BRIEFING NOTE MARCH 2024

Israeli occupation
is using starvation
as a weapon of
genocide against
Palestinians

INTRODUCTION
“Our struggle for food sov-
Everyone in Gaza is food insecure. No one has access to enough food, some – including ereignty is interconnected
children – are starving to death, agricultural systems have almost collapsed, and with the struggle for our
widespread famine is imminent. national sovereignty and
self-determination. If we
The Israeli occupation’s ongoing genocidal war on Palestine has violently created had control over our land
a humanitarian catastrophe, pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip into a state of and natural resources,
starvation at an unparalleled rate. Israel’s intentional destruction of food systems, Palestine wouldn’t be facing
its blockade preventing entry of essential and life-saving resources, and its deliberate issues of food insecurity and
starvation of the Palestinian people, flagrantly violate the fundamental right to starvation”.
adequate food, among other human rights. They also constitute war crimes. Nearly
six months after the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war, the number of Palestinians Yasmeen El-Hasan,
killed, injured, or missing due to the Israeli occupation continues to rapidly rise; Union of Agricultural
at least 31,726 persons have been killed as of 19 March 2024. Work Committees

Due to these war crimes and clear violations of fundamental human rights, Israel is
currently being tried at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for crimes of Genocide.
On 26 January 2024, the ICJ ordered six provisional measures, including for Israel

BRIEFING NOTE 1
 to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian
assistance to civilians in Gaza. Due to the 17-year-long Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip
and the oppressive conditions of settler colonial occupation, Gaza has long relied on
humanitarian aid – particularly from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the largest humanitarian organization
operating in Gaza – to feed the population of 2.3 million. On the same day as these
provisional measures were set, however, several large Western states cut their funding
for UNRWA following unsubstantiated Israeli allegations, embedded in a long-standing
and systemic campaign to undermine UNRWA, and aim to further cut off Palestinians
from support and sustenance. The decisions to cut funding, described by UN agency
heads as an abandonment of Palestinians in Gaza, will have devastating impacts on
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as well as those in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon,
and Syria. The World Food Programme (WFP) also announced a temporary halt in its
services in northern Gaza – which has received almost no aid since January – citing
safety concerns, further exacerbating the already disastrous situation.

This briefing addresses the ongoing crisis from a food sovereignty lens, emphasizing
the interconnectedness of human rights, food sovereignty, and Palestinian self-
determination. Moreover, it puts center-stage how the Israeli occupation’s deliberate
starvation of the Palestinian people and destruction of their food and health
infrastructure is having a catastrophic effect on the rights of children – and the
impact it will have on the rights of future generations. By highlighting the structural
mechanisms through which the Israeli occupation continues to manufacture mass
starvation, this briefing emphasizes that the current crisis is a manifestation of settler
colonialism and affirms food sovereignty as a guiding framework towards justice.

BRIEFING NOTE 2
 S T A R V AT I O N A S A N A C T O F G E N O C I D E

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has been waging a genocidal war on the
2.3 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, imposing a total siege and blocking the
entry of food, water, and humanitarian relief. At the time of writing, the war on Gaza has
been ongoing for 160 days, and the Israeli occupation has killed at least 31,726 persons,
of which at least 13,790 are children, and injured1 at least 73,934; at least 7000 people are 1
The Gaza Ministry of Health updates the
missing, trapped under the rubble or detained by Israeli forces. Further, it has forcibly
numbers of those killed and injured on
displaced more than 85% of the population (approx. 2 million people) and concentrated a daily basis.
them into very small areas that remain vulnerable to attacks by the occupation forces.
All of Gaza’s population is currently food insecure, the vast majority of whom are facing
starvation or famine levels of food insecurity. Thus far, at least 31 people, including
27 children have been killed by malnutrition and dehydration in northern Gaza. Israeli
airstrikes have targeted and destroyed Gaza’s core infrastructure, making it impossible
for communities to sustain themselves. By cutting off the population from its most
basic needs, Israel is attempting to ensure that those who it does not massacre with
its airstrikes will be killed by preventable starvation, dehydration, or disease, thus
condemning survivors to a future without sustenance.

