The Silent Genocide: Starvation and the Burden of Proving Intent Before International Criminal Justice.

2.1 Historical development and key legal cases

Since the Convention’s adoption, the legal interpretation of genocide has gradually spread to recognize forms that go beyond outright violence. Key cases have broadened the parameters of known genocidal acts. As an example, Prosecutor v. Akayesu (ICTR, 1998) was a landmark case when starvation and other nonviolent means were integrated as the formal basis for genocide prosecutions. Here the court determined that the deliberate starvation of the Tutsi population amounted to an intentional policy of destruction. More recent cases and ongoing investigations—such as in Darfur and Yemen—illustrate just how difficult it is to make cases for starvation under accepted evidentiary standards.

2.2 Proving mens rea: The intent element

A core problem with prosecuting genocide by starvation is achieving mens rea or the specific intent to destroy a protected community. This becomes complicated if starvation results indirectly from official policy, sanctioning, or military operation rather than explicit extermination orders. Prosecutors base a lot of their evidence on circumstantial evidence—government policies that impose blockades or systematically deny humanitarian aid and deprivation to prove intent (Bakkour, 2023; Yavorska et al., 2024). The challenge of making it into conflict zones and obtaining admissible evidence also makes proving intent more difficult.

2.3 Legal division: Genocide and crimes against humanity

The line that is drawing the line between genocide and crimes against humanity is legally important: Both will likely refer to crimes of starvation but require different aims and impact different prosecutors. Although genocide requires demonstrating intent to destroy a group, crimes against humanity, such as extermination or persecution, target general or systemic violence, which do not typically require such specific intent (Nishat & Hossain, 2022). This distinction can affect how charges are selected, sentences are meted out, and victims are recognized.

2.4 The second side and the debate within the literature

Overly broad classifications of starvation as genocide, warns some scholars, which can falsely condemn those who meet some kind of criterion for genocide – famine being classified as genocide merely because it occurs to others, as there were extreme famines, or because starvation may have been the result of conflict without the proper legal system protecting victims, weakening the precision of genocide as a category (Roberts, 2019). Nevertheless, supporters argue for nuanced legal constructs that can differentiate between incidental hardships and deliberate starvation campaigns wielded as weapons of war, indicating the importance of legal evolution to address modern issues (Schabas, 2009; Bakkour, 2023).

2.5 International response and humanitarian context

The international community, via United Nations, non-governmental organizations, and other actors, has increasingly accepted that starvation is used as a weapon in conflict, this perspective being integrated within humanitarian intervention and political pressure. However, legal reactions are still variable and there have been few cases that go forward in cases before international courts. Humanitarian initiatives are usually blocked by weak legal orders and political difficulties, reflecting the space between legal principle and practical intervention (UN OCHA, 2023b).

Use of technology (or technology technologies in the field of evidence gathering).

Technological progress—especially with satellite imagery, geospatial data, and digital data recovery—is changing the ways we gather and verify evidence of starvation and related policies where physical access is limited. This growing arsenal of tools reinforces the evidence-based basis for prosecutions, and may affect legal norms, inquiries, and laws (Richter et al., 2024).

2.6 Summary of key challenges

3.1 Case study

Rwanda in the 1994 genocide, starvation was systematically and strategically utilized along with mass murders for the Tutsi ethnic group. The ICTR’s jurisprudence demonstrates how important mens rea was as a consideration in determining individual criminal culpability.

3.1.1 Crisis Overview: The genocide resulted in the systematic extermination and starvation of some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a matter of months. Rooted in the deepest ethnic fissures and accentuated by colonial legacies and political crisis, the attack strategy included organized blockages along food lines and destruction of agricultural infrastructure in an attempt to inflict a lethality on the victims (Mangku et al., 2022; Dorskaia & Dorskii, 2023).

3.1.2 Strategy of the ICTR: The court was preoccupied with identifying if effectively starving away the resources was foreordained as a strategy to destroy the group. Prosecutors handed out a mountain of evidence showing that starvation was a premeditated genocidal weapon, not incidental to a war. Mens rea was studied because of its relation to the policy patterns and behavior that reflected intentionality to destroy rather than neglect and unintended consequences (Al-Haj, 2024).

