5cjxburmr

Power would have additional duties to ensure food and water for the civilian population. 6165.20.3 Starvation and Other Law of War Rules. Starvation as a method of warfare mustcomply with other applicable law of war rules. For example, it would be unlawful to poisonfood or water. 617 Additionally, starvation, for example, may involve sieges or encirclement,blockades, attacks, or the seizure and destruction of enemy property. 618 In each case, the rulesapplicable to those situations must be followed.5.20.4 AP I Provision on Objects Indispensable to the Survival of the CivilianPopulation. Article 54(2) of AP I makes it prohibited for Parties to AP I “to attack, destroy,remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the enemy civilian population,such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinkingwater installations, and supplies for irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them fortheir sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse party, whatever the motive,whether in order to starve out civilians, cause them to move away, or for any other motive.” 619This rule would not apply to attacks that are carried out for specific purposes other thanto deny sustenance. 620 For example, this rule would not prohibit destroying a field of crops toprevent it from being used as concealment by the enemy or destroying a supply route that is usedto move military supplies but is also used to supply the civilian population with food. 621Similarly, this AP I prohibition does not apply to objects that would otherwise be coveredby it if those objects are used by an adverse party “as sustenance solely for the members of itsarmed forces” or “if not as sustenance, then in direct support of military action.” 622 Actionsagainst this latter category of objects forfeiting protection, however, may not be taken if they616 Refer to § 11.14 (Food and Medical Supplies for the Civilian Population).617 Refer to § 6.8 (Poison).618 Refer to § 5.19 (Sieges and Encircled Areas); § 13.10 (Blockade); § 5.5 (Rules on Conducting Assaults,Bombardments, and Other Attacks); § 5.17 (Seizure and Destruction of Enemy Property).619 AP I art. 54(2).620 See, e.g., APPENDIX TO 1985 CJCS MEMO ON AP I 56 (The restrictions of Article 54(2) “do not apply to attacksthat are not for the specific purpose of denying sustenance;”); United Kingdom, Statement on Ratification of AP I,Jan. 28, 1998, 2020 UNTS 75, 77 (Article 54(2) of AP I “has no application to attacks that are carried out for aspecific purpose other than denying sustenance to the civilian population or the adverse party.”).621 2004 UK MANUAL 5.27.2 (“The law is not violated if military operations are not intended to cause starvation buthave that incidental effect, for example, by cutting off enemy supply routes which are also used for thetransportation of food, or if civilians through fear of military operations abandon agricultural land or are notprepared to risk bringing food supplies into areas where fighting is going on.”); BOTHE, PARTSCH, & SOLF, NEWRULES 339 (AP I art. 54, 2.3) (“This paragraph does not prohibit the incidental distress of civilians resulting fromotherwise lawful military operations. It would not, for example, be unlawful to attack or destroy a railroad linesimply because the railroad was used to transport food needed to supply the population of a city, if the railroad wasotherwise a military objective under Art. 52 [of AP I].”).622 AP I art. 54(3) (“The prohibitions in paragraph 2 shall not apply to such of the objects covered by it as are usedby an adverse Party: (a) As sustenance solely for the members of its armed forces; or (b) If not as sustenance, thenin direct support of military action, provided, however, that in no event shall actions against these objects be takenwhich may be expected to leave the civilian population with such inadequate food or water as to cause its starvationor force its movement.”).293