Right to Food: UN Special Rapporteur Warns of Rising Famine and the Use of Hunger as a Weapon of War

Summary

On 16 October 2026, Sofía Monsalve Suárez, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, presented her first report to the Third Committee of the General Assembly in New York. The report, issued as document A/81/201 under the title "Reasserting human dignity in times of global war economies: an inception report," sets out the priorities of her mandate and identifies what it calls the accelerating use of food as a weapon of war and coercion.

According to UN Meetings Coverage, Ms. Monsalve Suárez told delegates that "the return of famines and the deliberate use of hunger as a weapon of war is an unprecedented moral challenge for our generation and for the future of humanity." This report summarises her findings and recommendations, the views expressed by Member States during the interactive dialogue that followed and the relevant international standards.

Background: The Mandate and the Report

The Special Rapporteur on the right to food is an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council. Ms. Monsalve Suárez took up her functions on 1 May 2026, and her report, dated 15 July 2026, was submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 80/210 and Human Rights Council resolution 58/10. Prepared after consultations with civil society, Member States, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and independent experts, it places human dignity at the centre of the mandate. It was presented in a combined briefing with Elena Carolina Díaz Galán, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

Findings on Famine and Acute Hunger

Citing data compiled for the Global Report on Food Crises, the report states that the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity, classified as Phase 3 or above on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), rose from 105.2 million in 2016 to 295.3 million in 2024. It notes that the figure fell to 266 million in 2025, but states that this "does not signal improvement but rather reflects reduced country coverage due to data gaps."

The report finds that armed conflict and violence were the primary drivers in 12 of the 13 hunger hotspots identified in 2025, and that weather extremes were the main driver in 16 countries where 87.5 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity. It also states that funding for food assistance, emergency agricultural aid and nutrition in food crises declined by an estimated 59 per cent between 2022 and 2025.

In her oral statement, as reported by UN Meetings Coverage, the Special Rapporteur said six countries or territories have populations facing catastrophic conditions, with the gravest situations in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen and Gaza. She also warned of a strong El Niño forecast for 2026 and 2027, of Black Sea hostilities that have virtually halted grain exports from Ukraine and the Russian Federation, and of disruption to fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Hunger as a Weapon of War

Drawing on the work of famine scholar Alex de Waal, the report describes "global war economies" in which tactics include denying the existence of famine, suppressing information, controlling how the gravity of food crises is determined and obstructing humanitarian aid.

The report states that infrastructure sustaining agriculture and fishing, including irrigation systems, fields, storage facilities and markets, has been deliberately targeted in numerous armed conflicts, which it describes as "a direct assault on the right to food." It also refers to "starvation punishment" against people in State custody in some countries, and states that unilateral coercive measures such as sanctions and embargoes "may amount to collective punishment."

Situations Cited in the Report

The report cites the IPC as having confirmed famine in Gaza Governorate in August 2025, with some 1.6 million people continuing to face high levels of acute food insecurity, and refers to accounts from civil society consultations describing the destruction of agricultural land, water systems and food infrastructure there. It also refers to attacks on Palestinian farmers in the West Bank and to large scale devastation of agricultural land in South Lebanon. The delegation of Israel disputed the report's account, as set out below.

The report describes the Sudan as "the largest food insecurity crisis in the world today," with nearly 19.5 million people, about 41 per cent of the population, facing high levels of acute food insecurity. It states that food is being used as a weapon by different parties to the conflict, which are closing supply routes, targeting food production and harassing merchants who move food between areas.

Recommendations to Member States

The report urges Member States to "stop all wars and occupations," to end economic warfare through unilateral coercive measures, blockades and the weaponisation of trade and financial flows, and to rethink the international financial architecture in favour of debt relief and concessional financing for food system transformation. It also urges States to reorient economic policies around the right to food while ensuring accountability for violations, and states that the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, read alongside international humanitarian law, "gives rise to a duty to prevent famine," including a duty to allow and facilitate humanitarian access.

Views Expressed by Member States

Many delegations expressed concern about the use of starvation in armed conflict. According to the UN's automatically generated transcript of the meeting, the European Union said it was "particularly concerned with the use of starvation as a method of warfare" and called for unhindered humanitarian access and accountability. Malaysia expressed particular concern about Gaza, Ireland and Bangladesh stressed compliance with international humanitarian law, and Brazil said food "must never be used as a method of warfare."

Mali, speaking on behalf of the African Group, recalled Security Council resolution 2417. Uganda, on behalf of the Non Aligned Movement, said food should not be used as an instrument of political and economic pressure, and Cuba cited the report's discussion of unilateral coercive measures in describing the effects of the United States embargo.

Several delegations described situations affecting their own countries. The Russian Federation said unilateral coercive measures applied by Western States were blocking Russian fertilisers and agricultural products from global markets. Ukraine rejected that account and said Russia had blockaded Black Sea ports and attacked grain storage, vessels and food infrastructure. Sudan's representative said an armed group it described as a terrorist militia had attacked the Gezira agricultural scheme, besieged El Fasher and targeted aid convoys, and the Permanent Representative of Myanmar accused the country's military authorities of inflicting deliberate starvation.

The representative of Israel said Hamas had attacked agricultural communities in southern Israel and starved hostages in captivity, and that Hezbollah attacks had devastated agriculture in northern Israel. The delegation asked why the report advanced what it called "dangerous libels against Israel" while omitting Hamas, Hezbollah and their victims, and asked how the Special Rapporteur would ensure equal recognition of victims and scrutiny of all relevant actors.

The Special Rapporteur's Response

In her reply, according to the transcript, Ms. Monsalve Suárez condemned United States sanctions against the International Criminal Court, its judges and the Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, saying such actions erode the integrity of the UN human rights system, and said the use of hunger as a weapon of war is a war crime requiring accountability. She also called for maintaining monitoring systems such as the IPC and for food reserves at local, national, regional and international levels.

Relevant International Standards

Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognises the right to adequate food and the fundamental right to be free from hunger. Article 54 of Additional Protocol I and article 14 of Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions prohibit starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. Security Council resolution 2417 (2018) condemns that practice and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access, and under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, intentionally starving civilians is a war crime.

Taskforce Note

The Global HR Taskforce will continue to monitor developments, including the Special Rapporteur's future reporting, IPC analyses for the crises named in the report and any General Assembly action on the right to food. Sources: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, "Reasserting human dignity in times of global war economies: an inception report," A/81/201, 15 July 2026; UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, GA/SHC/4445, 16 October 2026; UN Transcripts, Third Committee, 19th meeting, 81st session, 16 October 2026 (automatically generated, not an official record); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Additional Protocols I and II to the Geneva Conventions; Security Council resolution 2417 (2018); Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.