The Construction and Operation of the Ilısu Dam by the Turkish Government From the Perspective of International Law

Turkey by constructing the Ilısu Dam on the Tigris in Turkey will result in stressful significant environmental consequences between Iraq, Syria, and Iran. The norms and principles governing the exploitation of common water resources have pushed the governments towards a lawful system that they are adhered to it according to general principles of law, customary international law, and international treaties. Not adhering to these principles and violating them will impose international responsibility for the governments. Turkey cannot proceed to exploit a project that its harmful effects will cause severe significant damages to the environment of adjacent countries. Therefore, the decision to operate the Ilısu Dam that became operational in the first half of 2019, according to experts estimations about its extensive consequences to adjacent governments, is in contradiction with international commitments of Turkey as preventing the transboundary environmental damages, violating the Principle of the Unharmful Utilization of Territory and The Principle of Equitable and Reasonable Utilization of Shared Water Resources, which nowadays, are considered as a rule of customary international law. In this research, the background of Ilısu Dam construction by the Turkish government and its destructive environmental effects will be studied using the library and internet resources and using international documents.