During times of conflict, hunger kills more than bullets 

The causes of increased world hunger are multiple and interdependent (including economic shocks, inequalities, the climate crisis, etc.), but conflict is one of the main factors. The alarming resurgence of world hunger goes hand in hand with mounting armed conflicts and flagrant disregard for international law: today, 258 million people in the world are experiencing severe food insecurity, and more than 85% of them live in zones of conflict or intense violence. In these areas, violence is the biggest factor behind acute hunger. 

How do armed conflicts impact populations’ food security? 

We are witnessing the instrumentalisation of hunger in war and conflict zones for political purposes. In many countries, civilians’ fields are being burnt and their crops are being confiscated; wells are being poisoned; markets, bombed; water infrastructure, destroyed; and roads and ports, blocked. All of this is preventing the movement of food and humanitarian aid.  

Destruction and looting of crops  

Most countries beset by armed conflict and violence are rural and depend heavily on local agriculture. Agricultural production is often targeted in order to weaken the region’s political and economic position or to feed troops. Direct attacks on the agricultural sector include restrictions on access to fields, theft or destruction of tools or livestock, and even setting fire to or looting crops, all carried out by armed forces or groups. These practices are nothing new and have been observed in all sorts of contexts of conflict all over the world.  

Population displacement   

To survive during times of conflict, families and farmers may be forced to leave their homes and abandon their land and possessions due to difficult security, economic and social conditions. They then need to find somewhere safe to stay where they will be protected from the violence. 

These displacements plunge communities into poverty as they prevent agricultural production, which also impacts markets, causing prices to rise, and damages people’s livelihoods. Displacements are also a strategy used by the combatants, who oblige people to leave their land and possessions behind.   

Over the last ten years, forced displacement rates have got higher and higher. At the end of 2021, 59 million people were displaced within their country, and 90% of them were displaced due to conflict or violence. 

Dispossession of land   

When people try to return after being forcefully displaced, they often find it difficult to get their land back. Indeed, dispossession of land is a frequent occurrence and allows the combatants to control the territory and accumulate wealth in order to support their war economy, as well as exercising social and political pressure.   

Dispossession of land may take different forms: demands for payment to get land back, selling the land, auctioning the land and confiscating the land (carried out by the state or the group in control of the area).   

Destruction of infrastructures   

Conflict often leads to the destruction of essential services and infrastructures, especially water networks, electricity grids and gas supply systems, but also markets, schools and medical establishments, such as hospitals and clinics. The destruction of basic services and infrastructure is a common tactic used by combatants to undermine communities’ already-decimated socio-economic conditions. The destruction of these facilities often leads to civilians bearing the weight of the conflict. 

Mine contamination   

Anti-personnel mines are designed to explode when a person is present, nearby or in contact with the mine, and they can continue to kill or injure civilians decades after the conflict.   

Mines are sometimes used to block access to agricultural land; in fact, they can lead people to avoid certain areas – including agricultural land – in the long term, because of the remaining mines. This means that even crops that have been planted cannot be harvested, as the soil is still contaminated. Mine contamination – and the other explosive remains of war – also harms livelihoods by disrupting livestock farming.  

Restriction of humanitarian access   

Humanitarian assistance is essential in order to respond to humanitarian crises and the risk of famine and to fight hunger in areas affected by conflict. International Humanitarian Law (IHL) stipulates that warring parties are responsible for making sure populations have access to an adequate supply of food, water and essential goods. UN Security Council Resolution 2417, adopted 5 years ago, reiterates these obligations and the fact that hunger cannot be used as a weapon of war.  

Nonetheless, humanitarian organisations are increasingly limited in their activity, not just by the warring parties, but also by the governments and donors who adopt the laws, as they sometimes implement bureaucratic measures that limit or prevent humanitarians’ ability to respond and to have a direct impact on communities. 

All of this conduct violates International Humanitarian Law when it takes place during a period of armed conflict. Beyond the actual time of the conflict, armed conflicts leave behind consequences that stretch well beyond the post-war period and affect displaced people’s ability to return, civilians’ livelihoods and the chances of reintegration and reconciliation succeeding long after the end of the conflict.  

What are our demands?   

Action contre la Faim calls upon leaders and members of parliament across the world to take measures to:  

• Put an end to the use of hunger as a weapon of war  
• Guarantee populations’ access to assistance and their livelihoods, including access to food during conflict  
• Promote and fund the transformation of our food systems to make them more resilient   

Governments need to make good on their commitments to fighting hunger caused by conflict by enforcing International Humanitarian Law, preventing attacks on infrastructures (especially those related to food security), providing access to humanitarian assistance to all who need it and increasing investment into humanitarian responses and into bolstering the long-term resilience of the most affected populations.

 Find out all our recommendations for UN member states in our upcoming report.