This rapid escalation of hunger is inherently rooted in the Israeli settler colonial
occupation of Palestine and its systemic oppression of the Palestinian people since even
before the Nakba in 1948. The humanitarian crisis created by the occupation has been
further exacerbated by the Israeli-imposed illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has
systematically denied Palestinians access to adequate food, water, raw materials, and
inputs for food production since 2007. Further, it controls and limits Palestinians’ access
to and use of water, electricity, and fuel. This pre-existing dire situation, paired with the
now total destruction of the area and deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid, has
led to a rapid increase in severe food insecurity and public health crises.

Israel has largely blocked humanitarian aid from entering Gaza City and northern
Gaza. Between mid-January and the end of February 2024, there were more than
14 documented incidents of Israeli shooting, shelling, and targeting of Palestinians
gathering for urgently needed supplies from trucks or airdrops, within designated
and precoordinated collection sites. Some of these attacks on Palestinian aid-seekers
have come to be known as flour massacres. On February 29, Israeli occupation forces
fired on groups of Palestinians who had gathered to collect flour in the southwest of
Gaza City, killing at least 118 people and injuring around 760 others. The so-called
flour massacre of March 15 killed 80 Palestinians and injured at least 200. In just a
48-hour period between March 14 and 15, the occupation forces carried out five attacks
on aid distribution centers. This attack occurred after Israel had blocked humanitarian
aid from entering Gaza City and northern Gaza for over a month. With overwhelming
evidence, UN experts emphasize that this massacre is but one part of a series of
Israeli assaults on Palestinian civilians attempting to access aid. Thus far, at least
400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks while seeking necessary aid.

BRIEFING NOTE 3
 Experts on the issue of starvation assert that “depriving populations of access to
food, water, and other means to sustain life has been a central tool of genocide.” Food
deprivation, essential supply shortages, or blockades can meet the criteria of showing
“intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”
through different means, including “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions
of life calculated to bring about physical destruction”, as outlined in Article II of the
Genocide Convention. The Israeli occupation’s actions and public statements that
indicate intent and incitement of genocide are well-documented.

The Israeli genocide on the Gaza Strip is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure,
particularly in key sectors like agriculture and fishing that are vital for food production
and sustaining the population. The Israeli occupation forces actions demonstrate a clear
intent to devastate civilian life, directly threatening the survival of Palestinians in Gaza,
and making future reconstruction almost an impossibility. UN Special Rapporteur on
the Right to Food Michael Fakhri indicated that “there is no reason to intentionally block
the passage of humanitarian aid or intentionally obliterate small-scale fishing vessels,
greenhouses and orchards in Gaza – other than to deny people access to food.”

The intense Israeli bombardment and besiegement, coupled with extraordinarily

limited humanitarian access and destroyed infrastructure, has severely increased the
risk of total famine. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has activated
its famine review committee to further assess the crisis. It released its latest analysis
on March 18 warning that the situation in the Gaza Strip is catastrophic, with northern
Gaza facing ‘imminent famine’ and the rest of the Strip at extreme risk as well. This

BRIEFING NOTE 4
 analysis reports that, according to the most likely scenario, both North Gaza and Gaza
Governorates are classified in IPC Phase 5 (Famine) with reasonable evidence, with
70% (around 210,000 people) of the population in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe). For a
situation to reach “famine” status, as per IPC standards, at least 20% of households
in a given group experiences extreme food deficit, without the ability to cope; acute
malnutrition prevalence exceeds 30%; and mortality rates exceed 2 people per 10,000
inhabitants per day. While the IPC system is a critical tool, it is also important to point
out its shortcomings, including with regards to its categorization of severe hunger
into “phases,” with thresholds that are already too high. This approach can lead to
situations where the urgency and immediate need for support are not recognized
across all phases, and thousands of people can die of hunger and related causes
without the threshold of “famine” being officially breached in any one locality.