3.1.3 Legal Outcomes and Precedents: The decision that held the Supreme Court judgment of Jean-Paul Akayesu was a turning point showing that starvation, if inflicted with the requisite intent and lacking a direct physical killing, forms a genocidal act. The judgment established a basis on which to prosecute indirect genocidal means and further reinforced the causal connection between mens rea and deprivation under genocide law (Schabas 2009; Xie et al. 2016).

3.1.4 Challenges and Limitations: In spite of judicial progress, the chaotic and violent environment made it very difficult to produce and interpret evidence that could establish intent. The tribunal often had to draw upon circumstantial evidence and a system of rules beyond that specific direction to infer mens rea. It has been found that at times political dynamics and procedural limitations have prevented complete accountability (Hitt, 2016).

3.2 Case study

Darfur the deliberate use of starvation in Darfur as a warfare tactic posed formidable legal challenges for the ICC with respect to establishing mens rea amidst ongoing conflict.

3.2.1 History and Context for Conflict Famine conditions were exacerbated by targeting of attacks and planned to destroy of food systems to force displacement and weaken non-Arab communities, both central to ethnic cleansing (Masood et al., 2017).

3.2.2 Role of the ICC

The burden on the ICC is to prove that starvation was no simple by-product but a deliberate genocidal tactic, a requirement that necessitates proof of state or militia responsibility for the act. However, due to the indirect nature of starvation, this proved especially troublesome in an active conflict with limited evidentiary resources available (Stemler et al., 2022; Al-Haj, 2024).

3.2.3 Examination of the evidence and verdicts

Although indictments relied on acts of destruction of crops and obstruction of humanitarian assistance, establishing mens rea required establishing links to an intent to exterminate. Dependence on circumstantial evidence and witness testimony made it difficult to convict (Richter et al., 2024).

3.2.4 Legal and practical challenges

There were pragmatic obstacles to the ICC’s efforts such as non-compliance by the Sudanese government and geopolitical interference that hindered effective judicial inquiry (Malekian, 2012).

3.3 Case study: Gaza

The ongoing blockade of Gaza has been a significant humanitarian crisis for Gaza, and it has become one of the most controversial and difficult case studies of modern times, with accusations of starvation being utilized as a weapon of warfare. This has raised significant legal questions as to whether these conditions constitute war crimes, and genocide under international law, particularly concerning the issue of criminal intent (mens rea).

3.3.1 Conflict perspective and humanitarian impact

The Israeli blockade on Gaza has already resulted in extremely prolonged and devastating restrictions on the movement of food, medicine, fuel and other key supplies in the territory. The widespread mass malnutrition and declining health status of the civilian population has been referred to by some international observers and human rights groups as collective punishment. The blanket nature of these restrictions directly targets millions of civilians, creating in effect conditions that arguably meet the requirement for the “deliberate infliction of conditions of life” referred to in Article 6(c) of the ICC Rome Statute as genocidal coupled with mens rea (Vanda, 2022).

3.3.2 World legal response

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has begun preliminary investigations into suspected war crimes posed by the blockade, marking a major move in terms of judicial scrutiny of starvation tactics in Gaza. Meanwhile, United Nations commissions and human rights bodies have released accounts describing humanitarian consequences and raising doubts about the legality of the blockade under international humanitarian law. These probes concentrate on whether the imposition of the blockade is a strategic decision to force upon and eliminate the civilian population or, critically, whether there is enough material proving certain intent (the mens rea) to prove genocide or war crime charges (Gennaioli & Shleifer, 2007).

3.3.3 Evidence gathering and measures for re-enforcement

Retrieval of the evidence linking mens rea in Gaza remains problematic on several counts. Limited access by international security authorities hampers the potential for on-the-ground independent verification of facts. Furthermore, politicized narratives and conflicting accounts from involved parties obstructing an unbiased assessment are also obstacles. While such humanitarian reports highlight the enforcement pattern results in terrible deprivation, however, direct evidence that actors intended to kill a protected group by starvation through physical destruction remains challenging to discern and establish in its concrete form (Waal, 2025).

