Starvation Method of Warfare and Future Risks in Africa

Author: Berhanu Bayley Feleke

The use of starvation as a method of warfare has wrought devastating consequences for civilians in African conflicts, and it only promises to get worse. In El Fasher, Sudan, siege-induced starvation has threatened the lives of about six thousand children. Looking to future African conflicts, import dependency, high rates of subsistence farming and challenges to humanitarian aid access make starvation a serious threat. And with climate change, the tactic of starvation in future conflicts will inflict even more tragic suffering.

I. Starvation under International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

Starvation as a weapon is a broad concept that goes beyond causing suffering or death denying food. It also includes attacks on objects indispensable for survival, such as food, water and agricultural resources (Art. 54 of Additional Protocol I and Art. 14 of Additional Protocol II of the four Geneva Conventions). Under these provisions, parties to a conflict are prohibited from using starvation as a method to annihilate or weaken a civilian population. This prohibition is a rule of customary international law, binding in both international armed conflicts and non-international armed conflicts.  

II. Risk Multipliers: Import Dependency, Subsistence Farming and Challenges to Humanitarian Aid Access

Although Africa possesses 60% of the world’s arable land, it remains the most food-insecure continent, with a high level of food import dependency. Around 60% of Africans rely on subsistence farming.  Though Africa holds untapped agricultural potential, paradoxically, it has been obliged to spend $ 60 billion annually on food importation. By 2030, it is estimated that 291 million people could be chronically undernourished in Africa.

Given the prevalence of subsistence agriculture, high reliance on food imports and food insecurity across the continent, humanitarian aid is often required to fill the gap. However, humanitarian aid does not satisfy the overwhelming food demand in Africa because of funding cuts, violence, corruption and supply chain failures. In Sudan, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated sharply with more than 30 million people (64 % of the population) affected. The USAID funding cuts have exacerbated the problem. Following the suspension of US foreign aid, about 80% of the 1,460 soup kitchens across Sudan were shut down despite the dire humanitarian situation in places like El Fasher, which have been targeted by siege.

In this fragile context, the deliberate use of civilian starvation as a weapon of war dramatically worsens existing hunger and malnutrition. It is just like pouring fuel on the fire; intensifying pre-existing food insecurity made worse by challenges to the humanitarian sector. 

For instance, both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have employed starvation as a weapon. In El Fasher, the RSF has sieged and blocked supply lines (for more than a year) where health facilities and mobile nutrition have been suspended. In this incident, about 6,000 children face “Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and an exponentially high risk of death.”  The international community has done little in practice to address the starvation crimes in Sudan. Moreover, there is still no precedent where perpetrators of starvation crime have been charged and prosecuted, despite the effort of the International Criminal Court issuing the first ever arrest warrant against the high military officials of Hamas and Israel. 

III. Climate Change and Future Risks 

Climate change coupled with rapid population growth, land degradation and weak infrastructure threaten food security in Africa. Climate change severely impacts agricultural productivity, including crops, livestock, supply chains, plants and animals. 

By 2040, Africa is projected to exceed the 1.5°C warming threshold limit set by the Paris Agreement, a shift that is expected to exacerbate drought, disrupt agricultural systems and heighten the risk of widespread food insecurity and starvation throughout the continent.  In particular, the Sahel region is highly prone to drought and subsequent decrease of agricultural production. Climate change triggered by an increase in greenhouse gasses would worsen the already existing food insecurity in the Sub-Saharan Region (see here also).  

On top of that, climate change itself may trigger violence. By and large, communities experiencing climate-induced drought, erosion and reduced productivity may enter into a fierce competition to control resources, that could spiral into conflict. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported that climate change has in part contributed to the Darfur conflict in Sudan. The Sahel is particularly vulnerable to climate-induced violent conflict.

IV. Future Risks and Starvation as an International Crime

Climate change and other factors heighten the potential impact of siege tactics, shortening the time between an attack on food and mass civilian death. A single attack on foodstuffs or blocking food convoys by the warriors produces acute food shortage and lethal civilian starvation far faster than in food-secure populations. 

Starvation can serve as an instrument to commit international crimes like genocide and crime against humanity. Deliberate deprivation of resources indispensable for survival, such as food or medical services, can constitute genocide (see article 6(c) here).  Starvation can also entail a crime against humanity. And because international response is slow, parties to conflict may be more likely to use starvation as a tactic to target civilian populations.

This article affirms that starvation as a method of warfare will continue to threaten Africa. Strong accountability, climate resilient agriculture and humanitarian action are therefore essential to prevent future atrocities.