Conflict Related Hunger, ‘Starvation Crimes’ and UN Security Council Resolution 2417 (2018)

There is no doubt that Security Council Resolution 2417 (2018) is a first of its kind. More than its content, however, it is its adoption (by unanimity) that represents a success. For the first time, the Security Council engaged in a thematic manner with the issue of hunger (or food insecurity) in armed conflict, highlighting the vicious circle between food insecurity and armed conflicts and the duties of parties to con- flicts to protect civilian populations and allow passage for humanitarian assistance and relief measures, as well as reiterating the prohibition of starvation as a method of combat, and its potential prosecution as war crime. On the basis of this resolution (which, inter alia, requests the Secretary-General to report on the matter more ro- bustly, including through a form of early-warning mechanism that is per se an im- portant new contribution) there is room for strengthened commitment to act more decisively on the part of the United Nations system as well as the Member States and other international actors. Moreover, the resolution paves the way for creative solutions which could entail, for example, the adoption of measures at the domestic level leading to more stringent regulation (and potential prosecution) of ‘starvation crimes’ and of any forms of deliberate obstruction to the delivery of humanitarian as- sistance. The resolution could also provide arguments for interpreting existing rules more in line with the objective, clearly promoted by the resolution itself, to strengthen the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.