Food Insecurity as an Intentional Result of Conflict
Photo Credit © Isaac Quesada on Unsplash.
The inherently violent and harmful nature of wars and armed conflict has, from time immemorial induced something in the affected communities far more dangerous than bomb and bullet blasts – starvation.
Even when not by design, food insecurity is one of the most certain consequences of war, along with habitat destruction and death.
That's because with widespread chaos comes displacement of established food systems and networks. As humans, choosing what to save when our lives and the protection of personal property are in absolute danger is a constant dilemma.
With a life left intact, there's a chance to rebuild and rebound. But this is not possible when lives are lost while driving away armies of conflicting parties prepared to plunder or destroy food warehouses, market stalls, and other facilities.
When brought about as an intentional act of war, the motive of induced food insecurity is to weaken the enemy's strongholds. Surrendering comes way easier when the enemy is hungry and famished.
Human history is replete with instances of deliberate sabotage of food circulation (such as destruction of storage facilities, seizure of food aid to deprived victims and blocking ports), all in a bid to sap enemy combatants of their strength and win wars.
During World War II, the Nazis prepared an elaborate 'Hunger plan' geared at starving more than 20 million people in Soviet Union-controlled territory. As providence would have it, the plan didn't work out [FN1].
The 2013 civil war in the world's youngest and most impoverished nation, South Sudan, remains fresh in everyone's mind. More than 4 million South-Sudanese people fled from their homes and food sources due to unrest caused by armed rebels making raids on livestock, stealing food, setting markets on fire; they also prevented crop cultivation to exacerbate the crisis. As of early 2019, UN agencies still reported the prevalence of food insecurity. This was despite the abatement of fighting foreseen by the 2018 Peace Deal signed by rebel leader Riek Machar and leaders of South Sudan [FN3]. However, human rights abuses and conflict continued until February 2020, when the war officially ended.
This same tactic has been repeatedly employed by the Saudi-led government coalition in Yemen, a situation described by the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) as "the worst human-made disaster in the modern history of the world.” [FN4] To dispel rebels and help restore the deposed administration, the Saudi-Emirati coalition has clamped shut the Hodeida Red Seaport, which serves as the entry port for food imports for the entire country.
Steps to Alleviate Food Insecurity Caused by Conflict
In Nigeria, Africa's fastest-growing and most populous black nation with an estimated headcount in excess of 180 million, the danger of food insecurity is real. The country’s legislators are now passing policies to support commercialized farming and export of agricultural products. This comes at a time when more than 60% of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, producing less than enough to maintain sustainable growth, but smallholders are not helped by this policy. In the past decade, Nigeria’s agricultural yield has been stagnant in spite of its significant population growth. [FN12]
Aggravating this situation is the upsurge in violent attacks perpetrated by the insurgent group Boko Haram. This group daily drives thousands of people away from their food sources, with women and children bearing the brunt of these attacks, leading to food insecurity and deprivation. Whether or not these attacks constitute a war, the region is characterized by widespread hunger, malnutrition, and starvation due to a mixture of factors: a vast population, alleged poor governance and shock attacks on civilians.
To alleviate the sufferings of inhabitants of the region, several charitable organizations -- both local and foreign-funded -- work hand-in-hand with the government to slow down the spread and deepening of food insecurity in this area.
Policy Initiatives
There has also been some activity at the international level in the form of policies and resolutions meant to curb the use of food insecurity as a weapon of war.
In May 2018, the United Nations (UN) Security Council recognized the danger of the increased use of hunger as a weapon for the advancement of conflict in many countries and passed a resolution condemning the use of starvation as a tactic by warring parties (UN Security Resolution 2417). Refining the framework of legislation needed to criminalize intentional starvation on the basis of International Criminal Law and the Rome Statute is an ongoing process. [FN13]
Charitable Solutions
ACTED
This international non-profit aims to support and save lives in hard-to-reach areas wrecked by conflicts, natural disaster, and socio-economic hardship. It strives to meet, at their various points of need, the world’s most vulnerable. In strategic partnership with humanitarian agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and other individual donors, ACTED has been proactive in helping distressed and displaced Sudanese meet their nutritional needs. With its 6,200 staff members, ACTED’s impact is far-reaching to over 38 countries around the world. From time-to-time, ACTED comes up with life-saving initiatives such as general food distributions and cash and voucher distributions to displaced South Sudanese populations that are in the frontline of the protracted Sudanese armed conflict [FN7]. ACTED also strives to reduce the significant percentage of Sudanese people that rely on food aid by implementing long-term solutions to the Sudanese food insecurity crisis through livelihood projects that enhance agricultural resilience.
Solidarités International
Solidarités International is one of the foremost humanitarian agencies helping Sudanese citizens ameliorate and fight the effect of the food emergency issue plaguing the African country. Based in France, it mobilizes financial assistance from global donors such as celebrities, organizations, and governments to render food assistance in the form of food aid, food stamps, and stipends [FN8].
Donate to Solidarités International
World Food Programme (WFP)
In northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan, the West African Sahel region, and most especially, in Yemen, conflicts have induced unbearable levels of hunger [FN9]. Within these regions, the WFP, a branch of the United Nations, has invested great effort to help alleviate the hunger crises in these countries and in another 17 impoverished countries in the world that are experiencing spikes in food insecurity due to conflicts.
Their efforts in reaching the world population in areas with the greatest need earned the organization the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Award [FN10,FN11]. This recognition of their work is enabling the organization to reach out to people who are even further away in war-stricken areas including Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and the port areas of Yemen [FN9], but the organization has no room for complacency and is in need of support.
Donate to World Food Programme
Cooperzione Internazionale (COOPI)
For more than two years running now, this Italian group has undertaken charitable interventions to improve the dietary and nutritional life of displaced persons in Borno State in Nigeria, the hotspot for armed insurgent crises in the region. So far, their charity has touched the lives of more than 700 families [FN6].
Resources
https://www.histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/tol/ger/eco/hunger.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/world/africa/south-sudan-peace-deal.html
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/saudi-arabia-nazis-uses-hunger-plan-yemen
https://www.coopi.org/en/improved-food-security-in-borno-state.html
https://www.solidarites.org/en/countries/somalia/somalia-50-population-needs-food-assistance/
For more on the UN’s potential for imposing sanctions and work on legal framework regarding accountability for starvation see website https://starvationaccountability.org/