Grassroots Palestinian organizations such as the Union of Agricultural Work

Committees (UAWC) are engaging in solidarity aid through an emergency aid
campaign, acquiring what resources can be gathered from within Gaza. Thus far, UAWC
has reached 96,975 beneficiaries with essential aid including food parcels, hygiene
and sanitary products, mattresses, blankets, and firewood, and an additional 172,000
people with drinking water. However, it is near impossible to provide comprehensive
community care under blockade and bombardment, regardless of available funds.

“There is a strong social solidarity between the people in Gaza. Right now, the
Palestinian people in Gaza are dependent on themselves and their own local
resources, which are extremely limited.” - Ahmed Sourani, Gaza Urban and Peri-Urban
Agriculture Platform (GUPAP).

BRIEFING NOTE 5
 THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

The Israeli occupation is, and continues to be, the core perpetrator of violations of the
right to food and other rights in Palestine. The struggle for food sovereignty in Palestine
cannot be separated from the broader struggle for Palestinian self-determination
and sovereignty over land and natural resources. It is inherently impossible for a
population to sustain themselves and the ecosystem to balance itself when it is under
occupation.

Palestine has been facing a long-standing humanitarian crisis due to Israeli settler
colonialism, and has been on the “verge of humanitarian catastrophe” for many years,
as highlighted in the report by the first UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate
Food, Jean Ziegler, after his visit to occupied Palestine in 2003. Ziegler noted that “severe
malnutrition reported in Gaza is now equivalent to levels found in poor sub-Saharan
countries, an absurd situation as Palestine was formerly a middle-income economy.”

Prior to October 7, Gaza’s agricultural sector, which forms the foundation of its food
production, was largely self-sufficient in terms of fruit and vegetable production,
despite the enormous challenges this sector faced due to Israeli-imposed restrictions
and control on agricultural inputs, including seeds, water, and other necessary
infrastructure. Now, however, food systems in Gaza have been completely decimated
by Israeli attacks. This destruction includes the targeted demolition of greenhouses,
farmland, water systems, irrigation wells, open farms, agricultural roads, and livestock
farms.

In addition to the bombing, Israel’s limiting of entry of fuel to Gaza have severely
disabled and, in many cases, destroyed Gaza’s water infrastructure, desalination plants,
food production, and electricity supply. Gaza’s sole power plant was forced to shut
down in October, and the Israeli occupation has cut off access to electricity, leaving only
limited power from solar panels and generators. The lack of electricity has prevented
food processing and preparation, in addition to other essential uses. According to the
Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), there is a dangerous shortage of safe water,
with only seven percent of pre-October levels available. Even before October 7, 97% of
Gaza’s water was unsafe for human consumption. The commercial sector is decimated,
food stocks are largely non-existent, and the lack of fuel and flour has largely halted
bread production. According to conservative estimates, more than 46% of agricultural
land is damaged. Livestock keepers are facing substantial losses, with high mortality
rates among animals due to bombings and the lack of animal fodder.

BRIEFING NOTE 7
 RIGHT TO LAND

Palestinian peasants and small-scale farmers under Israeli occupation face challenges
such as land confiscation, water scarcity, and restrictions on access to markets. These
factors hinder their ability to produce food and earn a sustainable income, further
exacerbating food insecurity in the region. Furthermore, Israel imposes what is
referred to as a “buffer zone” or “access restricted areas” (ARA) within the Gaza Strip.
The ARA covers approximately 35% of Gaza’s cultivable land and 85% of its maritime
area, making these areas totally or partially inaccessible to Palestinians.

Parallel to the genocide and siege on Gaza, the Israeli occupation continues to
expand its settler colonialism in the West Bank at an even more aggressive pace.
Approximately 700 movement obstacles throughout the West Bank restrict access to
roads, communities, agricultural areas, urban centers, water sources, food markets,
medical care, educational facilities, and other essential services. The manufactured
isolation of Palestinian communities in the West Bank severely disrupts livelihoods
and exacerbates their suffering. Settler violence has skyrocketed as Israeli settlers,
often accompanied by the occupation forces, frequently target Palestinian
agricultural lands and critical infrastructure, including vital resources like water
wells and roads.

