Obligation to Restoration of Water Resources and Facilities and Compensation of Damaged after Armed Conflicts in International Law

Due to the increasing process of water shortage in the world, State’s competition for more access to water has increased; as water has sometimes been a source of international conflicts. On the other hand, water and water facilities have always been used as weapons or as military targets in wars. The issues of preventing water wars have been indirectly addressed by the legal rules on the use of force and the protection of water resources during armed conflicts have been sought in international humanitarian law. In the post armed conflicts, problems such as damage to water infrastructures, pollution of waters and lack of access to safe drinking water in war-affected areas, threaten not only the availability and quality of water resources, but also, they can threat international peace and security in different ways. Due to the importance of conserving water resources for peacekeeping in post-war stage and the lack of explicit legal rules in this regard, the main question of this research is that what is the most international law obligations about restoration of water resources and facilities after armed conflicts and compensation for victims? The result of the descriptive-analytical studies of the authors shows that international law has no legal vacuum in this regard and mechanisms and rules for reconstruction of damaged areas and accountability to war victims can be deduced from the principles and rules of applicable international law.