Règle correspondante
United States of America
Practice Relating to Rule 53. Starvation as a Method of Warfare
Section C. Blockades and embargoes that cause starvation
The US Naval Handbook (1995) states: “Neutral vessels and aircraft engaged in the carriage of qualifying relief supplies for the civilian population … should be authorized to pass through the blockade cordon.”
United States, The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations, NWP 1-14M/MCWP 5-2.1/COMDTPUB P5800.7, issued by the Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Headquarters, US Marine Corps, and Department of Transportation, US Coast Guard, October 1995 (formerly NWP 9 (Rev. A)/FMFM 1-10, October 1989), § 7.7.3.
The US Naval Handbook (2007) states that “neutral vessels and aircraft engaged in the carriage of qualifying relief supplies for the civilian population … should be authorized to pass through the blockade cordon”.
United States, The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations, NWP 1-14M/MCWP 5-12.1/COMDTPUB P5800.7, issued by the Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Headquarters, US Marine Corps, and Department of Homeland Security, US Coast Guard, July 2007, § 7.7.3.
In 1973, a Deputy Legal Adviser of the US Department of State expressed the hope that
new rules can … be developed to reduce or eliminate the possibility that starvation will result from blockade, perhaps by requiring the passage of food supplies provided only that distribution is made solely to civilians and is supervised by the ICRC or some other appropriate external body.
United States, Address by George H. Aldrich, Deputy Legal Adviser of the Department of State, 13 April 1973, reprinted in Arthur W. Rovine, Digest of United States Practice in International Law, 1973, Department of State Publication 8756, Washington, D.C., 1974, pp. 503–504.
