Russia's invasion and occupation of Ukraine is characterised by industrial-scale state-sponsored theft and robbery. This is particularly evident in the agricultural sector. Russian occupiers have seized land, agricultural infrastructure and millions of tons of grain,...
GRC Starvation Training Program in Juba
On 28-29 April 2022, GRC convened a 2-day training session on investigating starvation-related conduct with 35 participants from a wide range of South Sudanese CSOs in Juba, South Sudan. The training, based on GRC’s innovative Starvation Training Manual, aimed to build the capacity of participants to investigate and document starvation crimes and included sessions on fundamental principles of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Criminal Law (ICL). This was followed by in-depth sessions on the law of starvation and starvation-related crimes, as well as investigative tools and techniques. The training concluded with interactive practical exercises, which encouraged participants to apply and experiment with the theoretical concepts and knowledge acquired.
South Sudan has been embroiled in a non-international armed conflict since 2013. Both government and opposition forces have consistently committed violations of IHL and violations and abuses of IHRL. The Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan in its landmark report on starvation found that:
“sufficient evidence exists to hold to account members of [the SPLA (in Western Bahr el Ghazal and Jonglei States) and SPLA-IO (RM) (in Central Equatoria)] accountable under international and national laws for the crime of starvation of civilians used as a method of warfare,” through depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival and arbitrarily denying humanitarian aid to populations in need.”
In the days following the training, civil society actors, including beneficiaries of the training, such as Edmund Yakani (Executive Director of CEPO) admonished and called out warring parties for the use of starvation as a weapon of war, highlighting the devastating consequences on the South Sudanese people. Edmund Yakani and Sarafina Desire, both training participants who were interviewed for the South Sudanese No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, outlined how the conflict in South Sudan and warring parties’ conduct has directly resulted in acute food insecurity, severely affecting women and girls in particular.