Genocide Legal Brief III: Starvation and the Denial of Humanitarian Assistance

07، May 2026

This brief provides an analysis of the denial of humanitarian aid and depriving a population of goods essential to their survival, including through causing famine and starvation, as part of an act of genocide, specifically when committed as part of an overarching act of “[d]eliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” under both the Genocide Convention (Article II(c)) and the Rome Statute (Article 6(c)) (“Category (c) Genocide”).

Part I of this brief sets out common definitions of “famine” and “starvation” in international governance and the history of criminalising starvation as a method of warfare. Part II turns to the conditions under which the denial of humanitarian aid and causing of famine or starvation constitutes the genocidal act of “[d]eliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” for which individuals (a) and States (b) can be held responsible. Part III sets out the denial of humanitarian aid and starvation as an act of genocide under the other acts of genocide (a) examining the genocidal acts of killing, physical and mental harm, and prevention of births, and sets out potential evidentiary issues (b) in bringing a claim; and Part VI addresses evolutions in this area of law and concludes.

For the time being, no individual or State has been held legally responsible for genocide for withholding or obstructing humanitarian aid, or for its causation of famine or starvation. This brief, therefore, heavily relies on doctrine for its analysis, drawing on the limited existing jurisprudence where relevant.

The series aims to provide a toolkit of legal analysis and relevant caselaw on genocide to aid and assist practitioners of law, and those engaging in legal research and advocacy on genocide, and the destruction of the Palestinian people in particular.