Media
Yousuf Syed Khan is a frequent media commentator on international law, starvation as a method of warfare, and related issues. He has been quoted in or appeared live on outlets such as Reuters, BBC World, CNN, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, and France 24, among other international press and broadcast media.
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PODCASTS (selected)
Beyond Compliance Consortium | In Conversation Podcast | S2 EP2: Famines & Starvation | 8 January 2026
Invited as a co-guest to discuss starvation as a method of warfare and famine, alongside Alex de Waal (The Fletcher School, Tufts University).
Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights | In and Around War(s) Podcast | Food Insecurity in Armed Conflict | 12 February 2025
Invited as a guest to discuss starvation as a method of warfare, forced displacement in starvation contexts, and the use of siege-like tactics.
INTERVIEWS & QUOTES (selected)
The Washington Post | The ICC charged Israeli officials with starving Gaza. What happens now? | 7 July 2024
CNN | Russia accused of using hunger as a weapon of war in Ukraine | 13 June 2024
The Washington Post | The case of al-Shifa: Investigating the assault on Gaza’s largest hospital | 21 December 2023
Newsweek | Russian Barges Shipping 'Stolen' Ukraine Grain Collide in Black Sea | 27 November 2023
The Independent | Putin could face new war crime case as evidence suggests starvation of Ukraine was pre-planned | 16 November 2023
The Independent | Russia loses vote to rejoin UN's top human rights body despite Putin’s charm offensive with stolen grain | 11 October 2023
Al Jazeera | Human rights lawyer condemns Hroza cafe strike | 5 October 2023
The Globe and Mail | Russia targets northeastern Ukrainian village, killing more than 50 civilians | 5 October 2023
The Independent | Putin’s shameless UN charm offensive - with stolen grain from Ukraine | 28 September 2023
CNN | U.N. Human Rights Council says there's continuous evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine Yousuf Syed Khan, a senior lawyer with Global Rights Compliance, joins Bianca Nobilo | 26 September 2023
BBC World | Live television interview | 25 September 2023
MSN | Did Russia intentionally starve Ukraine? New war crime dossier to the ICC to provide damning evidence | 25 September 2023
The Guardian | War crimes dossier to accuse Russia of deliberately causing starvation in Ukraine | 24 September 2023
The Telegraph | War crime investigators prepare case against Russia over food attacks | 18 September 2023
Reuters | Explainer: Ukraine: When do attacks on civilian installations amount to war crimes? | 3 August 2023
Deutsche Welle | ‘Highly likely’ Russia behind Ukraine dam collapse | 20 June 2023
Reuters | Russia is highly likely behind Ukraine dam collapse, experts say | 17 June 2023
Al Jazeera | Russia-Ukraine war updates: Putin says nuclear weapons in Belarus | 16 June 2023
France24 | In Kyiv, South African president calls on Russia and Ukraine to ‘de-escalate’ conflict | 16 June 2023
CNN | It’s “highly likely” Russia is behind collapse of Nova Kakhovka dam, according to international experts | 16 June 2023
CNBC | Russian forces ‘highly likely’ behind attack on Ukrainian dam, international law investigation says | 16 June 2023
FOREIGN PRESS & OTHER (selected)
la Repubblica | L’ex consulente Onu: “Gaza come l’ex Jugoslavia, rischio violazione del diritto internazionale” | Intervista a Yousuf Syed Khan, esperto in Medio Oriente per il think tank americano Atlantic Council | 7 February 2025
Anadolu Agency | War crimes and legal routes: How Assad could be brought to justice for Syria atrocities | 23 December 2024
The National | Killed without warning: How a pattern of Israeli strikes on Lebanon may amount to war crimes | 29 November 2024
The World | Public radio interview | Israeli ‘double tap’ strikes in Gaza and Lebanon ‘raise serious ethical and legal concerns’ | 7 November 2024
CNN Portugal | “Mesmo que odiássemos a Rússia, íamos ter com eles. Não tínhamos nada para comer”: Mariupol, um crime de guerra à base da fome | 14 June 2024
CNN Brasil | Rússia é acusada de usar fome como arma de guerra na Ucrânia | 13 June 2024
The Centre for a European Future (CEF) | How Putin Weaponises Food | 26 November 2023
Euromaidan Press | Russia’s “unprecedented” Ukrainian grain theft premeditated war crime, legal report suggests | 23 November 2023
Chills, by Lauren Wolfe | Russia Allegedly Plotted to Starve Ukrainians on an ‘Unprecedented Scale’ | 22 November 2023
Genocide Watch | Russian Plan to Starve Ukraine | 21 November 2023
AgriPortal | Russia’s Billion Dollar Grain Heist: A Planned War Tactic | 20 November 2023
Podrobytsi (Інтер) | Live television interview on the large-scale, organised plan by Russia to systematically pillage Ukraine’s grain | Докази спланованої крадіжки зерна увійдуть в подання до МКС проти рф | 18 November 2023
Daily Mail | Russia admits Ukrainian troops have crossed the Dnipro river and set up positions on its crucial east bank in latest blow for Putin - but Kremlin warns 'fiery hell' awaits Zelensky's men | 16 November 2023
The National | Pillaging Ukrainian grain to fund war was Russias plan from the outset | 16 November 2023
Seznam Zprávy | Hladovění jako metoda války. Brit popisuje, proč kvůli tomu žaluje Putina | A profile of my work on Ukraine featured in the Czech news | 2 October 2023
Justiceinfo.net | Kakhovka Dam: Ukraine Pioneers Prosecution for Ecocide | 10 July 2023
Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (Suspilne) | GRC Senior Lawyer Yousuf Syed Khan on the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam | 20 June 2023
'Not once through the 85-day offensive was there any pause in which they allowed humanitarian aid to enter Mariupol'. There were numerous opportunities for Russian forces to alleviate civilian suffering, he said, but they failed to do so.
CNN | Thursday, 13 June 2024
The IDF would not comment on the military advantage sought or achieved. 'What was the urgency? This is not yet being demonstrated,' said Yousuf Syed Khan, a senior lawyer with Global Rights Compliance, a law firm, who has drafted U.N. reports on siege warfare.
The Washington Post | Thursday, 21 December 2023
Packed community venues offering food are deliberately targeted during peak visiting hours, either to deprive residents of their sustenance value, or simply to sow and spread terror.
Al Jazeera | 5 October 2023
'Putin could bear responsibility for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others,' he argued, and for a failure to exercise proper control over Russian military or others accused of specific criminal acts.
The Guardian | Sunday, 24 September 2023
