Starvation, conflict and data : considerations for crimes against humanity

Abstract

In 2020, there were 155 million acutely food-insecure people worldwide, with conflict and insecurity classified as the largest single driver for almost 100 million people. While conflict can contribute to food crises in multiple ways, increasingly, the deliberate targeting of food is receiving greater attention. In 2018, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2417, recognizing the link between conflict and hunger, and condemning the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. Since then, the use of starvation tactics against civilians in armed conflicts has been reported in South Sudan, Syria and Yemen, among others.