Tímarit lögfræðinga - 01.12.1989, Page 6

Warfare — especially modern warfare with its arsenal of weapons
of mass destruction — is the ultimate rape of the natural and human
environment. This is so in spite of the governing principle of the
Geneva Conventions of 1949, the so-called Red Cross Conventions,
which, inter alia, provides that:
“Care shall be taken in warfare to protect the natural environ-
ment against widespread, long-term and severe damage. This
protection includes a prohibition of the use of methods or means
of warfare which are intended or may be expected to cause
damage to the natural environment and thereby to prejudice the
health or survival of populations.”
In spite of these and similar treaty obligations the arrogance and
cruelty of man in times of war seem limitless.
5. Although the United Nations Charter grew forth in the wake of
the most horrendous war ever fought in the history of man, this
instrument is not confined to the prevention and prohibition of wars.
Its basic message, “Mankind’s Right to Peace”, is a far more com-
prehensive commandment for present and future generations of man.
The general principles provided for in the Charter entail firm
commitments for mankind and for governments, indeed for everyone
of us not to pollute or poison our wonderful globe; nor should we
ruthlessly exploit and exhaust our natural resources. It is our duty
to cherish, defend and protect our globe’s myriad of species and life
forms of flora and fauna. Mankind as a whole, everyone of us, has
fundamental obligations in this respect, obligations of a juridical,
moral and ethical character. And these obligations are not complicated
to understand nor to comply with. They will follow from common sense
and from the “common conscience of mankind”.
Dr. Albert Schweitzer, one of the most outstanding humanists of
our 20th century, has formulated this principle in the following brief
and touching sentence: “Reverence for life and everything alive”. I
feel that this humble formulation expresses one of the most basic
legal concepts, a concept that must be accepted as fundamental in law
and in human relations. One may perhaps venture to describe it as
a golden principle of natural law.
6. It is my opinion that mankind — that is every one of us — must
demonstrate our respect, indeed our reverence, for the multiplicity and
212