January 08, 2025

Israel’s Starvation Campaign: The UN Tried & Failed to Suppress Our Report | UN Special Rapporteur Michael Fakhri & Comic Artist Omar Khouri

1 hour 4 minutes

In this episode of This Is Not a Watermelon podcast, we talk to UN special rapporteur Michael Fakhri, and comic journalist and film writer Omar Khouri, about their report "Palestine and the Right to Food." They explain how starvation is always intentional – with a focus on Israel's policies towards Palestine – illustrating the broader global implications. The episode delves into the legal definitions of famine and starvation, the use of starvation as a weapon, and how the international food system is fundamentally flawed. The discussion covers the collaboration between Michael and Omar, the impact of making such reports accessible through comics, and the bureaucratic challenges they faced within the UN system. They emphasize that the issues in Palestine are part of a larger global crisis affecting food security and human rights worldwide.

00:00 Introduction
00:37 The Intentionality of Starvation
01:23 Defining Starvation and Its Implications
03:03 The Legal and Humanitarian Perspective
07:19 Global Food Systems and Broader Implications
09:11 The Collaboration and Creation of the Report
18:41 Historical Context and Mechanisms of Starvation
25:59 The Role and Critique of the UN
32:21 The Dilemma of Institutions and Liberation
33:59 Historical Context of Famine and Starvation
38:45 The Role of International Law in Gaza's Fishing Rights
43:10 The Importance of Seeds in Food Sovereignty
47:39 The Impact and Reception of the Report
54:28 Challenges and Future Directions

To view the report 👉 https://www.un.org/unispal/document/right-to-food-report-17jul24/

Michael & Omar's collaboration 👉
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/food/2024-08-27-visuals-palestinian-people-food-sovereignty.pdf

Michael Fakhri is a professor at the University of Oregon School of Law, specializing in human rights, food law, and development, and directs the Food Resiliency Project. He is an appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food since 2020. He has taught the right to food at institutions like Harvard and the European University Institute and lectured globally on human rights and development and contributed to international forums like the WTO Ministerial Conference. His book "Bandung, Global History, and International Law" has been cited by the International Court of Justice.

Connect with Michael 👉 https://x.com/michaelfakhri

Omar Khouri is a co-founder of Samandal Comics Magazine, the first experimental comics periodical in the Arab world. In 2010, his socio-political comic strip Utopia won best Arabic Comic at the International Comic book Festival of Algeria (F.I.B.D.A). He currently lives and works in Lebanon.

Connect with Omar 👉 https://www.instagram.com/omar_k_khouri/

Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb

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