Between October 7 and March 19, 2024, the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has recorded 658 Israeli settler attacks against
Palestinians that resulted in Palestinian casualties, damage to Palestinian property, or
both. Many of these attacks occurred in Area C of the West Bank, targeting Palestinian
rural communities and their agricultural land and infrastructure. Area C, which is
considered under Israeli military and civil rule, constitutes the majority of the West
Bank and is the food basket of Palestine. Israeli land theft and settlement expansion

BRIEFING NOTE 8
 focuses on Area C, serving as another facet of its strategy to disrupt Palestinian food
sovereignty. All of these manifestations of Israeli settler colonialism further impede
Palestinian access to their own natural resources, and limit the availability of food
that the Palestinian people, like any people, need.

Occupation forces raid Palestinian communities daily. This spike in Israeli aggression
has forcibly displaced Palestinians in the West Bank. This has had a significant impact
on the olive harvest season, which is crucial for many Palestinian families’ livelihoods.
24,000 acres of olives in the West Bank were left unharvested because Israel
systematically prevented farmers from accessing their orchards. This led to the loss of
1,200 metric tons of olive oil, valued at US$10 million. UN Special Rapporteur Michael
Fakhri stated that “The destruction of olive trees isn’t just an issue of food or commerce,
it’s at the core of what it means to be Palestinian and their relationship to the land,
just as the sea is central to what it means to be from Gaza.” Furthermore, this situation
affects the cultural adequacy of Palestinians’ right to food.

Israeli attacks since October 7 have also targeted land in southern Lebanon, leaving
tens of thousands of families without homes or livelihoods and destroying 47,000 olive
trees and other crops. Increased Israeli shelling and rocket fire triggered wildfires in
a crucial agricultural area, displacing over 86,000 people, including 31,000 children.
The fires are also impacting citrus land and pastoralism in the region.

RIGHT TO FISHERIES

Fishing is an important source of livelihood for Palestinians in Gaza amid an otherwise

restricted environment. Since the beginning of the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, long
before October 7, the Israeli occupation imposed severe restrictions on Palestinian
fisher people in Gaza, limiting the depth of their sea access, ranging from 6 to 15 nautical
miles, depending on the location. Additionally, there are prohibited zones extending
1 to 1.5 nautical miles along the southern and northern water borders of the Gaza Strip.
These restrictions deprive fisher people of access to many fish populations and fall
below those set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Furthermore, the occupation prevents their access to the sea for 10 to 15 days each
month.

Israel’s ongoing genocidal war has totally decimated fisher people’s access to marine
resources. An estimated 80% of Gaza’s fishing fleet has been destroyed and all fishing
nets damaged. The Israeli occupation forces have injured and killed Palestinian
fisher people across the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, Israel has imposed a total blockade
on access to the sea, and any boat trying to fish risks being fired upon. There have
already been multiple recorded incidents of the occupation targeting people going
into the sea looking for food. According to a recent UAWC report, the “loss of life, the
inability to access the sea, and the crippling of a once-thriving economic and cultural
cornerstone of Gaza threaten not just the livelihoods of thousands but also the food
security and cultural identity of the entire region.”

BRIEFING NOTE 9
 THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN,
T H E R I G H T S O F F U T U R E G E N E R AT I O N S

Over half of Gaza’s population are children, and the ongoing genocide
disproportionately affects them through massacre, malnutrition, orphaning,
trauma, and more. Survivors will face lasting consequences, including childhood
malnutrition and severe mental trauma. Israel’s widespread destruction of Palestinian
infrastructure, land dispossession, and ecological damage not only have immediate
impacts but also long-term consequences, particularly in regard to access to food
and safe drinking water in Gaza both now and in the future. This rapidly deteriorating
situation infringes on the Palestinian people’s right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable
environment, and poses long-term challenges for future generations of Palestinians.
Given the severity of the total destruction, it will take generations to rebuild physically,
mentally, socially, economically, and environmentally. The Israeli occupation’s
attempt to disable Gaza’s children is also an attempt to prevent rebuilding and the
thriving of future generations.

