Dean Sharp: War involves not only urban destruction, but also reconstruction processes

Post-conflict reconstruction can be used as a tool of pressure and as a continuation of war by other means.

Report informs that Deen Sharp, a research fellow at the London School of Economics and a consultant at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said this during a discussion held as part of WUF13 in Baku.

Sharp noted that war includes not only the destruction of the urban environment, but also construction and planning processes, which can also be used as part of conflict.

As an example, he cited Syria, where, according to him, the authorities began announcing reconstruction projects almost immediately after the start of the uprising.

"The regime of Bashar al-Assad used mechanisms such as Law No. 10 and Decree No. 66 to turn reconstruction into a tool of pressure and displacement of communities considered opposition-minded by the authorities," the expert said.

According to him, recovery in such cases becomes a continuation of war by other means.

Sharp also touched on the scale of destruction in the Gaza Strip.

The expert recalled that after the 2014 conflict, about 90 trucks were allowed through Gaza's border daily to remove rubble.

"Even if we imagine that such a scenario becomes possible now, clearing the area will take decades," Sharp stressed.

He also drew attention to the humanitarian and ethical aspects of recovery.