A/HRC/42/CRP.1 as well as on remittances from a work force employed abroad. 1176 The Group of Experts identified measures taken by parties to the conflict, as well as the lack of appropriate measures, that have contributed to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Yemen, in violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. 2. Starvation as a method of warfare 737. In May 2018, Security Council resolution 2417 condemned the use of starvation as a method of warfare, as well as the unlawful denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival.1177 Adopted unanimously, this resolution was considered a landmark as it acknowledged the link between conflict and food insecurity.1178 It unequivocally condemned “the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in a number of conflict situations.”1179 It further referred to the prohibition on depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival and the obligation to allow and facilitate humanitarian access. 738. International humanitarian law strictly prohibits starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare, in both international and non-international armed conflicts, as enshrined in treaty law and recognised under customary international humanitarian law. 1180 The rule is binding on both States and non-State armed groups and does not provide for any exception in case of imperative military necessity. Should the population suffer undue hardship due to a lack of supplies essential for its survival (for example following a blockade or siege), the provision of relief supplies has to be allowed and facilitated. 739. Starvation is generally understood as the action of subjecting people to famine, which is in turn defined as extreme and general scarcity of food, or severe lack of food. 1181 The indicators used to qualify a situation as famine differ according to stakeholder. Also, it has been demonstrated that famine is not only an issue of food availability, but of access to food. Hence, famine can occur even when food is available, when access to food and the capacity of the population to get food is compromised, whether based on social norms or financial means.1182 Defined as extreme suffering or death caused by the lack of food, 1183 the term starvation does not necessarily imply death. 740. This common understanding of the notion of starvation also served as the basis for negotiations of the Elements of Crimes for the International Criminal Court. Here, it was acknowledged that the crime of starvation should go beyond the deprivation of water and food to cover the deprivation or insufficient supply of items that are essential to survival, which include indispensable non-food items such as medicines and blankets.1184 In this respect, Additional Protocol II considers food and medical supplies as objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, while Additional Protocol I also mentions clothing, bedding and means of shelter.1185 741. Methods of warfare are generally understood as the tactics or strategy used in hostilities against an enemy in times of conflict. This means that in order for starvation – defined as the deprivation of essential items for the survival of the population – to be See e.g. Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, “The UN’s Stockholm Syndrome – The Yemen Review, March 2019”, The Sana’a Center Editorial: “Saudi Arabia’s ‘Deportation Storm’”, April 2019 (http://sanaacenter.org/publications/the-yemen-review/7269). 1177 S/RES/2417 (2018), operational paragraphs 5 and 6. 1178 https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13354.doc.htm. 1179 S/RES/2417 (2018), operational paragraph 5. 1180 Article. 13 Additional Protocol II; see also ICRC customary IHL study, rule 53. 1181 The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (1978), pp. 724 and 2111. 1182 Francoise Bouchet-Saulnier, The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law, p. 149-152. 1183 Collins Dictionary (online). 1184 Knut Dörmann, “Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court: The Elements of War Crimes – Part II: Other Serious Violations of the Laws and Customs Applicable in International and Non-International Armed Conflicts”, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 83, 2001, pp. 475–476. 1185 Art. 18(2) Additional Protocol II and Art. 69 Additional Protocol I. 1176 177