As Gaza Faces Starvation, Food Rights Expert Tells Third Committee ‘You Did Not Act’ on Genocide Risk
‘Severe Malnutrition Not Quiet or Painless Death’, Says Palestine Delegate
Major world Powers all tacitly agree to allow starvation to be a geopolitical weapon, an independent expert told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, citing conflict as the leading driver of hunger and malnutrition, as materialized in the looming famine in Gaza.
“One year ago, I […] told you that food is increasingly used as a weapon against civilians [and] raised alarm over the risk of genocide against the Palestinian people; unfortunately, you did not take any sufficient action,” stated Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food.
As he predicted, Israel’s war proved to be a genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people. “What the world has learned is that no number of facts, no degree of horror, no amount of death and pain is enough to trigger a global response to starvation or genocide,” he asserted.
Starvation and famine are a matter of human rights and a fundamental violation of international law, he said, observing: “Hunger often leads to armed conflict, and armed conflict always leads to hunger.” However, this vicious cycle does not happen overnight. Citing occupation, oppression and exploitation as “the root causes of hunger”, he underscored that “famines are always political, structural, long-lasting and international”. And while natural disasters might trigger famines, ultimately “all famines are designed by humans”.
The risk of starvation is rising because every permanent Security Council member and many wealthy countries have directly or indirectly supported starvation campaigns over the past decade, he warned, urging the General Assembly to recognize that “starvation is always an instance of genocide, extermination, or torture”.
In the ensuing interactive dialogue, speakers sounded the alarm over the catastrophic levels of hunger and imminent risk of famine caused by the insufficient entry of aid into Gaza. They stressed that all routes — land, air and sea — are valuable in meeting the vast humanitarian needs of civilians there.
“Children in Gaza are dying of starvation and severe malnutrition,” stated the observer for the State of Palestine, stressing that “severe malnutrition is not a quiet or painless death”. As children get hungry, their bodies weaken, their vision blurs, their immune systems and organs fail and their hearts stop.
“At this stage, children are too weak to cry,” she said. Palestinian fathers and mothers have been running from corner to corner under non-stop Israeli bombs and airstrikes, searching for milk, food and water. Many of them never made it back or made it when it was too late. She condemned Israel’s “starve or leave” policy, denying the entry of sufficient aid and killing aid workers.
Appreciating the Special Rapporteur for linking the right to food to man-made starvation — especially in the context of Gaza — South Africa’s delegate observed that people in the Strip have been plunged into extreme famine. He condemned the use of contemporary methods of war — such as starvation — as well as the denial of food, water, shelter and medical care.
“As a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression, Lebanese people are enduring food insecurity more than ever,” said the country’s delegate, adding that agricultural land and trees have been burned in the south and farmland abandoned. The ongoing crisis has affected 40,000 Lebanese farmers.
Yemen’s representative pointed out that Mr. Fakhri’s report misrepresents what has happened due to the Houthi militia war in Yemen, which has resulted in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. She requested that the narratives stemming from “politicized sources” be corrected.
Turning to the devastating crisis in Sudan, the speaker for Ireland expressed concern over the recent declaration of famine in Darfur — a crisis driven by the ongoing conflict, including deliberate denial of humanitarian access. She emphasized that “only full respect for international humanitarian law will break the vicious cycle between conflict and hunger”.
Ukraine’s representative underscored that the Russian Federation’s war waged against her country has severely worsened the global food security crisis, contributing to widespread starvation. By blocking Ukrainian ports, Moscow has put millions of people at risk of malnutrition, she added.
Some speakers — among them, the representatives of Cuba, Belarus and the Russian Federation — highlighted the direct impact of unilateral coercive measures and blockades on the right to food and food delivery in conflict regions. Their counterpart from Syria elaborated on the alarming food insecurity levels in his country due to such measures imposed by the United States and the European Union.
Citing the notion that famine is political, Brazil’s delegate underlined an initiative — the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty — that could foster political cooperation among countries and gather financial and technical resources to fight against famine and hunger.
What experts say:
- Criminalizing life-sustaining activities, like sleeping in public, must end
- The agricultural sector at the forefront of toxic water pollution
- Women among those most affected by the eroding of a healthy environment
The Committee also heard from Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, who said criminalizing homelessness only perpetuates exclusion and undermines dignity. “Laws that criminalize life-sustaining activities, like sleeping or eating in public, must be repealed,” he urged, adding that homelessness must be addressed through transformative, rights-based approaches, rather than punitive measures.
