the choice of the applicable law; the decision-making process, particularly in relation to causation and remedies; and its punitive/biased nature. It argues that the successful outcome of the environmental compensation regime cannot be separated from the UNCC’s exceptional application of international legal norms. By drawing attention to this “logic of exception”, I suggest that alternative responses, more attentive to the dynamics of contemporary conflicts and their multiple environmental impacts, should be imagined.

中文翻译：

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克服“例外逻辑”：对联合国安理会应对 1990-91 年海湾战争造成的环境损害的批评

本文研究了联合国安理会 [UNSC] 对 1990-91 年海湾战争对环境影响的回应，以及它与武装冲突期间正在进行的关于环境保护的辩论的相关性。在第 687/91 号决议中，联合国安理会在战争赔偿的背景下提到了“环境破坏和自然资源枯竭”，并成立了联合国赔偿委员会 [UNCC] 来处理环境索赔。虽然这通常被誉为成功故事，但本文提出了有关 UNCC 某些方面的问题：适用法律的选择；决策过程，特别是在因果关系和补救措施方面；及其惩罚性/偏见性。它认为，环境补偿制度的成功结果不能与 UNCC 对国际法律规范的特殊应用分离开来。