Malnutrition – including stunting and wasting – is on the rise due to the lack of food,
water, and health services. In addition to immediate threats to life, wasting can lead
to stunted growth, cognitive impairments, and weakened immune systems, which
can persist into adulthood and have lifelong consequences. UN Special Rapporteur
Michael Fakhri stated that the wasting and stunting of children is not just brutal, but also
“tortuous and vile”, and will have “long-term impact[s] on the population physically,
cognitively and morally.”

The majority of children under two years and pregnant or breastfeeding women are
facing severe food insecurity, often limited to two or fewer food groups per day, and
mostly low-nutrient food. Some families are resorting to feeding their children animal
feed to survive. To prioritize feeding children, over 95 % of households are limiting
adults’ food intake. The lack of safe drinking water is exacerbating malnutrition,
weakening immune systems, and increasing susceptibility to diseases, particularly in
overcrowded camps of forcibly displaced people. In northern Gaza, one in six children
are acutely malnourished, with an estimated three percent facing the most severe
form of wasting and requiring immediate treatment.

Approximately 5,500 women are due to give birth in the next month with barely any
access to medical assistance, and more than 155,000 pregnant and breastfeeding
women are at high risk of malnutrition. Many women are unable to feed their babies
due to their own conditions of malnutrition, as well as the lack of baby formula.
Reports of children are dying of starvation and dehydration continue daily.

Israel is also attempting to ensure that the environment that is left behind following the
end of its genocidal war will be destroyed for generations to come. As one academic
has put it: “This is war upon both land and people.” The long-term damage to the
ecosystem and natural resources in Gaza is severe. Israel’s consistently documented

BRIEFING NOTE 10
 use of white phosphorus bombs – a crime under international law2 – not only poses 2
Rule 22 under the Principle of Precau-
direct threats to human health but also has severe environmental impacts. When it
tions against the Effects of Attacks, indi-
enters rivers and aquifers, it can contaminate water sources, which is particularly cating that “parties to the conflict must
concerning in Gaza. This contamination extends to agricultural land reliant on these take all feasible precautions to protect

water sources, endangering local crops and livestock. The fishing industry, crucial for the civilian population and civilian ob-
jects under their control against the
food and income in Gaza, is also threatened as contaminated waterways harm the
effects of attacks” State practice estab-
ecosystem, fish, and ultimately, human health and livelihoods. Moreover, phosphoric lishes this rule as a norm of customary
acid buildup can harm soil fertility and increase erosion, further harming agricultural international law applicable in both
international and non-international
production. This will damage the soil and environment for generations to come.
armed conflicts.

H U M A N R I G H T S A N A LY S I S 3
See CESCR General Comment No. 12 on
the Right to Adequate Food; International
The deliberate destruction of food systems and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza is not Covenant on Economic, Social and Cul-
only of the utmost brutality and cruelty, but also in blatant violation of international tural Rights (ICESCR), article 11 on the

law. The Israel occupation’s actions against the Palestinian people not only violate Right to Adequate Food; The right to an
effective remedy is expressed in Article 8
human rights, but also contravene the principles of international law that explicitly
of the Universal Declaration of Human
safeguard the rights to a dignified life, and an adequate standard of living, including Rights, Article 2 of the International
the right to food among other rights of Palestinian people. As per International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
Article 13 of the European Convention
Human Rights Law (IHRL), an occupying power is obligated to provide for the basic
on Human Rights, and Article 47 of the
needs of the population it occupies, including food and medical care3. Moreover, European Union Charter on Fundamental
IHRL maintains that states have an immediate obligation not to discriminate access Rights. See also: Basic Principles and
Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and
to food on the basis of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations
national or social origin, property, birth or other status4. The prevention of access to of International Human Rights Law and
humanitarian food aid in conflicts or other emergency situations also constitutes a Serious Violations of International Hu-

