It has been 4 years since the unanimous adoption of the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 2417 (2018) (‘UNSC 2417’), in which the UNSC recognised for the first time the intrinsic link between hunger and conflict and condemned the use of starvation as a method of warfare, emphasizing that it may constitute a war crime.
Significantly, UNSC 2417 shifted the debate on food security where it needed to go: away from discussions solely focused on climate change, humanitarian relief operations and poverty, and into the arena of peace and security. The impact of the resolution has been felt in how it has shaped the briefings and information provided to the UNSC, prompting the convening of thematic debates and UNSC action.
As GRC noted on the third anniversary of UNSC 2417 last year, beyond providing a structure through which the UNSC can address conflict and hunger issues, UNSC 2417 has also engaged more widely in normalising the issue of starvation. As such, the language of humanitarian access, conflict-induced food insecurity, and associated violations have crept into other UN resolutions, mandates, and investigations. It is starting to be given the pre-eminence it demands, even impacting judicial proceedings before the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice.
However, as GRC has repeatedly flagged (see here and here), challenges remain and UNSC 2417 is yet to be fully operationalised and implemented.
Recent developments
The issue of conflict and hunger is high on the international community’s agenda. The selected developments as follows have continued to cement the critical implementation of UNSC 2417 and move it forward.
On 25 May 2021, OCHA alerted the UNSC to the risk of food insecurity in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. In a confidential White Paper, OCHA referenced UNSC 2417. This led to an informal interactive dialogue and the first UNSC open debate on the humanitarian situation in Tigray on 2 July 2021. With the US taking a leading role, the atrocities committed during the conflict, including the denial and obstruction of humanitarian aid were explicated condemned, and sanctions were imposed in reference to UNSC 2417 (see here, here and here).
In July 2021, the UNSG requested the Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator to appoint a Special Adviser on the Preservation of Humanitarian Space, in order to enable a better understanding and focus on humanitarian engagement issues with warring parties.
On 9 November 2021, as mandated by paragraph 9 of UNSC 2417, the UNSC Yemen Sanctions Committee designated two individuals as sanctioned, linking their involvement in the Houthi offensive on Marib, humanitarian access issues and the consequent worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen,.
Since February 2022, UNSC 2417 has been referenced and called upon in relation to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. For example, the UK recalled, inter alia, UNSC 2417 and UNSC 2573, in condemning attacks on objects indispensable to survival and attacks on critical civilian infrastructure (see here and here).
On 9 May 2022, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council held its first ever session dedicated to the discussion of conflict and food insecurity in Africa, highlighting the use of starvation as a method of warfare in a number of conflict-specific situations and considering the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on food security in Africa.
Within the UNSC, renewed actions and interest in starvation led to a series of notable developments in the past year.
In April 2022, the newly elected UNSC members had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the conflict and hunger file during a meeting. The meeting was organised by Ireland together with the FAO, WFP, the Fordham University Institute of Humanitarian Affairs and the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict.
On 21 April 2022, Ireland convened an Arria-Formula meeting on Conflict and Hunger. During the meeting, the US and the Netherlands requested OCHA to provide the UNSC with two white papers each year to strengthen the reporting requirement as encapsulated in paragraphs 11 and 12 of UNSC 2417. The white papers are to alert the UNSC to the risk of conflict-induced hunger so as to enable the UNSC to act to prevent it.
On 9 May 2022, the UNSC members discussed the FAO/WFP joint report on Monitoring Food Security in Food Crisis Countries with Conflict Situations during an informal meeting. For the first time, the report included a set of innovative recommendations to the UNSC members to facilitate a range of preventative and accountability-oriented tools available under UNSC 2417 and other relevant UNSC resolutions.
On 19 May 2022, the US convened a Ministerial-Level Open Debate as a signature event of its Council Presidency. Several UNSC members reiterated the need for early warning mechanisms and condemned the use of starvation as a method of warfare, including in Ukraine.
Notably, GRC’s long-standing call for the establishment of a dedicated focal point or Special Envoy for UNSC 2417 to lead and coordinate reporting on conflict and starvation, was echoed by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri at the Arria meeting, supported by the representative of Albania, Olta Xhaçka during the Ministerial-Level Open Debate, and shared by the FAO/WFP joint report.
Next Steps
It is crucial that the issue of conflict-driven hunger remains on a high-level agenda, as it is only getting worse. The 2022 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) noted that:
While the food crises profiled in the GRFC continue to be driven by multiple, integrated drivers that are often mutually reinforcing, conflict/insecurity remains the main driver. In 2021, around 139 million people were facing Crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) or equivalent across 24 countries/territories where conflict/insecurity was considered the primary driver.
Action must be taken to actively address the situation and better operationalise UNSC 2417 towards enhancing its prohibitive and preventative scope as well as laying the groundwork for accountability efforts.
To that end, GRC reiterates its long-standing recommendation to establish of a dedicated focal point (such as a Special Envoy) on UNSC 2417 and procedures to ensure that stakeholders can securely – if necessary, anonymously – submit verified, up-to-date information on country and conflict-specific situations. A focal point is essential to securing clear and effective leadership on the conflict and hunger agenda, and ensuring meaningful, safe, and centralised coordination on data-gathering and reporting across diverse stakeholders. The appointment of a Special Envoy would further be useful in facilitating ‘quiet diplomacy’ that might usefully enable access to those cut off from food assistance in conflict settings as well as facilitate negotiations aimed at ceasefires and conflict-resolution efforts that underpin longer-term solutions. GRC’s view is that this focal point is critical for early engagement and proactive responses, going towards enhancing the UNSC’s ability to adopt preventative (rather than reactive) decisions and fulfil the potential of UNSC 2417.
When echoing GRC’s call for a dedicated UNSC 2417 focal point, the UN Special Rapporteur on Food, Michael Fakhri noted that :
Resolution 2417 is a very powerful tool. It is powerful because it recognises that hunger is a cause and effect of armed conflict. It is powerful because it warns against using food as a weapon. And it is powerful because it appreciates the unique relationship between hunger and armed conflict, while also recognising the complexity of hunger in a holistic and systemic way.
To utilise this powerful tool, it is essential to implement a transparent process by which UNSC 2417 is triggered and create clear reporting lines enabling the UNSC and other relevant stakeholders to act preventatively to address conflict-induced hunger.
For further options for action, see: GRC’s Guidance Note: Strengthening UN Security Council action under Resolution 2417 to break the cycle of conflict-induced hunger (March 2021); Statement of GRC Partner Catriona Murdoch before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US Congress.
Since 2018, GRC and its partners, as supported by the Netherland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have been engaged on addressing issue of conflict-induced starvation. The high-level objective is to increase the likelihood that global leaders in a position to inflict or prevent mass starvation will act to avoid it, amid mounting public pressure. The project aims at advancing the prevention and prohibition of, and accountability for, mass and weaponised starvation and rendering the crime morally toxic.
For more on GRC’s work on conflict and hunger see www.starvationaccountability.org. For more on GRC’s accountability work see www.globalrightscompliance.co.uk.