iftikhar Ali UNITED NATIONS, Aug 26 (APP):Asserting that there can be no lasting food security without peace, Pakistan Tuesday called on the United Nations (UN) Security Council to play its role in preventing and resolving conflicts in an effort to mitigate global and local food crises. "So long as conflicts remain unresolved, humanitarian needs will continue to multiply and food insecurity will deepen," Ambassador Asm Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of …
Lasting food security impossible without global peace, Pakistan says at UNSC
iftikhar Ali
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 26 (APP):Asserting that there can be no lasting food security without peace, Pakistan Tuesday called on the United Nations (UN) Security Council to play its role in preventing and resolving conflicts in an effort to mitigate global and local food crises.
“So long as conflicts remain unresolved, humanitarian needs will continue to multiply and food insecurity will deepen,” Ambassador Asm Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member Council which held a high-level debate on conflict-related food insecurity under the theme “Food under fire: the Security Council’s role in mitigating global and local food crises”.
“We must prevent and resolve conflicts through diplomacy, by advancing dialogue and peaceful settlement of disputes, in accordance with the UN Charter, international law and relevant resolutions of the Security Council, as also outlined in Security Council resolution 2788 adopted last year,” he said.
A signature event of Denmark’s Council presidency, Tuesday’s meeting was chaired by Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
“The challenge before us today is not the absence of norms,” the Pakistan envoy said, but effective implementation of the Council resolution 2417, which calls for an end to the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war and demands safe, unhindered access for humanitarian aid.
“It is a matter of grave concern that starvation and collective punishment continue to be used to advance military or political objectives, in stark violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Security Council resolutions,” Ambassador Asim Ahmad said.
“Nowhere has the failure to uphold these obligations been more stark than in Gaza,” he said, highlighting Israeli actions in depriving food and other essentials, restricting humanitarian assistance and destroying civilian infrastructure that have inflicted unbearable suffering on the Palestinian people.
“Patterns of devastation are also evident in Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti and other protracted conflict situations, including occupied territories, where livelihoods have collapsed and millions are now dependent on humanitarian assistance for survival.”
“Recent developments have demonstrated that food security consequences of conflict can extend far beyond the immediate theatre of hostilities,” the Pakistan envoy said, citing the conflict in Ukraine that has disrupted Black Sea grain exports, fertilizer supplies and maritime transportation and contributed to sharp pressures on global food and freight costs.
Similarly, he added, impediments in the Strait of Hormuz presented another serious stress on the energy, fertilizer and shipping markets.
“These impacts are felt most severely by developing countries already facing fiscal constraints and high dependence on food and energy imports.”
In this regard, Ambassador Asim Ahmad called for upholding International humanitarian law “fully, consistently and without selectivity”; safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access; and early warnings of disasters.
“We must also acknowledge that humanitarian action alone cannot substitute for political solutions,” he said, adding, “So long as conflicts remain unresolved, humanitarian needs will continue to multiply and food insecurity will deepen.”
Ambassador Asim Ahmad underscored the need for preventing and resolving conflicts through diplomacy, by advancing dialogue and peaceful settlement of disputes, in accordance with the UN Charter, international law and relevant Security Council resolutions.
Pakistan, he said, continues to make concrete contributions towards that end, including through its participation in various peacekeeping missions, support for political processes, and through the ongoing mediation efforts to address the tensions prevailing in West Asia and promote implementation of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States in close cooperation with Islamabad’s partners from the Gulf region and beyond.
Opening the debate , UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that “Critical food systems – and the lives and livelihoods they sustain – are under attack.”
“Getting enough to eat” is a basic human need – one clearly reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 2, he pointed out.
“Zero hunger is achievable. But it requires tackling hunger’s many root causes – including conflict,” the UN chief said.
In resolution 2417 (2018), he said, the Council highlighted the link between conflict-induced food insecurity and the threat of famine and armed conflict and violence, and provided guidance to ensure the proper functioning of food systems and markets in the midst of conflict.
“Today is about strengthening the implementation of that important resolution,” Guterres said. “There is no time to lose.”
2025 saw among the highest levels of global acute hunger on record, he said, with at least 266 million people facing acute food insecurity. It also marked the first time this century that two famines were confirmed simultaneously, in Sudan and Gaza.
“The link between armed conflict, violence and hunger is undeniable.”
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine is affecting grain and energy exports in the Black Sea, and closures of the Hormuz Strait – which carries a fifth of global oil supplies and a third of global fertilizer trade – have driven up commodity prices, and attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea are threatening supply chains.
“For import-dependent countries, many struggling with high debt, this directly increases the cost of farming and imperils future harvests,” he stressed.
For its part, the UN has proposed practical mechanisms to address global humanitarian needs triggered by the Strait of Hormuz crisis – a time-bound effort that would focus first on fertilizers and raw materials, and which could be extended to other products. “What is needed now is the cooperation and political will of the parties,” he said.
The UN chief pressed the Council to “act when the warning lights are flashing” and States uphold and ensure respect for international humanitarian law – and use their influence to secure compliance.
“The best protection against food insecurity is peace,” he assured. “The Council must use all tools at its disposal to help prevent and end conflicts.”
