Frequently Asked Questions: IHL and the escalating conflict in the Middle East

Infrastructure that enables the provision of essential services to civilians are in principle civilian objects, and as such are protected by all the IHL rules protecting the civilian population and civilian objects from the effects of hostilities. Importantly, this includes prohibitions against direct, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, and the rules on precautions in attack and  precautions against the effects of attack. (see above How does IHL protect civilians and civilian objects against the danger of hostilities?)

The services essential for the civilian population and other protected persons during armed conflict are interconnected and interdependent, which means the disruption of one can have domino or reverberating effects on others and result in multiple services being disrupted or even collapsing. For instance, electricity supply is needed to ensure the delivery of water and sanitation, solid waste disposal and the cold chain. Hospitals and food production and distribution capacities are then dependent on a reliable supply of safe water, sanitation, and electricity.

Attacks expected to damage critical infrastructure will likely affect a large part of the civilian population beyond the weapon's impact area and for a period well beyond the immediate aftermath of the attack. Such harm is relevant for both proportionality and precautions in attack insofar as it has a causal link to the attack and is reasonably foreseeable at the time of the attack.

IHL also affords special, heightened protection to certain types of critical infrastructure, notably hospitals and other medical facilities and transports, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, and works and installations containing dangerous forces, in addition to cultural property and the natural environment. Pieces of energy infrastructure critical to the effective operation of other indispensable objects also enjoy special protection. Every special protection regime is different, but it often entails protection against operations other than attacks, and some degree of protection even in case such objects constitute military objectives.

Energy infrastructure, namely critical infrastructure that enables the provision of energy to civilians (such as networks of electricity-, fuel- and gas-related infrastructure) are also in principle civilian objects and as such may not be attacked. They become military objectives only if they make an effective contribution to military action (e.g., a power station providing electricity to a military barracks) and attacking them offers a definite military advantage in the circumstances. Sweeping or anticipatory classification of the entire electricity grid (or other energy network) of a country or area under enemy control as a military objective is prohibited. Moreover, IHL forbids attacks against pieces of energy infrastructure if the sole purpose is to degrade an adversary’s economic capacity, even if they are indirectly sustaining their war-fighting capability, to force the adversary to the negotiating table, to influence the will of the population, or to intimidate political leaders. 

In some cases, critical infrastructure (and other civilian objects) may be used simultaneously for both civilian and military purposes. Such so-called “dual-use” objects may become military objectives provided they meet the criteria required under IHL (see the definition of military objective above in How does IHL protect civilians and civilian objects against the danger of hostilities?). However, those planning and deciding to attack such infrastructure must take into account the incidental harm on civilians (including the impact on the civilian use of the object) that would result from the attack, take all feasible precautions to avoid or at least minimize it, and ensure that it is not excessive.