End Weaponised Starvation in Africa's Armed Conflicts
The Issue
In countries like Sudan, South Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), starvation is no longer just a tragic byproduct of war, it is an engineered weapon.
Civilians are deprived of the means of survival by design. Warring parties are laying sieges, intentionally obstructing relief convoys, deliberately destroying crops, and attacking marketplaces. The scale of this cruelty is staggering. In Sudan alone, the war has left over 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. In the DRC, over 4 million children under 5 years old suffer from severe acute malnutrition, alongside 1.5 million pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The African regional human rights system does not currently have an express normative framework to address this. This inhumane practice requires immediate, unified intervention to protect millions of at-risk lives and hold perpetrators accountable under international law.
The Solution:
On June 23, 2026, we are convening a collaborative stakeholder engagement meeting bringing together representatives from the ACHPR, the African Union Commission, the European Union Delegation, civil society, and legal experts.
We are explicitly demanding the African Commission act under its mandate in Article 45 of the African Charter to:
- Adopt a dedicated resolution explicitly prohibiting conflict-induced starvation as a method of warfare in Africa.
- Establish clear state obligations to ensure rapid, unimpeded, and safe humanitarian food access for all civilians.
- Expand the mandate of the Working Group on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to monitor starvation crimes.
- Enforce robust accountability measures and demand reparations, including the restoration of agricultural land and water systems for affected communities.
Take Action:
Add your voice to this critical initiative. Your signature helps build a unified force to dismantle this atrocity and uphold the fundamental human rights being violated in these regions.
Sign the petition today to spark the change that is desperately needed right now.
Learn More:
386
The Issue
In countries like Sudan, South Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), starvation is no longer just a tragic byproduct of war, it is an engineered weapon.
Civilians are deprived of the means of survival by design. Warring parties are laying sieges, intentionally obstructing relief convoys, deliberately destroying crops, and attacking marketplaces. The scale of this cruelty is staggering. In Sudan alone, the war has left over 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. In the DRC, over 4 million children under 5 years old suffer from severe acute malnutrition, alongside 1.5 million pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The African regional human rights system does not currently have an express normative framework to address this. This inhumane practice requires immediate, unified intervention to protect millions of at-risk lives and hold perpetrators accountable under international law.
The Solution:
On June 23, 2026, we are convening a collaborative stakeholder engagement meeting bringing together representatives from the ACHPR, the African Union Commission, the European Union Delegation, civil society, and legal experts.
We are explicitly demanding the African Commission act under its mandate in Article 45 of the African Charter to:
- Adopt a dedicated resolution explicitly prohibiting conflict-induced starvation as a method of warfare in Africa.
- Establish clear state obligations to ensure rapid, unimpeded, and safe humanitarian food access for all civilians.
- Expand the mandate of the Working Group on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to monitor starvation crimes.
- Enforce robust accountability measures and demand reparations, including the restoration of agricultural land and water systems for affected communities.
Take Action:
Add your voice to this critical initiative. Your signature helps build a unified force to dismantle this atrocity and uphold the fundamental human rights being violated in these regions.
Sign the petition today to spark the change that is desperately needed right now.
Learn More:
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Petition created on May 11, 2026