Kinshasa, July 1st, 2025 (CPA).– A call for sanctions against the elites who block humanitarian aid to civilian victims of armed conflicts in several regions of the world, has been launched by the Pope Leo XIV, in a message addressed to the international community on his account X, accessed on Tuesday by CPA. « Today, we are witnessing with dismay the unjust use of hunger as a weapon of war. Burning land, stealing livestock and blocking aid are tactics increasingly used by irregular armed groups. While the civilians are dying of poverty, political elites are getting rich with impunity. It is time to punish these abuses and prosecute their perpetrators”, it is read.
The Pope has exhorted religious and political leaders not to look away from what he calls ‘silent crimes,’ often committed far from the cameras, but with devastating humanitarian consequences. According to the Vatican, the most affected areas include parts of East Africa, the Sahel, Syria, and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where armed groups use the destruction of livelihoods as a method of control and retaliation. If we believe the Pope, the famine caused is not a collateral damage, it is a conscious strategy. It must be called by its name: a crime against humanity, which calls for the establishment of international mechanisms for justice and reparation.
It should be remembered that the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have repeatedly warned of the increase in situations of extreme famine due to prolonged conflicts and obstacles to humanitarian aid. For the Pope Leo XIV, the response must not only be caritative, but also political and legal. It is no longer enough to feed the hungered; we must prevent hunger from being deliberately sown. This statement is part of a series of Vatican positions in favour of social justice, human rights and peace in fragile regions of the globe. CPA/