In recognition of World Food Day, GRC is publishing its unqiue Starvation Jurisprudence Digest, a detailed and practical resource on the legal frameworks surrounding the crime of starvation and related violations.
The Digest is a living document available on GRC’s website COI and FFM Court&Tribunals, offering up-to-date information on legal proceedings, investigations, and reports from Commissions of Inquiry (COIs), Fact-Finding Missions (FFMs), and Panels of Experts (PoEs). It provides crucial insights for legal practitioners, human rights bodies, humanitarian organisations, and victims, helping them navigate the legal landscape related to starvation and associated human rights violations.
With the long-awaited inclusion of starvation violations featuring in recent accountability efforts in Gaza and other situations, the updated digest provides information on the contours of the crime and associated violations. It offers succinct and searchable analysis on and how other legal mechanisms have analysed and interpreted starvation.
“Since 2017, GRC has been documenting and pursuing accountability for starvation violations, working closely with partners to produce accurate and sensitive documentation on these complex issues. The Digest is a unique and practical resource for anyone working on starvation-related topics, and we hope it will prove useful to a range of practitioners.” – said Catriona Murdoch, GRC’s Vice-President and Head of the Starvation and Humanitarian Crisis Division.
The Digest also focuses on violations of the right to food and water, as well as other violations of economic, social and cultural rights linked to famines, such as the right to health and shelter.
The Digest is divided into two key sections:
- The first focuses on findings from investigative bodies, organised by country and listed chronologically.
- The second compiles relevant decisions from international, regional, and domestic courts, grouped by jurisdiction.
The content covers various contexts of deprivation of food, obstruction of humanitarian aid, and attacks on essential civilian infrastructure, as well as broader economic, social, and cultural rights related to food and water security. It also addresses gendered impacts of starvation and cyclical patterns of violence and food insecurity.
A tagging system within the Digest allows users to easily search for themes and link them to relevant legal findings, making the resource more accessible to those seeking information on specific issues.
For more information, visit the link to the Starvation Jurisprudence Digest.