UN Expert Warns of Rising Use of Starvation as a Weapon of War

GENEVA — The international community is facing an unprecedented moral challenge due to a dramatic increase in the use of starvation as a weapon of war, according to a United Nations human rights expert speaking on World Food Day.

Sofía Monsalve Suárez, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, presented her first thematic report to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, stating that the global response to the issue has been marked by an alarming lack of accountability and impunity.

Monsalve Suárez reported that famine figures are increasing after decades of decline. She noted that although the overall number of hungry people may have decreased in 2025, the proportion of individuals facing famine or famine-like conditions is rising rapidly.

According to the report, a looming food crisis is being driven by the combined impacts of El Niño, ongoing armed conflicts, cuts to humanitarian aid, economic shocks stemming from geopolitical instability, and global war economies. Monsalve Suárez stated that these factors explain both the return of famine and the intensification of hunger utilized as a method of warfare, which she said is paired with an erosion of international normative frameworks and governance.

The Special Rapporteur highlighted tactics including attacks on food supplies and infrastructure, as well as economic coercion involving tariffs, sanctions, and debt. She also pointed to rising military spending, which she said diverts necessary resources away from transforming food systems.

Additionally, Monsalve Suárez stated that current agro-industrial food systems contribute significantly to the planetary crisis by prioritizing profit maximization, corporate concentration, and the commodification of nature.

To address the crisis, Monsalve Suárez urged UN Member States to guarantee the right to food, end ongoing wars, conflicts, and illegal occupations, and undertake structural reforms of the international financial architecture, including debt relief and restructuring mechanisms.

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