UN Special Rapporteur Warns of Rising Use of Starvation as a Weapon of War

GENEVA — The international community faces an unprecedented moral challenge due to the increasing use of starvation as a weapon of war, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food Sofía Monsalve Suárez stated in Geneva on World Food Day during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

Monsalve Suárez, who presented her first thematic report, criticized global responses to the issue, stating that the world has reacted with an alarming level of impunity and lack of accountability. She noted that after decades of decline, famine figures are rising, and the proportion of people facing famine or famine-like conditions is growing rapidly, even if the total number of people experiencing hunger may have dropped in 2025.

According to the report, the looming food crisis is being driven by the combined effects of El Niño, conflicts and wars, reductions in humanitarian assistance, economic disruptions from geopolitical instability, and global war economies. Monsalve Suárez indicated that these factors, alongside a deteriorating regulatory framework, are impairing global governance and accountability.

The Special Rapporteur highlighted that war logic and geopolitical competition have led to attacks on food supplies and infrastructure, economic coercion through tariffs, sanctions, and debt, and increased military spending that diverts resources away from food system transformation. She also criticized existing food systems for relying on an agro-industrial and extractivist model focused on corporate concentration and profit maximization, which she said contributes to the triple planetary crisis.

Monsalve Suárez called on UN Member States to guarantee the right to food, uphold human dignity, and prioritize ending wars, conflicts, and illegal occupations as the most effective means to prevent famine and malnutrition. Additionally, she urged a reassessment of the international financial architecture to facilitate debt relief and restructuring mechanisms necessary for transforming food systems.

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