Turning to the increasing number of resettlements brought about by conflict, climate change and development projects, he said the term “involuntary resettlement” must be retired. “It is nothing more than forced eviction, which is prohibited under international law,” he said, calling for a reform in resettlement practices and a revision of the related international guidelines.
“Current laws and policies lack consistency and lead to poor outcomes,” he said. “It is time to discard the myth that displacement and resettlement are acceptable in the public interest.” Resettlement should only take place where survival is at stake, such as conflicts or climate change, he said, urging States to create robust legal frameworks to prevent forced evictions and arbitrary settlement and eminent domain. Resettlement should go well beyond compensation and include benefit-sharing.
Pedro Arrojo-Aguado, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking and sanitation, said public policies leading to an agroecological transition and a water transition that integrates human rights are vital. “Current food systems are based on the myth that production can grow indefinitely…”, he said, adding that irrigation and intensive livestock farming leave the most significant footprint on water. Dominant food and water systems don’t make public health and people’s nutritional needs a priority. As a result, 2 billion people do not have guaranteed access to safe drinking water; 800 million experience hunger; and 2.5 billion people are overweight.
He said the agricultural sector is at the forefront of toxic water pollution and eutrophication of water bodies with its widespread use of industrial pesticides, fertilizers and concentrated production of slurry from livestock farming. Subsidies to current modes of production and consumption total an estimated $540 billion annually. “Redirecting this public funding to support the agroecological transition will enable the development of healthier, more sustainable, equitable and efficient food systems,” he said. “The myth of unlimited economic growth, which forms the basis of the current neoliberal development model, is as unjust as self-destructive.”
Among other experts briefing the Committee was Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, who presented her report on the status of recognition of that right, currently recognized by 164 of 193 Member States. Its broad recognition “stands in stark contrast to the unprecedented and existential challenge we face as humanity”, she stated, pointing to the impacts of climate change,and increasing conflict on the environment.
An unsustainable economic and development model and weak rule of law hamper tangible progress, she observed, noting that women and girls and other marginalized communities suffer most from the eroding of a healthy environment due to conflict or shrinking of civic space. Urging swift action, she called on Member States to transform their economies with human rights at the centre, recognize the right and integrate it into legal frameworks and protect — not criminalize — environmental defenders.
“States need to have at their disposal sufficient and reliable information to understand which impacts on human rights are foreseeable and for whom — and whether they are arising from climate change”, said Elisa Morgera, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, presenting her report on the subject. Moreover, to fully understand the risks of climate change, States must disseminate information in all local languages on the causes of climate change, including on State and non-State actors emitting high levels of greenhouse gasses, as well as assessments on the effectiveness of their climate change adaptation plans, she said.
Highlighting further challenges to the right to access information on climate change and human rights, she underscored the importance of preparing climate vulnerability and environmental impact assessments in consultation with rights holders and indigenous peoples, whose perspectives are often excluded, leading to rights violations. Businesses also have a responsibility not to mislead through publishing factually incorrect net-zero targets and unfounded “carbon neutral” labels — or “green-washing” — and must stop targeting environmental defenders with defamation and strategic lawsuits, she stressed.
“There is an alarming and growing body of science on how both legacy and modern chemicals are damaging people in gendered and sexed ways,” said Marcos A. Orellana, Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, presenting his report. Spotlighting the effects from a “planetary chemical crisis” of fertility-disrupting petrochemicals as well as cancer-causing carcinogens, he noted that sperm counts have more than halved in the past 40 years while rates of early female infertility and miscarriage are on the rise due to chemical interference.
Moreover, “people living in poverty experience disproportionate harm from toxics,” he said, citing “Cancer Alley”, a low-income community in Louisiana, United States with heavy industry close by. Highlighting a gendered-aspect of toxics-exposure, he detailed that women are disproportionately exposed to the harmful chemicals as they make up 60 to 70 per cent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries where pesticides are poorly regulated. “Only stronger national and international regulations can stop the flow of harmful chemicals into our environments and bodies,” he stressed, calling for a human-rights based approach to stop the “global toxic tide”.