Condemning the Use of Hunger As A Weapon of War and Recognizing the Effect of Conflict on Global Food Security and Famine

Floor Speech

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Ms. JACOBS of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 922) condemning the use of hunger as a weapon of war and recognizing the effect of conflict on global food security and famine, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the resolution.

The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 922

Whereas, in 2021, 193,000,000 people experienced crisis levels of food insecurity, with nearly 139,000,000 people living in environments where conflict was the main driver of this crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened rising global food insecurity;

Whereas conflict acutely impacts vulnerable populations such as women and children, persons with disabilities, refugees, and internally displaced persons;

Whereas armed conflict's impacts on food security can be direct, such as displacement from land, destruction of livestock grazing areas and fishing grounds, or destruction of food stocks and agricultural assets, or indirect, such as disruptions to food systems, leading to increased food prices, including water and fuel, and the breakdown of a government's ability to enforce regulations or perform its judiciary functions;

Whereas aerial bombing campaigns targeting agricultural heartlands, scorched earth methods of warfare, and the use of landmines and other explosive devices have direct impacts on the ability of vulnerable populations to feed themselves;

Whereas effective humanitarian response in armed conflict, including in the threat of conflict-induced famine and food insecurity in situations of armed conflict, requires respect for international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict, and allowing and facilitating the rapid and unimpeded movement of humanitarian relief to all those in need;

Whereas efforts to restrict humanitarian aid and the operational integrity and impartiality of humanitarian aid works and distribution efforts, including through blockades, security impediments, or irregular bureaucratic requirements is another means by which combatants employ starvation and food deprivation as a weapon of war; and

Whereas the United States Government has the tools to fight global hunger, provide and protect lifesaving assistance, and promote the prevention of conflict, including through the Global Fragility Act of 2019 (title V of division J of Public Law 116-94), the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-195), and the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-334), and has the potential to hold accountable those using hunger as a weapon in conflict through the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-328) and other means: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) condemns--

(A) the use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of warfare;

(B) the intentional and reckless destruction, removing, looting, blocking, or rendering useless objects necessary for food production and distribution such as farmland, markets, mills, food processing and storage areas, such as ports and hubs containing grain terminals, foodstuffs, crops, livestock, agricultural assets, waterways, water systems, drinking water installations and supplies, and irrigation works;

(C) the denial of humanitarian access and the deprivation of objects indispensable to people's survival, such as food supplies and nutrition resources; and

(D) the willful interruption of market systems to affected populations in need in conflict environments by preventing travel and manipulating currency exchange;

(2) calls on the United States Government to--

(A) prioritize diplomatic efforts to call out and address instances where hunger and intentional deprivation of food is being utilized as a weapon of war, including efforts to ensure that security operations do not undermine livelihoods of local populations to minimize civilian harm;

(B) continue efforts to address severe food insecurity through humanitarian and development response efforts, including in-kind food assistance, vouchers, and other flexible modalities, and long-term programming focused on agriculture support and resilient livelihoods;

(C) ensure existing interagency strategies, crisis response efforts, and ongoing programs consider, integrate, and adapt to address conflict by utilizing crisis modifiers in United States Agency for International Development programming to respond to rapid shocks and stress such as the willful targeting of food systems; and

(D) ensure that the use of hunger as a weapon in conflict is considered within the employment of tools to hold individuals, governments, militias, or entities responsible such as the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656), where appropriate, and taking into consideration the need for humanitarian exemptions and the protection of lifesaving assistance.

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Ms. JACOBS of California. Res. 922, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 922 to condemn the use of hunger as a weapon of war and recognize the effect of conflict on global food security.

I thank Chair Meeks for his support and my colleagues, Representatives Peter Meijer, Bobby Rush, and Tracey Mann, for co- leading this with me.

Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have seen how climate change, the pandemic, and conflict fuel food crises around the world in Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, and now this war has exacerbated all of these crises.

In Ukraine, Russia's unprovoked war has left one in three families without enough food and disrupted critical supply chains in the country and around the world.

But we also have to recognize that we shouldn't only sound the alarm and mobilize aid and attention when and where humanitarian crises affect people who look like us. Around the world, especially in some of the poorest countries, millions of people are hungry and suffering as a direct result of Putin's relentless crusade for power.

In the Horn of Africa, the combined effects of climate change, conflict, and rising food prices from Russia's invasion of Ukraine have all exacerbated the rising food crisis, with more than 37 million people, including 7 million children, on the verge of famine as the region endures the longest drought in more than 40 years.