violation of the human right to adequate food and nutrition. manitarian Law; Maastricht principles
on the Extraterritorial Obligations of
States in the Area of Economic, Social
The Geneva Conventions III and IV establish the legal obligations of all states to and Cultural Rights: “29. Obligation to
protect the access of civilians and prisoners of war to food and water, prohibiting the create an international enabling envi-
ronment States must take deliberate,
use of deliberate starvation as a method of warfare5, which is further reinforced by UN
concrete and targeted steps, separately,
Security Council Resolution 2417 (2018). Breach of these obligations constitutes a war and jointly through international co-
crime under International Criminal Law and can be considered as an act of genocide operation, to create an international
enabling environment conducive to the
or a crime against humanity, if proven that the denial of food was deliberate6.
universal fulfilment of economic, social
and cultural rights...”
The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Framework for Action for Food Security
and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA), which represents the first global 4
ICESCR article 2
consensus on mitigating food insecurity during protracted crises, offers states and
other actors specific guidance on their role and impact in crises situations. The FFA 5
Geneva Convention III, arts 20 and 26;
emphasizes addressing, resolving, and preventing underlying causes of protracted
Geneva Convention IV, arts. 23, 36, 49, 55
crises and the resulting food insecurity and malnutrition. Anchored in international and 89.
human rights and humanitarian law framework, it explicitly calls for unimpeded, safe,
and rapid access to food and nutrition assistance and livelihood support to affected 6
Rome Statute of the International Crimi-
communities in all situations of conflict, occupation, terrorism, or man-made and
nal Court, art. 8 (2) (b) (xxv)
natural disasters. Despite its specificity and alignment to other global policy priorities
and bodies of law, the FFA has seen very little implementation and use by states or
humanitarian agencies.

BRIEFING NOTE 11
 The Palestinian struggle for self-determination has always been inextricably connected
with the struggle for land, other natural resources, and human rights more broadly.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working
in Rural Areas (UNDROP) plays a crucial role in recognizing this connection and
advancing human rights, social justice, and environmental protection. Amongst other
protections, UNDROP’s Article 17 explicitly acknowledges the right to land and other
natural resources for peasants and rural workers, defining it as the right to access,
sustainably use, and manage these resources for an adequate standard of living,
security, peace, dignity, and cultural development. Article 5 further establishes the
right of rural communities to access and use natural resources in a sustainable manner
to ensure adequate living conditions.

The rights of fisher peoples are also protected under UNDROP. The Voluntary Guidelines
for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines) call for the protection of
“the human rights and dignity of small-scale fisheries stakeholders in situations of armed
conflict in accordance with international humanitarian law to allow them to pursue their
traditional livelihoods, to have access to customary fishing grounds and to preserve their
culture and way of life.”

The right to food and food sovereignty necessitates environmental protection. 7

Rule 22 under the Principle of Precau-
International law specifically prohibits methods and warfare that cause widespread,
tions against the Effects of Attacks, indi-
long-term, and severe damage to the natural environment7, and establishes that
cating that “parties to the conflict must
due regard must be given to protection and preservation of the environment. It also take all feasible precautions to protect

forbids using environmental destruction as a weapon and reprisal attacks on it. the civilian population and civilian ob-
jects under their control against the
effects of attacks” State practice estab-
Furthermore, Israeli violence against children in Palestine and the international lishes this rule as a norm of customary
community’s lack of effective measures to protect their rights contradict the Convention international law applicable in both
international and non-international
on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Article 6 of the Convention requires states to ensure the
armed conflicts.
survival and development of children to the maximum extent possible. Additionally,
General Comment No. 26 (2023) on children’s rights and the environment emphasizes

BRIEFING NOTE 12
 the obligation of states to protect children from foreseeable harm, including threats to
their lives caused by environmental degradation, pollution, and biodiversity loss. The
CRC also highlights key elements crucial for children’s well-being, including protecting
children from violence, abuse, and exploitation, as well as ensuring access to basic
needs like food, shelter, and healthcare.

