Hunger and conflict: challenges of a relationship with serious impacts on human security

Conflict overview 2018

5. Risk scenarios for 2019

5.5. Hunger and conflict: challenges of a relationship with serious impacts on human security

Most of the people affected by hunger in the world lives in

areas affected by conflicts, according

to data from the UN World Food

Programme

A disturbing trend has recently been identified with regard to the situation of hunger in the world. The number of people affected by food insecurity had been falling despite the growing population, but in recent years this trend has reversed. Therefore, the 21st century has witnessed an increase in the total global population suffering from hunger. In 2016, this figure exceeded 815 million people, 37 million more than the previous year. Most of them lived in areas affected by conflict and violence. According to data from the UN World Food Programme (WFP), 60% of the more than 800 million people who suffered from chronic hunger in the world lived in countries in conflict. Various sources suggest that the rise in hunger in recent years is related to the impact of armed conflicts and warns of the challenges presented by the relationship between hunger and conflict, since both phenomena feed off each other: food insecurity can aggravate situations of conflict and violence and armed conflicts create conditions for growing food insecurity. Furthermore, in various current armed conflicts, hunger has been used systematically as a weapon of war.

The data collected by various United Nations agencies and programmes depict an alarming scenario. In the last decade, more than 80%

of the resources requested by the UN for humanitarian aid were aimed at correcting the situation in conflict zones. According to the FAO’s Global Report on Food Crises (2017), 10 of the 13 most serious humanitarian crises were conflict-related: Afghanistan, Burundi, the CAR, the DRC, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The

WFP notes that acute food insecurity has increased by 11% in recent years and can be largely attributed to the dynamics of conflict, violence and insecurity in places such as Myanmar, Nigeria, the DRC, South Sudan and Yemen.

This organisation also stresses that 75% of girls and boys with stunted growth problems (122 million of a total of 155 million) live in countries affected by conflicts. Data from the WHO, meanwhile, indicate that people who live in areas with prolonged crises are 2.5 times more likely to suffer from severe malnutrition.

One of the most iconic current cases is that of Yemen.

During 2018, images of Yemeni children affected by severe malnutrition circulated in international media, highlighting the impact of the armed conflict in the country, which has become the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Even though it was already the poorest country in the Arab world before the escalation of violence in 2015, its population has become impoverished and affected by unpaid wages, while food prices have skyrocketed. Yemen is a net importer of goods and food (more than 80%). Consequently, Yemeni population has been directly affected by the blockade of its ports imposed by the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, as well as by other practices such as the destruction of markets as part of many attacks on civilian targets. At the

end of 2018, according to OCHA data, a total of 20 million Yemenis were in a situation of food insecurity, of which 10 million were suffering severe food insecurity, meaning that they were at risk of famine. Approximately 3.2 million people required treatment for severe malnutrition, including two million children under the age of five and one million pregnant and lactating women.

Syria is another case to be highlighted, considering the serious impact of the conflict in humanitarian terms, the systematic use of sieges against civilians and hunger as a weapon of war and many other practices that violate international humanitarian law. The conflict has forcibly displaced millions of people and has pushed more than 80% of the population under the poverty line. At the end of 2018 it was estimated that around 6.5 million people, or 33% of the population, were unable to obtain basic food to meet their needs. The conflict has had serious impacts on the agricultural sector and has turned Syria into a net food importer, when it was once one of the largest agricultural producers in the Middle East. Added to this are the direct consequences of the sieges used to force the surrender of adversaries, a practice used by various armed actors, but above all by the regime of Bashar Assad, which has been denounced by NGOs and the UN during the course of the conflict and constitutes a war crime. Another particularly serious case was that of South Sudan, where violence and food shortages put 6.1 million people (about 60%

of the population) in a situation of extreme hunger. In Syria, Yemen and South Sudan, there were warnings that the delivery of humanitarian aid was being blocked.

