<\/p>\n
18 October 2024<\/p>\n
(Excerpts)<\/em><\/p>\n Seventy-ninth Session, Major world Powers all tacitly agree to allow starvation to be a geopolitical weapon, an independent expert told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, citing conflict as the leading driver of hunger and malnutrition, as materialized in the looming famine in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cOne year ago, I [\u2026] told you that food is increasingly used as a weapon against civilians [and] raised alarm over the risk of genocide against the Palestinian people; unfortunately, you did not take any sufficient action,\u201d stated Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food.<\/p>\n As he predicted, Israel\u2019s war proved to be a genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people.\u00a0 \u201cWhat the world has learned is that no number of facts, no degree of horror, no amount of death and pain is enough to trigger a global response to starvation or genocide,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n Starvation and famine are a matter of human rights and a fundamental violation of international law, he said, observing: \u201cHunger often leads to armed conflict, and armed conflict always leads to hunger.\u201d However, this vicious cycle does not happen overnight.\u00a0 Citing occupation, oppression and exploitation as \u201cthe root causes of hunger\u201d, he underscored that \u201cfamines are always political, structural, long-lasting and international\u201d.\u00a0 And while natural disasters might trigger famines, ultimately \u201call famines are designed by humans\u201d.<\/p>\n The risk of starvation is rising because every permanent Security Council member and many wealthy countries have directly or indirectly supported starvation campaigns over the past decade, he warned, urging the General Assembly to recognize that \u201cstarvation is always an instance of genocide, extermination, or torture\u201d.<\/p>\n In the ensuing interactive dialogue, speakers sounded the alarm over the catastrophic levels of hunger and imminent risk of famine caused by the insufficient entry of aid into Gaza. \u00a0They stressed that all routes \u2014 land, air and sea \u2014 are valuable in meeting the vast humanitarian needs of civilians there.<\/p>\n \u201cChildren in Gaza are dying of starvation and severe malnutrition,\u201d stated the observer for the State of Palestine, stressing that \u201csevere malnutrition is not a quiet or painless death\u201d.\u00a0 As children get hungry, their bodies weaken, their vision blurs, their immune systems and organs fail and their hearts stop.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this stage, children are too weak to cry,\u201d she said.\u00a0Palestinian fathers and mothers have been running from corner to corner under non-stop Israeli bombs and airstrikes, searching for milk, food and water.\u00a0 Many of them never made it back or made it when it was too late.\u00a0 She condemned Israel\u2019s \u201cstarve or leave\u201d policy, denying the entry of sufficient aid and killing aid workers.<\/p>\n Appreciating the Special Rapporteur for linking the right to food to man-made starvation \u2014 especially in the context of Gaza \u2014 South Africa\u2019s delegate observed that people in the Strip have been plunged into extreme famine. \u00a0He condemned the use of contemporary methods of war \u2014 such as starvation \u2014 as well as the denial of food, water, shelter and medical care.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression, Lebanese people are enduring food insecurity more than ever,\u201d said the country\u2019s delegate, adding that agricultural land and trees have been burned in the south and farmland abandoned.\u00a0 The ongoing crisis has affected 40,000\u00a0Lebanese farmers.<\/p>\n \/…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 18 October 2024 (Excerpts) Seventy-ninth Session, 20th & 21st Meeting (AM & PM) \u2018Severe Malnutrition Not Quiet or Painless Death\u2019, Says Palestine Delegate Major world Powers all tacitly agree to allow starvation to be a geopolitical weapon, an independent expert told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, citing conflict as the leading 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\n20th & 21st Meeting (AM & PM)<\/p>\n\u2018Severe Malnutrition Not Quiet or Painless Death\u2019, Says Palestine Delegate<\/strong><\/h3>\n