The Starvation Training Manual is a unique toolkit designed for a wide audience including: professional investigators, human rights defenders, journalists, civil society organisations, academics, the military police officers, and humanitarian actors, interested in being able to identify the deliberate use of starvation, strengthen protection strategies and insulate their operations, reporting and responses.

In its second edition, the Starvation Training Manual has been revised and updated with new sections on international human rights law and humanitarian law and with contributions from international experts on open-source investigations (‘OSINT’) and international sanctions as they relate to starvation.

COMPONENTS OF THE MANUAL

FRAMEWORK GUIDE: Part 1 sets out the legal frameworks in which starvation-related crimes or violations exist, including international criminal, humanitarian and human rights law. It explains on an introductory level what to look for in a starvation investigation by analysing the elements of the war crime of starvation under the Rome Statute and twenty-five viable alternative crimes that may be found to have occurred in a starvation situation.

BASIC INVESTIGATIVE STANDARDS PROTOCOLS: Part 2 is tailored for various Practitioners. It provides guidance on the conduct of a starvation investigation that could support a future prosecution or accountability. It identifies the essential investigative principles that must be adhered to and examines the available techniques with a view to explore their use in a starvation investigation. It features unique guides on how to conduct OSINT and how to interview vulnerable individuals. This is prepared in consultation with leading food-security, investigative and documentation experts, and accompanied by template interview questionnaires.

REMEDIES AND STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE: Part 3 provides an overview of the mechanisms that can be approached with regard to a starvation-related crime or violation. It offers step-by-step guides for Practitioners to bring a case, submission, or complaint before the UN human rights bodies, commissions of inquiry, investigative mechanisms, and expert groups. This part also analyses the obligations and avenues for engagement arising out of UN Security Council Resolution 2417. This landmark resolution underscores that the deliberate use of starvation as a method of warfare is a war crime, highlighting for the first time the nexus between conflict and hunger.

The Manual is available in English and Arabic and will be disseminated across a series of workshops in 2022. The Manual is available in hard copy for trainees with sections available as an online resource. The Manual is being developed into a mobile application for mobile phone and tablet use in the field. For individuals and organisations interested in the Manual or in participating in our workshops and training programmes, contact starvationaccountability@globalrightscompliance.co.uk.

For a quick preview of the Manual, please see the Primer below in English and Arabic.