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Stop Using Starvation as War Weapon, Hold Perpetrators to Account, Speakers Urge Security Council, as Famine Grips Sudan, Gaza, Acute Hunger Surges Worldwide

Meetings Coverage
Security Council

10045th Meeting (AM & PM)

SC/16224
17 November 2025

As famine grips Sudan and Gaza and acute hunger surges worldwide, humanitarian law must be upheld, the use of starvation as a weapon stopped, and perpetrators held to account, speakers told the Security Council during a day-long debate on conflict-related food insecurity.

Nearly 70 delegations took the floor, urging political solutions to end war and the building of inclusive and resilient food systems.

"War and hunger are often two faces of the same crisis," said Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, noting that armed conflict drives acute food insecurity in 14 of 16 hunger spots worldwide.

From Sudan and Gaza to Haiti, Yemen, the Sahel and the Democratic Republic of the Congo "millions remain trapped in a vicious cycle of hunger and conflict", where fields, markets and supply routes are destroyed, as hunger fuels displacement and further violence, she said.

While "only political solutions" can end war, the world spent $21.9 trillion on militaries in the past decade, she emphasized, stressing that conflict prevention costs far less than crisis response.

She called on the Council to confront the hunger-conflict nexus as a strategic and existential threat. Humanitarian access must be enforced, ceasefires must hold, international humanitarian law must be upheld, and obstructions to the work of aid workers must end.

Relief must shift to long-term investment in resilient, inclusive food systems that strengthen local markets and empower women and youth. She also called for scaled-up adaptation finance, universal early-warning systems, and measures to help communities withstand climate shocks.

Armed Conflict, Violence Driving World's Worst Food Crises

Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator said: "The world's most extreme food crises —including the famines in parts of the Gaza Strip and Sudan — are driven primarily by armed conflict and violence." In Yemen, damage to infrastructure has impeded imports, ongoing conflict is displacing people and humanitarian access constraints limit aid delivery. In Syria, agricultural production has been severely affected by damaged infrastructure and restricted access to farmland due to explosive ordnance and high levels of displacement.

One month into the ceasefire in Gaza, access is still restricted by limits at border crossings and bureaucratic impediments that slow the entry of supplies and staff, she continued. Meanwhile, in Sudan where conflict has shattered food systems, more than 21 million people are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, and many areas remain inaccessible to humanitarians.

While the UN negotiates with parties to conflict to facilitate humanitarian access, and operates notification systems, "these tools can only work if parties are committed to facilitate access and aid operations", she said. Highlighting the record number of attacks on aid workers over the past two years, she urged the Council and Member States to "use your leverage to address hunger in conflict" and sustain diplomatic engagement.

She also called on them to simplify bureaucratic procedures and ensure humanitarians can engage all parties. The international community must "strengthen accountability" by supporting investigations, adopting legislation to prosecute war crimes and supporting international jurisdictions.

Food Security Must Be Treated as Peace Dividend

Also briefing the Council was Máximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), who noted that the organization's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification is now a global standard for food security and nutrition analysis in emergency contexts. As conflict escalates and humanitarian funding shrinks, "the IPC is not just a technical tool — it is a lifeline for the millions of people living on the frontlines of conflict and hunger".

"Where there is hunger, there will be unrest; where there is resilience there can be peace," he warned, urging global leaders to treat food security as a peace dividend and not as an afterthought. "Food security is not only a moral imperative, it is the most practical path to peace", he stressed.

Africa: Epicentre of Global Hunger

"Africa has become the epicentre of global hunger, with 20.4 per cent of its population food insecure, twice the global average," highlighted Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, African Union Special Envoy for Food Systems. Citing the Global Report on Food Crises, he said 295 million are acutely food-insecure across 53 countries, nearly half driven by conflict. Sudan's grave food emergency is driving mass displacement into Chad, South Sudan, and the Horn of Africa, while 25.6 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were acutely food insecure in 2024.

Sahel's "worst food crisis on record" fuels chronic malnutrition, costing its economies two to three per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually and increasing fragility. "Climate and economic shocks are deepening the crisis", while humanitarian funding is falling.

He called on the Council to protect food systems as essential civilian infrastructure under international humanitarian law. This includes safeguarding agricultural land, water sources, markets, and storage facilities, as well as "localized ceasefires during planting and harvest seasons, along with the expansion of protected humanitarian corridors". Early warning and conflict prevention systems must integrate food security indicators.

International financing must align with Africa's strategic vision, he stressed, highlighting the Kampala Declaration, endorsed by all 55 African Union member States, which commits to increasing agrifood output by 45 per cent, tripling intra-African trade, ensuring that 60 per cent of Africans can afford a healthy diet.

Ensure Unimpeded Humanitarian Access, Make Perpetrators Face Consequences

In the ensuing debate, many delegations condemned the use of starvation as a method of warfare and demanded that perpetrators be held accountable.