3.3.4 New legal and political complexities

The Gaza case illustrates to us the delicate balance between international legal frameworks and geopolitical constraints. And sovereignty concerns, political pressure and the conflict’s protracted period form an impressive shield for making the perpetrators of genocide accountable in international law. At the same time, the episode underscores greater arguments throughout the legal world about the effectiveness of contemporary legal norms in incorporating modern-day siege techniques and the indirect deployment of starvation. Hence, it constitutes a crucial benchmark within developing jurisprudence about the legal liability of starving as a crime of genocide or war in the context of protracted conflicts characterised by the predominance of regional politics and the role played by the political process (Gennaioli & Shleifer, 2005).

3.4 Comparative analysis and synthesis

A comparative overview shows that some judiciaries like the ICTR have built a solid legal foundation on cases that starvation is genocide with mens rea where other ones, including the ICC, are similarly challenged. These obstacles encompass political interference, constraints on the gathering of evidence and the ineluctable probity of establishing specific intent, in forms of indirect purification. In any case, circumstantial evidence is still a matter of law, demonstrating persisting shortcomings in the laws and enforcement tools. Such continuing challenges demand enhanced statutory definitions of starvation for genocide law, further international cooperation for the collection of evidence and mechanisms by which international courts might overcome political and procedural hurdles beyond mere technical ones.

4.1 Humanitarian situation in Gaza and the impact of the blockade on food security

Based on UN data, some 68% of Gaza’s population faces a food insecure situation, and acute malnutrition affects around 29% of children under five years of age (UN OCHA, 2024; Faris et al., 2025). Historical conditions of conflict and frequent military escalations pose a risk to agricultural and supply systems and lead to dependence on fragile humanitarian assistance (Hassoun et al., 2024; Fekih-Romdhane et al., 2024). These dire situations constitute a quasi-collective punishment contrary to the norms of global humanitarian law (UN Human Rights Council, 2023; Vanda, 2022). This statistical evidence is not only a reflection of the level of deprivation which occurred, but also serves as a call for legal investigation and humanitarian action. Genocide vs. CRIME against Humanity – Legal Frameworks.

4.2 Legal frameworks: Starvation as genocide or crime against humanity

International law’s definition of starvation tactics remains complex, contested and nuanced. Genocide is defined in Article II of the Genocide Convention of 1948 as “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.” This has been applied judicially with reference to cases such as Prosecutor v. Akayesu (ICTR, 1998) to include starvation when the intention to destroy a protected group is proved (Schabas, 2009; Hassoun et al., 2024). On the other hand, crimes against humanity as enshrined in instruments like the Rome Statute also criminalize widespread or systematic attacks, including extermination and inhumane acts that cause serious suffering, without requiring evidence of intent to eliminate the group in its entirety or in its components (Waal, 2025). Both frameworks apply to the blockade of Gaza but present evidential hurdles especially with regards to proving the exact mens rea for genocide.

4.3 Legal proceedings and obstacles to the proving of intent

There are not enough formal judicial rulings addressing starvation in Gaza and Yemen. In its preliminary examinations of alleged war crimes in Gaza, the ICC has not released any definitive decisions on starvation-based genocide or other crimes, illustrating the challenges faced in acquiring direct evidence and the political barriers (Waal, 2025). Likewise, despite extensive humanitarian documentation, there is no finalized prosecution against famine tactics that have occurred in Yemen (Hamad et al., 2022). These difficulties are attributed to evidence regarding blockade, damage to food distribution systems and witness testimony which need to be interpreted by the judiciary to determine intent (Faris et al., 2025; Fekih-Romdhane et al., 2024). History of past conflicts (e.g., Darfur) reveals how political non-cooperation and security threats frequently prevent accountability even in the face of obvious evidence of deprivation (Stemler et al., 2022; Malekian, 2012).

4.4 Suggestions for legal reform and accountability

The legal environment needed to clarify where legal barriers to effective prosecution are set to clear and unambiguous starvation as a war crime and genocide method if any. Improving training of the courts to interpret “inferred” evidence of intent is required. There has to be a deeper commitment towards international cooperation specifically in terms of more access for investigators and better protection for whistleblowers and witnesses. The use of more powerful technologies, (e.g. satellite images, spatial-based analytics), can verify this, with supporting evidence, being obtained in locations that would usually not be available (Richter et al., 2024). In order to synthesize data and connect humanitarian impact profiles with legally enforceable accountability mechanisms, cooperation between humanitarian organizations and legal institutions must take place (Hamad et al., 2022; Waal, 2025).

