Legal Obligations Governing Starvation and Humanitarian Access in International Armed Conflicts

Starvation in armed conflict is a lack of food and other essentials required for civilian survival, due to food destruction or to restrictions in being able to access it. In international armed conflicts, the denial of such necessaries may be more pronounced when humanitarian assistance is denied, delayed or prevented to affected civilian populations. Even countries that have signed international documents banning starvation and have responsibilities and duties regarding humanitarian relief, show a wide gap between the protection and implementation in the context of contemporary conflicts. In this context, the research explores the links between humanitarian access constraints, food system disruption, displacement, insecurity and civilian hunger and deprivation due to restrictions on humanitarian access, disruption of food systems, displacement, insecurity and administrative and political barriers. International legal and institutional documents are qualitatively analyzed with the help of selected contemporary conflict situations, in order to explore the relationship between legal duties, humanitarian action and the realities of people affected by conflict. The analysis shows that starvation is not just a result of the lack of food availability but can also be a result of the breakdown of the social, economic and humanitarian conditions needed for civilian life in conflict situations. Existing protections are further undermined and humanitarian responses limited by significant implementation, monitoring and accountability gaps. The analysis also places the issue in the context of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) to recognize the need to link immediate humanitarian response to medium-term food security and resilience building in conflict-affected communities. Effective response necessitates greater synergies between civilian protection, humanitarian assistance, accountability mechanisms and longer-term food-security strategies in conflict-affected contexts.