UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council has adopted a resolution condemning the starving of civilians as a method of warfare as well as the unlawful denial of humanitarian access to civilian populations with members welcoming it as a landmark expression of unity on those critical issue Unanimously adopting resolution 2417 (2018) — sponsored by Kuwait, The Netherlands, Sweden and Ivory Coast — the 15-member Council on Thursday drew attention to the link between armed conflict and conflict induced food insecurity and the threat of famine.
It called on all parties to armed conflict to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law regarding the protection of civilians and on taking care to spare civilian objects, stressing that armed conflicts, violations of international law and related food insecurity could be drivers of forced displacement.
Underlining the importance of safe and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel to civilians in armed conflicts, it also strongly condemned the unlawful denial of such access and depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival including wilfully impeding relief supply and access for responses to conflict induced food insecurity.
Urging those with influence over parties to conflict to remind the latter of their international obligations, the Council also recalled that it could consider adopting sanctions, where appropriate and in line with existing practices, that would apply to individuals or entities obstructing the delivery or distribution of humanitarian assistance to civilians in need.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently reported that the number of people who are “food insecure” is on the rise for the first time after decades of decrease and that the main cause is conflict. The U.N. World Food Programme reported in March that between 108 million and 124 million people in conflict situations suffer from severe malnutrition.
Lise Gregoire Van Haaren, the Netherlands deputy ambassador, told the council after the vote that the resolution was “a landmark text and a “significant step toward making the use of starvation as a method of warfare a crime of the past.”