In this context, in May 2018 the UN Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 2417, which for the first time explicitly acknowledges that conflicts can cause food insecurity, which in turn can aggravate them. Promoted by the Netherlands, Côte d’Ivoire, Kuwait and Sweden, the resolution also condemns the use of hunger as a weapon of war and threatens sanctions against those who block the delivery of humanitarian aid aimed at alleviating food shortages and famines. Several actors hailed the initiative for paying attention to this problem and stressing the interconnections between conflict, forced displacement and food insecurity. However, others warned that the resolution ran the risk of becoming worthless if effective mechanisms for monitoring and implementing it were not established. Still others insisted that the resolution provides tools to address a situation that is conceived as transitory (the access of humanitarian aid to people affected by conflicts), yet it is essential to intensify efforts to reverse the dynamics of violence at the same time. In this vein, in 2018 the WFP warned that armed conflicts were the main obstacle to achieving the goal of “zero hunger” in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Glossary

ABM: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis ADF: Allied Democratic Forces

ADF-NALU: Allied Democratic Forces - National Army for the Liberation of Uganda

ADSC: All Darfur Stakeholders Conference

AFISMA: African-led International Support Mission to Mali AKP: Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice and Development Party)

AKR: New Kosovo Alliance

ALBA: Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) ALP: Arakan Liberation Party

AMISOM: African Union Mission in Somalia

APCLS: Alliance de Patriots pour un Congo Libre et Souverain

APHC: All Parties Hurriyat Conference APLM: Afar Peoples Liberation Movement

APRD: Armée Populaire pour la Réstauration de la République et de la Démocratie (Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy)

AQAP: Al-Qaeda in the Arabic Peninsula AQIM: Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

ARMM: Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ARS: Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia ASEAN: Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASWJ: Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a

ATLF: All Terai Liberation Front ATMM: Akhil Tarai Mukti Morcha ATTF: All Tripura Tiger Force AU: African Union

BDP: Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi (Peace and Democracy Party)

BH: Boko Haram

BIFF: Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters BIFM: Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement

BINUCA: United Nations Integrated Office in the Central African Republic

BLA: Baloch Liberation Army BLF: Baloch Liberation Front BLT: Baloch Liberation Tigers

BNUB: Bureau des Nations Unies au Burundi (United Nations Office in Burundi)

BRA: Balochistan Republican Army CAP: Consolidated Appeal Process CARICOM: Caribbean Community

CEMAC: Monetary and Economic Community of Central Africa

CIA: Central Intelligence Agency CHD: Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue

CNDD-FDD: Congrès National pour la Défense de la Démocratie – Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie (National Council for the Defence of Democracy – Forces for the Defence of Democracy)

CNDP: Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (National Congress for People’s Defence)

CNF: Chin National Front

CPA: Comprehensive Peace Agreement CPI-M: Communist Party of India-Maoist

CPJP: Convention des Patriotes pour la Justice et la Paix (Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace)

CPN-UML: Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist)

DDR: Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration DHD: Dima Halim Daogah

DHD (J): Dima Halim Daogah, Black Widow faction DHD (Nunisa): Dima Halim Daogah (Nunisa faction) DKBA: Democratic Karen Buddhist Army

DMLEK: Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Eritrean Kunama

DPA: Darfur Peace Agreement

ECCAS: Economic Community of Central African States ECOMIB: ECOWAS mission in Guinea-Bissau

ECOWAS: Economic Community of West African States EDA: Eritrean Democratic Alliance

EEBC: Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission EFDM: Eritrean Federal Democratic Movement EIC: Eritrean Islamic Congress

EIPJD: Eritrean Islamic Party for Justice and Development

ELF: Eritrean Liberation Front

ELN: Ejército de Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Army)

ENSF: Eritrean National Salvation Front EPC: Eritrean People’s Congress

EPDF: Eritrean People’s Democratic Front

EPP: Ejército del Pueblo Paraguayo (Paraguayan Popular Army)

EPPF: Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front

EPRDF: Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front EPR: Ejército Popular Revolucionario (Revolutionary People’s Army)

ERPI: Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo Insurgente (Insurgent People’s Revolutionary Army)

ETIM: East Turkestan Islamic Movement ETLO: East Turkestan Liberation Organization EU: European Union

EUAVSEC SOUTH SUDAN: EU Aviation Security Mission in South Sudan

EUBAM: EU Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine

EUBAM LIBYA: EU Border Assistance Mission in Libya EUBAM Rafah: European Union Border Assistance Mission in Rafah

EUCAP NESTOR: EU Mission on Regional Maritime Capacity-Building in the Horn of Africa

EUCAP SAHEL NIGER: EU CSDP Mission in Niger EU NAVFOR SOMALIA: European Union Naval Force in Somalia – Operation Atalanta

EUFOR ALTHEA: European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina

EUJUST LEX: EU Integrated Rule of Law Mission for Iraq EULEX KOSOVO: EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo EUMM: EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia

EUPOL AFGHANISTAN: EU Police Mission in Afghanistan EUPOL COPPS: EU Police Mission in the Palestinian Territories

EUPOL RD CONGO: EU Police Mission in DRC

EUSEC RD CONGO: EU Security Sector Reform Mission in DRC

EUTM Mali: EU Training Mission in Mali EUTM SOMALIA: EU Somalia Training Mission FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization

FAR-LP: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Liberación del Pueblo (Revolutionary Armed Forces – People’s Freedom) FARC: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)

FATA: Federally Administered Tribal Areas

FDLR: Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) FDPC: Front Démocratique du Peuple Centrafricain (Central African People’s Democratic Front)

FEWS NET: USAID Net of Famine Early Warning System FFR: Front des Forces de Redressement (Front of Forces for Recovery)

FIS: Front Islamique du Salut (Islamic Salvation Front) FJL: Freedom and Justice Party

FLEC-FAC: Frente de Liberação do Enclave de Cabinda (Cabinda Enclave’s Liberation Front)

FNL: Forces Nationales de Libération (National Liberation Forces)

FOMUC: Force Multinationale en Centrafrique (CEMAC Multinational Forces in Central African Republic) FPI: Front Populaire Ivorien (Ivorian Popular Front) FPR: Front Populaire pour le Redressement (Popular Front for Recovery)

FPRC: Front Populaire pour la Renaissance de la Centrafrique (Popular Front for the Renaissance of the Central African Republic)

FRF: Forces Republicaines et Federalistes (Republican and Federalist Forces)

FRODEBU: Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi (Burundi Democratic Front)

FRUD : Front pour la Restauration de l’Unité et la Démocratie (Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy)

FSA: Free Syrian Army

FUC: Front Uni pour le Changement Démocratique (United Front for Democratic Change)

FUDD: Frente Unido para la Democracia y Contra la Dictadura (United Front for Democracy and Against Dictatorship)

FURCA: Force de l’Union en République Centrafricaine (Union Force in the Central African Republic)

GAM: Gerakin Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh Movement) GEI: Gender Equity Index

GIA: Groupe Islamique Armé (Armed Islamic Group) GIE: Gender Inequality Index

GSPC: Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat)

HAK: Armenian National Congress HDZ: Croatian Democratic Union

HDZ 1990: Croatian Democratic Union - 1990

HIV/AIDS: Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

HPG: Humanitarian Policy Group HRC: Human Rights Council HRW: Human Rights Watch HUM: Harkat-ul-Mujahideen

IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency IBC: Iraq Body Count

ICC: International Criminal Court ICG: International Crisis Group

ICRC: International Committee of the Red Cross ICR/LRA: Regional Cooperation Initiative against the LRA ICTR: International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ICTY: International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia ICU: Islamic Courts Union

IDMC: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre IDP: Internally Displaced Person

IFLO: Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromia IGAD: Intergovernmental Authority on Development IHL: International Humanitarian Law

IISS: International Institute for Strategic Studies IMN: Islamic Movement in Nigeria

IMU: Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan INLA: Irish National Liberation Army

IOM: International Organization for Migrations IPOB: Indigenous People of Biafra

IRA: Irish Republican Army

ISAF: International Security Assistance Force ISF: International Stabilisation Force

ISIS: Islamic State

JEM: Justice and Equality Movement JKLF: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front

JTMM: Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (People’s Terai Liberation Front)

KANU: Kenya African National Union

KCK: Koma Civakên Kurdistan (Kurdistan Communities Union)

KDP: Kurdistan Democratic Party KFOR: NATO Mission in Kosovo KIA: Kachin Independence Army KIO: Kachin Independence Organization KLA: Kosovo Liberation Army

KLNLF: Karbi Longri National Liberation Front KNA: Kuki Liberation Army

KNF: Kuki National Front

KNPP: Karenni National Progressive Party KNU: Kayin National Union

KNU/KNLA: Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army

KPF: Karen Peace Force

KPLT: Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger KRG: Kurdistan Regional Government

KYKL: Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (Organization to Save the Revolutionary Movement in Manipur)

LeT: Lashkar-e-Toiba

LJM: Liberation and Justice Movement LRA: Lord’s Resistance Army

LTTE: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam M23: March 23 Movement

MAP-OAS: OAS Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia

MASSOB: Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra

MB: Muslim Brotherhood

MDC: Movement for Democratic Change

MEND: Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta

MFDC: Mouvement de las Forces Démocratiques de Casamance (Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance)

MIB OAS: Good Offices Mission in Ecuador and Colombia MICOPAX: Mission de Consolidation de la Paix en République Centrafricaine (CEEAC Mission for the Consolidation of Peace in Central African Republic) MILF: Moro Islamic Liberation Front

MINURCA: United Nations Mission in Central African Republic

MINURCAT: United Nations Mission in Central African Republic and Chad

MINURSO: United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara

MINUSMA: United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali

MINUSTAH: United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti.