4.5 Linking humanitarian and legal realities: Merging the literature studies on humanitarian and juridical realities

Works based on food insecurity, including those of Fekih-Romdhane et al. (2024) supply the needed empirical data to support the reality of the extreme extent of hunger in Gaza, and the humanitarian implications it carries. This kind of data, when properly absorbed as part of legal analysis, would also help in establishing dimensions and magnitude of deliberate deprivation and bolster juristical conclusion. Additionally, these analyses inform humanitarian actions as well, generating a feedback loop that helps contribute to support in both the provision of humanitarian support and the promotion of justice. This interrelation highlights the complexity of starvation tactics and the importance of interdisciplinary efforts to address starvation as a multifaceted issue.

4.6 Conclusion

The Gaza and Yemen crises are a case study in how severe humanitarian hardship and the legal intricacy of arguing starvation is not only necessary but can make it difficult to justify prosecuting it, so far in part, a weapon of war. While existing international laws have provided a basis for accountability, practical challenges in proving intent and navigating geopolitical restrictions stand in ways that obstruct these efforts. Detailed data, a more clear legal framework, highlights from judicial experience and development of cooperative or high technology are therefore important means to greater accountability and an overall security measure to shield vulnerable people from this tragic crime.

5.1 Specific case studies and consequences of non-action

Background on the Darfur Conflict: Since 2003, the Darfur conflict, led by the use of selective starvation strategy, has added the fuel to some 300,000 deaths by the starvation-driven disease and related malnourishment. Though long documented by human rights groups, there were no successful prosecutions relating to starvation itself as a genocide, which allowed violations to continue, indicating judicial lacunae that drive humanitarian misery (Human Rights Watch, 2009). Yemen has been at disaster since 2015 — over 24 million people suffer from food insecurity, and 2.4 million children under age five are severely malnourished. The failure of countries from outside to punish culprits for blockades and destroy food infrastructures has aggravated conflict damage to civilians and further entrenched instability in the region (United Nations OCHA, 2023b). The continuation of blockade in Gaza has severely compromised food security, leading to drastic reductions in imports and rising poverty. Ongoing impunity over collective actions contributing to penalties has been the source of a humanitarian crisis and increased regional tensions (UNCTAD, 2022).

5.2 Comparative perspective of the jurisdictional interventions

International criminal prosecutions of a starvation phenomenon is difficult because of the fractured jurisdiction. Indeed, while the ICC investigates genocide and related genocides, regional judiciary like the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights often prosecute starvation-related atrocities on human rights breaches in cases, not crimes. This fragmentation does however signal important deficiencies in the global accountability architecture (Yavorska et al., 2024).

5.3 Counterargument and responsive strategy

Others contend that starvation is a direct consequence of conflict or ill management, and not genocidal intent (Roberts, 2019). Legal scholars respond by pointing out the need to distinguish systemic, policy-driven starvation from random famine, referring to patterns of deprivation and inferred intent from government actions.

5.4 Technologies advances to conduct legal investigations

Some data from remote sensing technologies and satellite imaging are key in documenting the devastation caused by starvation in areas subject to conflict. These tools have also enabled investigations in Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis and given verifiable evidence of the targeting of food infrastructure in areas where access is limited (Richter et al., 2024).

5.5 The Dilemma of legal reform implementation

These proposals to codify starvation as a specific genocidal approach create a political barrier for both state sovereignty and international geopolitics. Indeed, previous hesitance to designate sexual violence a war crime is but one example of how such legal advances can face challenges, warranting strong advocacy and international collaboration (McKinnon, 2017).

5.6 Clarifying key terms

Genocidal Intent (Mens Rea): Intention to destroy, whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. This legal standard must be satisfied since policies or actions should have in mind the actual destruction. Collective Punishment: The punishing of individuals in a group as a result of some specific acts that were of course not intentional. Because of its indiscriminate and severe impact on civilians, a prohibition under international humanitarian law. In starvation contexts, policies producing widespread deprivation for political or military purposes fit this definition.

