How can denying people food or medicine be considered extermination?

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Under international criminal law, as defined by the Rome Statute, "extermination" is classified as a crime against humanity when it occurs as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.1

While extermination is often associated with mass murder, the legal definition explicitly encompasses the intentional deprivation of access to food and medicine. This act is considered extermination when it is calculated to bring about the destruction of part of a population. By intentionally withholding life-sustaining resources, perpetrators create conditions of life designed to cause the physical destruction of civilians, which is a grave violation of fundamental human rights and international legal standards.12