MISCA: African-led International Support Mission in the Central African Republic

MISMA: International Mission of Support in Mali MIT: Turkish National Intelligence Organisation MJLC: Mouvement des Jeunes Libérateurs Centrafricains (Central African Young Liberators Movement)

MLC: Mouvement pour la Libération du Congo (Movement for the Liberation of Congo / DRC)

MMT: Madhesi Mukti Tigers

MNLA: Mouvement National pour la Libération de L’Azawad (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad)

MNLF: Moro National Liberation Front MONUC: United Nations Mission in DRC

MONUSCO: United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC

MOSOP: Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People MOVADEF: Movimiento por Amnistía y Derechos Fundamentales (Amnesty and Fundamental Rights Movement)

MPRF: Madhesi People’s Rights Forum

MQM: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (United National Movement)

MRC: Mombasa Republican Council

MSF: Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctor’s Without Borders) MUJAO: Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa MVK: Madhesi Virus Killers

NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization NC: Nepali Congress Party

NCP: National Congress Party NDF: National Democratic Front

NDFB: National Democratic Front of Bodoland NDPVF: Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force NDV: Niger Delta Vigilante

NGO: Non Governmental Organization NLD: National League for Democracy NLFT: National Liberation Front of Tripura NMSP: New Mon State Party

NNC: Naga National Council

NNSC: Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission NPA: New People’s Army

NSCN-IM: National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isaac Muivah

NSCN-K: National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang

NTC: National Transitional Council of Lybia OAS: Organization of American States

OCHA: Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

OFDM: Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement OIC: Organisation of Islamic Cooperation OLF: Oromo Liberation Front

OMIK: OSCE Mission in Kosovo

ONLF: Ogaden National Liberation Front OPC: Oromo People’s Congress

OPM: Organisasi Papua Merdeka (Free Papua Organization)

OSCE: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe OXFAM: Oxford Committee for Famine Relief

PALU: Parti Lumumbiste Unifié (Unified Lumumbist Party) PARECO : Patriotes Résistants Congolais (Coalition of Congolese Patriotic Resistance)

PCP : Partido Comunista de Perú (Comunist Party of Peru) PDKI: Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan

PDLF: Palestinian Democratic Liberation Front PFLP: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine PJAK: Party of Free Life of Kurdistan

PKK: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (Kurdistan Worker’s Party) PLA: People’s Liberation Army

PNA: Palestinian National Authority

POLISARIO Front: Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro

PPP: Pakistan People’s Party

PPRD: Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie (People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy)

PREPAK: People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak PREPAK Pro: People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak Progressive

PYD: Democratic Union Party

RAMSI: Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands RENAMO: Mozambican National Resistance

RFC: Rassemblement des Forces pour le Changement (Coalition of Forces for Change)

RPF: Revolutionary Patriotic Front RPF: Rwandan Patriotic Front

RSADO: Red See Afar Democratic Organization RTF: Regional Task Force

SADC: Southern Africa Development Community SADR: Saharan Arab Democratic Republic SAF: Sudanese Armed Forces

SCUD: Socle pour le Changement, l’Unité Nationale et la Démocratie (Platform for Change, National Unity and Democracy)

SSA-S: Shan State Army-South SSC: Sool, Saanag and Cayn

SFOR: NATO Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina

SIPRI: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute SLA: Sudan Liberation Army

SLA-Nur: Sudan Liberation Army-Nur SLDF: Sabaot Land Defence Forces

SNNPR: Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region SPLA: Sudan People’s Liberation Army

SPLM/A: Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition

MFDC: Mouvement de las Forces Démocratiques de Casamance (Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance)

MIB OAS: Good Offices Mission in Ecuador and Colombia MICOPAX: Mission de Consolidation de la Paix en République Centrafricaine (CEEAC Mission for the Consolidation of Peace in Central African Republic) MILF: Moro Islamic Liberation Front