Preventing safe birthing conditions or adequate nutrition for mothers can lead
to higher infant mortality rates, further indicating a calculated disregard for future
generations. The Convention on the Elimination of the Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) (article 12) embeds women’s explicit rights to access healthcare services,
including prenatal and postnatal care.

Regarding infringement of the rights of future generations, the Maastricht Principles 8

Maastricht Principles on the Human
on the Human Rights of Future Generations (2023) include the General Provision of
Rights of Future Generations, General
Intragenerational and Intergenerational Human Rights Obligations. Accordingly, states Provisions 7. a), b)
are obligated to respect children’s human rights in the present as well as in the future8,
and must uphold the human rights of future generations9 . In Palestine, however, the 9
Maastricht Principles on the Human
Israeli occupation materially harms children and their development, including through
Rights of Future Generations 13.a); 16; 17
manufacturing a reliance on humanitarian aid.

Safeguarding the resources of peasants and other small-scale food producers is 10

Maastricht Principles on the Human
critical for ensuring the human rights of future generations. If they are unable to
Rights of Future Generations, I Pream-
cultivate their lands, then the population will be unable to sustain itself now or in the
ble XII., II State Obligations 17.
future. Destruction and measures leading to displacement of future generations from
their territories and the deprivation of the enjoyment of nature and natural resources
constitute a violation, including through use of weapons of mass destruction10 . The
destruction caused by occupation, blockades, and war risks perpetuating
intergenerational poverty for survivors’ families.

BRIEFING NOTE 13
 C O N C L U S I O N S A N D R E C O M M E N D AT I O N S

It is impossible to realize human rights and exercise food sovereignty in a context of

settler colonialism and occupation. The Israeli occupation and all actors complicit
in its occupation and ongoing genocidal war against Palestine are violating international
human rights law, including the ICCPR, ICESCR, CRC, CEDAW, and UNDROP; going
against normative instruments such as the CFS-FFA; infringing on international criminal
law and international humanitarian law; and are in flagrant disregard of the ICJ
provisional measures.

The broader international community, in line with the Charter of the United Nations
and subsequent human rights instruments, have international obligations towards
the Palestinian people, to take joint and separate action to achieve the full realization
of the human right to adequate food and nutrition. As a matter of extreme urgency,
there must be an immediate and permanent ceasefire to end the Israeli genocide
of Gaza and guaranteeing of unconditional access to adequate humanitarian aid. It
is critical that all states and international institutions undertake any and all action
possible, including sanctions and arms embargos, to bring an immediate end to the
genocide and the obstruction of humanitarian, life sustaining, and life-saving supplies
to Palestinians in Gaza.

The process of rebuilding – including homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods – and

regenerating land and water resources, will be long and expensive. This process will be
led by Palestinians, and the international community must be prepared to materially
support their rebuilding efforts without attempting to manipulate their efforts or
wield aid as a tool for political leverage. Creating the conditions for Palestinians’ food
sovereignty after 76 years of Israeli settler colonial occupation and six months of
genocidal war will have to be a critical element of this process, to realize the right to
adequate food and nutrition for present and future generations.

Further, investigations are crucial, including of all state and non-state actors who
have directly and indirectly participated in the genocide, including the obstruction or
destruction of humanitarian supplies to Gaza, and the campaign to de-fund UNRWA
as a possible act toward furthering and facilitating starvation and genocide.

An immediate ceasefire, aid, and investigations are not enough, however, and the
international community must not accept a return to the status quo of occupation.
Justice requires a dismantling of systems of oppression: an end to the siege on Gaza
and an end to the Israeli settler colonial occupation of Palestine. Affirming food
sovereignty as a guiding framework, for ensuring the realization of the human rights
of current and future generations, this briefing asserts that Palestinians must have
sovereignty over their land and Palestine must be free from occupation in order for
justice to prevail. It is incumbent upon the international community to support this
process of Palestinian liberation.

BRIEFING NOTE 14
BRIEFING NOTE MARCH 2024

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@ F IANi sta @ uawcpal

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