Rule 97
(a) Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited.
[Commentary]
(b) It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove, or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying the civilian population their use.
[Commentary]
(c) The prohibitions in paragraph (b) do not apply to such of the objects covered by it as are used by the enemy:
[Commentary]
- as sustenance solely for the members of its armed forces; or
- if not as sustenance, then in direct support of military action, provided, however, that in no event can actions against these objects be taken which may be expected to leave the civilian population with such inadequate food or water as to cause its starvation or force its movement.
[Commentary]
[Commentary]
- Rule 97 (a) is based on Art. 54 (1) of AP/I.[561] See also, for international armed conflicts, Art. 8 (2) (b) (xxv) of Rome Statute of the ICC.[562]
- The prohibition of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare means annihilating or weakening the civilian population by deliberately depriving it of its sources of food, drinking water or of other essential supplies, thereby causing it to suffer hunger or otherwise affecting its subsistence.
- The prohibition of starvation as a method of warfare does not comprise a prohibition of attacking supplies intended primarily for the sustenance of the enemy’s military forces, i.e. starvation of combatants is a permissible method of warfare.
- It follows that there is no prohibition of siege warfare, provided that the purpose is military in nature and not solely or primarily to starve the civilian population. In such circumstances, if the civilian population is suffering from starvation, the besieging Belligerent Party must provide for the free passage of humanitarian relief supply. On humanitarian aid, see Section O. As for the situation in case of an aerial blockade, see Rule 157 – 159.
- Rule 97 (a) applies in occupied as well as in non-occupied territory.
- Rule 97 (a) applies also in non-international armed conflict.
- Art. 54 (1) of AP/I: “Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited.”
- Art. 8 (2) (b) (xxv) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: “Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully imped-ing relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions.”
- The prohibition to attack, destroy, remove, or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population is a corollary to the prohibition of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. It is based on Art. 54 (2) of AP/I[563] and on Art. 14 of AP/II.[564]
- This prohibition only applies if the “specific purpose” of the Belligerent Party is to deny the civilian population the use of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. Rule 97 (b) does not deal with incidental distress of civilians resulting from otherwise lawful military operations. For example, it would not necessarily be unlawful to attack an airport falling under the definition of a military objective (see Rule 1 (y) and Rule 22) even if it is also used for transporting food needed to supply the civilian population. However, such an attack is unlawful if it is committed with the “specific purpose” of destroying, removing, or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, e.g., large warehouses of foodstuffs, or storages of drinking water, for the benefit of the civilian population.
- As highlighted by the term “such as”, the list of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population given in Rule 97 (b) is not exhaustive. Depending on weather conditions or other circumstances, objects such as shelter or clothing could also become indispensable to survival.
- The broad formulation of Rule 97 (b) is meant to include a prohibition on any means or methods of warfare that might be used to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, including pollution of water reservoirs or destruction of crops by chemical or other agents.[565]
- Rule 97 (b) applies also in non-international armed conflict.
- Art. 54 (2) of AP/I: “It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, live-stock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse Party, whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for any other motive.”
- Art. 14 of AP/II: “Starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited.”
- Para. 2101 of the ICRC Commentary on AP/I, pertaining to Art. 54 of AP/I: “It should be noted that the verbs ‘attack’, ‘destroy’, ‘remove’ and ‘render useless’ are used in order to cover all possibilities, including pollution, by chemical or other agents, of water reservoirs, or destruction of crops by defoliants …”
- Rule 97 (c) provides for two exceptions to the prohibition under Rule 97 (b). It is based on Art. 54 (3) of AP/I.[566]
- It is doubtful whether rule 97 (c) applies to non-international armed conflict, because Art. 14 of AP/II does not provide for it and no practice supporting it could be found.[567]
- Art. 54 (3) of AP/I: “The prohibitions in paragraph 2 shall not apply to such of the objects covered by it as are used by an adverse Party: (a) as sustenance solely for the members of its armed forces; or
(b) if not as sustenance, then in direct support of military action, provided, however, that in no event shall actions against these objects be taken which may be expected to leave the civilian population with such inadequate food or water as to cause its starvation or force its movement.” - See the Commentary on Rule 54 of the ICRC Customary IHL Study, at page 192.
The first exception pertains to objects used by a Belligerent Party exclusively for the sustenance of its armed forces. It could apply, e.g., to foodstuff or livestock exclusively reserved for the armed forces. Another ex-ample would be the besieging of a military unit, when no civilians are involved.
The second exception relates to objects used in direct support of military action. For example, a food-producing area may be attacked in order to prevent the enemy from advancing, or a food-storage barn may be destroyed if it is being used by the enemy for cover or as an arms depot. However, even if used in direct support of military action, these objects may only be attacked, destroyed, removed, or rendered useless provided that the consequence will not be to leave the civilian population with such inadequate food or water as to cause its starvation or force its movement.
