1976 Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques

The Convention on the Prohibition of Military or any other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD Convention) is an instrument of international disarmament law specifically intended to protect the environment in the event of armed conflict. It prohibits hostile use of the environment as a means of warfare. The provisions of Protocol I of 1977 additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 form an essential complement to those of the ENMOD Convention, as they directly prohibit widespread, long-term and severe damage to the environment during armed conflict. Other rules and principles of international humanitarian law also confer protection on the environment during armed conflict, though without mentioning it specifically. This is particularly the case with general customary principles regarding the conduct of hostilities, including the principle of distinction, which limits attacks to military objectives, and that of proportionality, which prohibits the use of means and methods of warfare that cause excessive damage. 

The ENMOD Convention was negotiated at the Conference of the Disarmament Commission and was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1976. It was opened for signature in Geneva on 18 May 1977 and entered into force on 5 October 1978.