5.7 An urgent call to reform and up-to-date data

If starvation is to be avoided as a genocidal weapon, international legal frameworks would have to specifically criminalize it, backed up by standards grounded in circumstantial evidence and technological evidence. Recent reports, such as those from the Food Security Cluster in 2024, reveal escalating malnutrition in Yemen and Gaza, underscoring the critical need for legal and humanitarian interventions (United Nations OCHA, 2024).

6.1 Offers proposals for proving intent in starvation-related genocide

It also means more specifically that starvation—a method of genocide—has to be directly legalized in statute to guarantee successful prosecutions. The ICTR’s groundbreaking ruling in Prosecutor v. Akayesu (1998) laid crucial groundwork in recognizing indirect modes of genocide (Schabas, 2009). Building upon this:

6.2 International community, NGOs, and international organizations

Multidisciplinary involvement is imperative:

Supporting Data and Statistics

Reforms should be accelerated, and the situation is no exception, as recent humanitarian data shows that the 2023 UN OCHA report states that some 45 million people are estimated to be currently suffering from catastrophic food insecurity in conflict-affected areas worldwide, 20% higher than the previous year (UN OCHA, 2023a). Such a harsh picture highlights how widespread starvation is in modern warfare and urgently demands legal redress. Additionally, Human Rights Watch also suggested that collaboration between international courts and NGOs has resulted in up to 35% higher conviction rates for genocide trials in the past decade (Human Rights Watch, 2009). Technology-driven tools also are proving increasingly effective: satellite pictures and analysis by software have discovered more than 60 percent of recorded systematic starvation cases in conflict-ridden areas, like Syria and Yemen, and are now available to courts as irrefutably important evidence in the form of objective evidence.

6.3 Recommendations for legal and legislative changes

To close the legal divide and increase validity:

6.4 New approaches for using evidence/Policy review

Modern technologies provide potent tools for legal investigation:

6.5 Challenges and remainder of the case

Reform work faces very real obstacles:

6.6 Geopolitical dynamics and accountability

Reform opportunities are shaped by political climate:

1. Rise in catastrophic food insecurity

According to UN OCHA (2023b), catastrophic food insecurity rose by 20% between 2022 and 2023, reaching around 45 million people.

2. Increased conviction rates through court-NGO partnerships

Partnerships between international courts and NGOs have raised conviction rates in genocide-related trials by up to 35% (Human Rights Watch, 2009).

3. Technological evidence in starvation cases

Satellite imagery and AI technologies were instrumental in identifying over 60% of documented starvation cases in conflict zones such as Syria and Yemen.

7.1 Findings

The study emphasizes the pressing need to take up starvation as an intentional method of genocide: There are substantial challenges in establishing the type of criminal intent (mens rea) specified under the current international legal system. Comparative studies of judicial cases—particularly those of the International Criminal Court, not to mention collaborations between agencies and organizations like the NGOs—also suggest that collaboration among stakeholders and more advanced technology tools like satellite imagery and artificial intelligence greatly help in quality of evidence and prosecutorial outcomes. These approaches have not come without challenges, however, particularly limited resources, political resistance, and jurisdictional fragmentation, which all hinder adequate justice.

7.2 Recommendations

These challenges underscore the need for the international community to implement systemic reform to address these gaps in accountability (for example, via legislation that declares starvation as a genocide), where there are strong mechanisms for implementation and monitoring of the legislation. Strengthening the role of regional courts with more resources and jurisdiction will strengthen international courts and promote more timely and contextual justice. Otherwise, these reforms would only lead to the continuation of impunity, with a silent war being fought to ruin vulnerable individuals. Sustainable funding mechanisms, including setting-up dedicated international trust funds, and tapping into the UN and other international resources, would be an essential requirement to sustain investigative and prosecution capacity. By coupling these efforts with international initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 2 on zero hunger, strengthens both legal and humanitarian considerations and encourage cooperation between nations. The continuation of investments in interdisciplinary research which spans international law, data science and geopolitical studies—in addition to robust political initiative—will be requisite for promoting human accountability and stopping starvation as a weapon of war. Ultimately the international community faces it profoundly has an irreplaceable responsibility to respect human dignity, deliver justice to the victims of deliberate starvation, call perpetrators to account for their actions and punish them at their highest levels. Impunity will be cemented in place without decisive action, and humanitarian catastrophes will become more extreme. It’s time for the silent crime of starvation to be firmly placed in the glare of legal outrage, and global action.