United Nations Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths briefs ambassadors on the eve of the end Black Sea Grain InitiativeWhich has allowed about 25 million metric tons of food items from Ukraine to reach global markets.
The agreement was signed in Turkey in July 2022Parallel to an MoU on Russian Food and Fertilizer Exports.
“It is vital to global food security that both of these agreements are ongoing And will be fully implemented,” he said.
feed the world
Both Russia and Ukraine are major suppliers of major food commodities such as wheat, corn and sunflower oil. Russia is also a top global exporter of fertilizers.
Mr Griffiths said the world relies on these supplies and has done so for many years.
“And so, too, does the United Nations help those in need: the World Food Program (wfp) sources most of the wheat for the global humanitarian response from Ukraine,” he said.
“The signing of the two agreements represents an important step forward in the broader fight against global food insecurity, particularly in developing countries,” he told the Council.
“Markets have calmed down and global food prices have continued to decline,” he added.
drive engagement
Mr Griffiths said the UN is doing everything possible to ensure that the Black Sea Grain Initiative can continue and is in dialogue with all parties.
In addition, António Guterres, Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Trade Agency, UNCTADRebecca Greenspan is “leaving no stone unturned” to facilitate the full implementation of the MoU with Russia.
“We have made meaningful progress. However, barriers remain, particularly with regard to payment systems. Much remains to be done and our efforts to address these remaining barriers will continue unabated,” he said.
staggering human needs
The UN relief chief also warned of threats to sustainable development due to a shaky global economy and rising poverty, and human needs exceeding resources.
This year, humanitarians will need an unprecedented $54 billion to support some 347 million people in 69 countries. Last year, donors gave a historic $38.7 billion to their causes.
He said it was uncertain whether this level of funding could be achieved so humanitarians could distribute to the world’s most vulnerable.
end the war
Mr Griffiths also highlighted the need for closer collaboration between the humanitarian and development communities, and financial institutions, to find lasting solutions to growing global needs and new crises on the horizon.
“More than ever, in the context of We need a political solution to the war in Ukraine,” he said. “The people of Ukraine deserve peace first. They deserve to turn the page on this terrible war, as do all of us.
At the start of the meeting, council members rejected Russia’s proposal to allow Daria Morosova, reportedly an ombudsman of the Donetsk People’s Republic, to brief as a representative of civil society.
The council consists of 15 members. Four countries voted in favor, eight against and three abstained.