Book contents
- The Right to Life under International Law
- The Right to Life under International Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Table of Cases
- An Historical Introduction to the Right to Life
- Part I Overview of the Right to Life under International Law
- Part II Major Themes
- 5 Deaths as a Result of Armed Conflict
- 6 Jus ad Bellum, Aggression, and the Right to Life
- 7 The Use of Force in Law Enforcement
- 8 Counterterrorism
- 9 The Death Penalty
- 10 Deaths in Custody
- 11 Abortion
- 12 Euthanasia and Suicide
- 13 Poverty and Starvation
- 14 Assemblies, Demonstrations, and Protests
- 15 Arms Control and Disarmament
- 16 Enforced Disappearance
- 17 Accidents, Disease, and Natural Disasters
- 18 Pollution and Climate Change
- 19 Autonomous Use of Force
- 20 Slavery
- Part III The Protection of At-Risk Groups and Individuals
- Part IV Accountability
- Part V Human Rights Machinery Protecting the Right to Life
- Part VI Outlook
- Index
13 - Poverty and Starvation
from Part II - Major Themes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2021
- The Right to Life under International Law
- The Right to Life under International Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Table of Cases
- An Historical Introduction to the Right to Life
- Part I Overview of the Right to Life under International Law
- Part II Major Themes
- 5 Deaths as a Result of Armed Conflict
- 6 Jus ad Bellum, Aggression, and the Right to Life
- 7 The Use of Force in Law Enforcement
- 8 Counterterrorism
- 9 The Death Penalty
- 10 Deaths in Custody
- 11 Abortion
- 12 Euthanasia and Suicide
- 13 Poverty and Starvation
- 14 Assemblies, Demonstrations, and Protests
- 15 Arms Control and Disarmament
- 16 Enforced Disappearance
- 17 Accidents, Disease, and Natural Disasters
- 18 Pollution and Climate Change
- 19 Autonomous Use of Force
- 20 Slavery
- Part III The Protection of At-Risk Groups and Individuals
- Part IV Accountability
- Part V Human Rights Machinery Protecting the Right to Life
- Part VI Outlook
- Index
Summary
There is a duty upon every State to exercise due diligence to seek to prevent and address both extreme poverty and starvation. Intentionally inflicting starvation upon a person or group of individuals, for example by provoking a famine, will violate the right to freedom from cruel or inhuman treatment as well as the right to food; it may also violate the right to life, in particular – but not only – if a person dies as a result. 13.19 The related issues of poverty and starvation have been addressed to varying extents in the interpretation and application of regional instruments. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have been especially prominent in this regard, with the Court’s judgments in the Yakye Axa, Sawhoyamaxa, and Xákmok Kásek indigenous communities cases being especially influential. International humanitarian law does not address poverty as such but it does prohibit deliberate starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in any armed conflict and further requires that all detainees be treated humanely, including through the provision of adequate food and water.
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- The Right to Life under International LawAn Interpretative Manual, pp. 291 - 307Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021