President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, Council President for November, in his national capacity, stressed: "When civilians are deliberately starved, perpetrators — State or non-State — must face consequences." He also called on the Council to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access, predictable deconfliction mechanisms, and the removal of blockades and bureaucratic impediments that turn hunger into a weapon — an appeal echoed by other speakers during the all-day debate.

"Around this table, we know that we have the tools to act," underscored Denmark's representative, who was echoed by other delegations, such as Greece, in urging full implementation of Council resolution 2417 (2018). Council members must "break this deadly cycle" and ensure that starvation, denial of aid, and the destruction of food systems are met not with silence but with action, she stressed.

Algeria's delegate proposed establishing "a dedicated sanctions regime" targeting parties that violate that resolution and commit breaches such as starvation. Stressing that "starvation can never be justified as a tool of war", he said his country is co-chairing the working group on the protection of civilian infrastructure within the Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment to International Humanitarian Law.

"Apply targeted sanctions and listings against repeat offenders weaponizing hunger," echoed Mozambique's delegate. Moreover, food security must be embedded in peace processes, and unimpeded humanitarian access made a mandatory benchmark in all Council products. He also called for regular, disaggregated reporting on access denials, market attacks and crop-cycle disruptions, as well as preserving evidence of starvation crimes and support for competent investigative and judicial mechanisms.

Coordinated Action Key to Preventing Famine, Hunger

Many delegations lamented that famine and hunger today are man-made and preventable and urged coordinated action in prevention. Slovenia's representative said the Council should systematically benefit from regular reporting and early warning data. Moreover, the UN and its partners, especially the Global Network Against Food Crisis, must continue to "use this chamber to sound the alarm". The Integrated Phase Food Security Classification reports must remain a trusted and protected source for the Council, he said, a point also made by the speaker for France.

Guyana's delegate said prevention should also encompass addressing the root causes of an armed conflict, including structural challenges, and stressed the importance of community-led initiatives and context-specific responses. Investing in climate-smart agriculture, transforming agrifood systems and involving women and youth have multiplier effects, she added, echoing other delegations.

Donors Highlight Aid Efforts with UN

The Republic of Korea's representative emphasized the need for stronger coordination between the Security Council and bodies like the Peacebuilding Commission to address crises such as those in the Sahel, among others. He also highlighted Seoul's own "REACH" initiative with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Myanmar, Syria, Palestine, and Sudan.

Other delegations also spotlighted their efforts in providing critical aid. The speaker for the United States said his country has "proven to be the most generous nation in the world" and in fiscal year 2025, for example, provided over $400 million in life-saving assistance inside the West Bank and Gaza. He urged other donors to increase critically needed assistance.

Urging action to "prevent hunger wherever it occurs", the United Kingdom's representative outlined his country's support through its "Resilience and Adaptation Fund" major investments in climate-resilient agriculture, and over $540 million to the WFP this year alone.

Double Standards, Selective Interpretations of International Law Must End

Speakers also underscored that hunger must not be exploited and urged the consistent application of international law, the UN Charter and Council resolutions. "It is the persistence of double standards and political expediency that enables continued violations," said Pakistan's representative, adding that humanitarian assistance must never be subjected to political conditions.

China's delegate called on Israel to ensure large-scale entry of humanitarian supplies into Gaza and on the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan to immediately lift restrictions on humanitarian access. "We must resolutely oppose unilateralism and protectionist measures such as the abuse of tariffs," he added.

Meanwhile, the representative of the Russian Federation disagreed with "singling hunger out as a cause of conflicts", noting that "[it] can only exacerbate existing crises — just like many other socioeconomic problems". He rejected the "massive propaganda campaign blaming Russia for provoking a global food crisis", stating that the Istanbul Agreements show the commercial nature of the Black Sea Initiative. "Russian raw materials and food are in demand in 160 countries," he said, noting that anti-Russian sanctions disrupted global grain supplies and aggravated global food security problems.

Spotlighting "one of the most serious crises in the world", the Democratic Republic of the Congo's representative noted that despite his country's agricultural potential, ongoing violence has destroyed farms, infrastructure and supply chains, forcing millions to flee their land and leaving over 25 million people facing acute food insecurity. He called for global solidarity and action towards immediate and secure humanitarian access, large-scale, rapid and traceable funding and policy alignment among partners.

Elyse Nicole Mosquini, Permanent Observer and Head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross to the United Nations, said: "To truly protect people, we must link respect for international humanitarian law, protection of humanitarian access, and assistance that actively reduces risk." She called on the Council to uphold international humanitarian law as a protective framework and treat compliance with international humanitarian law as a political responsibility. "This Council must lead by ensuring its decisions and debates reflect [international humanitarian law's] protective purpose and reject politicized, or selective interpretations," she stressed.