Starvation as a Weapon of War

Lord Browne of Ladyton Excerpts

Thursday 16th October 2025 Grand Committee

[Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)]

My Lords, given the gravity of the events that are the subject of today’s proceedings, while it is not exactly a pleasure to contribute to this debate, I am pleased to follow the noble Lord, Lord Mohammed of Tinsley, and to thank him for his powerful contribution, and to have the opportunity to thank my noble friend Lady Brown of Silvertown for securing this debate and for a clear-eyed, informed, impressively analytical and forensic speech. I shall not repeat the appalling statistics and data that show the extent to which starvation as a weapon of war is deployed globally, but I will focus on a limited number of issues.

Like all noble Lords who are contributing to this debate, I received briefing notes from INGOs. They are, independently and collectively, both comprehensive and helpful. Helpfully, they include recommendations of questions to my noble friend Lord Collins of Highbury, whom I am delighted to see speaking from the Front Bench on this issue. I hope that he and his office have had the opportunity to review the briefing notes we all received.

I have in the past suggested that your Lordships’ House should find a way of publishing with the Hansard record the briefing notes that we receive to complement the debate. I am convinced that, if they are moderated before publication, such briefing notes will show the degree to which, in its deliberations, your Lordships’ House is engaged with and connected to the outside world and values the knowledge and experience of those who have expertise in particular policy areas. However, and sadly, publication in this case would have detrimental repercussions on the very authors of these notes because they require humanitarian access, and it would only get worse if they are known to have been doing this. So I will not press the issue in this debate but will focus on three issues.

First, on the Rome statute amendment, the UK has long prided itself on being a global leader in upholding international humanitarian law, yet it remains one of the few countries not to have ratified the 2019 amendment to the Rome statute. This amendment criminalises the deliberate starvation of civilians in non-international armed conflicts, closing a critical loophole in international law. It puts the legal framework in place for the ICC to pursue investigations and prosecutions of starvation crimes when they occur. By ratifying it, the UK would send a clear signal that starvation—whether in Gaza, Sudan or elsewhere—can never be an acceptable tactic of war. Ratification would cost us nothing but would show that we mean what we say about accountability and the protection of civilians. It is time for the Government to take that simple but powerful step. Will the Government commit to ratifying the 2019 Rome statute amendment and ensure that the necessary co-operation and enforcement mechanisms are in place so that this vital legal reform has real effect?

On ODA spending and conflict prevention, we cannot separate famine prevention from conflict prevention. Yet, as my Government have reduced UK ODA to 0.3% of GNI, they have also drastically cut spending on peacebuilding and conflict resolution—the very areas that prevent conflict and humanitarian crises before they start.

If the UK wants to help to break the cycle of conflict-driven hunger, it must reinvest in its tools of diplomacy, mediation and early warning. Restoring ODA levels is part of that, but so too is ensuring that our remaining aid is directed towards reducing violence and protecting civilians, not simply responding after catastrophe strikes. Can my noble friend, whom I greatly admire and who has the ear of your Lordships’ House, confirm what proportion of UK ODA is currently allocated to conflict prevention and resolution, how this compares to previous years and what rationale underpinned those reductions?

Finally, on Israel and the use of starvation as a weapon of war, in Gaza today almost the entire population faces acute food insecurity and more than half a million people are in catastrophic conditions. It is a famine in all but name. Access to food, fuel and water is being systematically restricted in direct violation of international humanitarian law. The Government must be clear that the deliberate deprivation of food as a method of warfare is prohibited under international law. We must press Israel continuously to comply with those obligations and ensure that humanitarian access is immediately and unconditionally restored. The UK cannot champion international law abroad if it applies it selectively. What representations have the UK Government made to Israel regarding the use of starvation and the obstruction of humanitarian access and what response has been received from the Israeli authorities? In the words of Justa Hopma, research fellow at the University of Sheffield, writing in the Conversation:

“Famine doesn’t just ‘happen’ - and those who cause it must be held to account”.