Afghanistan continues to face an acute humanitarian crisis this upcoming winter, where over 95 percent of the population cannot afford to feed themselves or their families.

Haiti imports 70 percent of its food, mainly from Russia and Canada, and is experiencing catastrophic hunger levels, with 4.7 million of the population facing acute hunger.

In Ethiopia, over 20 million people in Tigray, Amhara, and Afar are in dire need of humanitarian assistance and rely on wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia.

In South Sudan, where I traveled earlier this year, 8.3 million people are experiencing severe food insecurity, the most extreme level of food insecurity in the country since it became independent in 2011.

But we have also seen the power of the U.N., diplomacy, and global cooperation in alleviating this crisis. The historic Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was recently extended, has facilitated the export of millions of tons of agricultural exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

I commend Ukraine's new humanitarian initiative, Grain from Ukraine, that came out of the first International Summit on Food Security. It will ship grain to African countries most in need. Governments around the world have already contributed $150 million, with hopefully more to come.

The crisis in Ukraine has made clear why it is so important that we, as a body, recognize the consequences of war on food security, condemn starvation of civilians as a weapon of war, and call on the United States Government--here in Congress and in the administration--to continue addressing these crises and hold perpetrators accountable.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to lead this important resolution today, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 922 is an important piece of legislation to put this body on record as condemning the weaponization of hunger around the world and the impact conflict has on global food security.

As the world works together to alleviate multiple crises, this resolution serves as an important reminder of the cost of war and the need to hold perpetrators of starvation accountable.

Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me and support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 922, ``Condemning the use of hunger as a weapon of war and recognizing the effect of conflict on global food security and famine Act''.

This resolution condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of warfare. It also calls on the U.S. government to prioritize diplomatic efforts to call out and address instances where hunger and intentional deprivation of food is being utilized as a weapon of war, including efforts to ensure that security operations do not undermine livelihoods of local populations to minimize civilian harm.

The United States has always been a nation that espouses human rights. That's a central tenet on which we were founded.

So when we see starvation being used as a weapon of warfare, it is reprehensible to us.

Global food insecurity is of great importance to me because, not only am I a longtime Member of the House Hunger Caucus, I represent the same Congressional District that had been represented by iconic leaders who fought to end hunger in the U.S. and globally.

I am proud to continue the historic legacy of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, who was a champion for human dignity and fought for the rights of all people regardless of race, gender, heritage, or economic status, and Congressman Mickey Leland, who worked tirelessly to raise awareness of, and fight for, policies to end food insecurity around the globe and who, tragically, died in a plane crash while working to end world hunger on a relief mission in Ethiopia.

Starvation is a brutal and inhumane way to force someone to surrender. It's a slow and agonizing death, used by the immoral to gain leverage in a war of attrition and aggression.

Starvation tactics typically target innocent, vulnerable civilians who are not directly a party to the conflict; instead they are merely caught in the crossfire of conflict.

That is why we must adopt this legislation.

The United States government must prioritize diplomatic efforts to call out and address instances where hunger and intentional deprivation of food is being utilized as a weapon.

We must show the world that we do not condone this type of behavior and that we will not stand for it.

The United States should prioritize diplomatic efforts to call out and address instances where hunger and intentional deprivation of food is being utilized as a weapon.

We must do everything in our power to protect innocent civilians from this barbaric practice.

Starvation is a terrible thing. It's something that nobody should have to go through. And yet, there are people in this world who are starving right now as a consequence of war, or, perhaps worse, as a tool of warfare.

The people of Ethiopia's Tigre Province are being subjected to a truly vile and malicious use of food deprivation in this way. The region was already suffering from drought, and when compounded by forced starvation from denial of access to food as a weapon of war, the effect is heinous and the consequences are unforgiveable.

In Pakistan, food deprivation is compounded by the human toll from recent floods and other natural disasters. Using drought to strategically exacerbate starvation is unacceptable.

Russia's aggression against Ukraine is a global food insecurity tragedy on multiple levels. As Putin wages his war against the people of Ukraine, he uses food as a weapon by destroying the food production and transportation capacity of the country he invaded. At the same time, since Ukraine grows grains and crops that feed much of the world, Putin's devastation of Ukraine's food production infrastructure and takeovers of Ukrainian food exports cause food insecure populations of countless countries to suffer, especially in Africa.

Finally, I condemn the use of government blockades as a weapon of war to deliberately increase starvation.

Government blockades are nothing more than collective punishment, and they're a violation of the human rights of the people who are suffering under them.

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