Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,

Mr. Dennis Francis,

at the Round Table Policy Dialogue on

Addressing Global Food Insecurity and Famine Risk

[As Delivered]

29 April 2024

 

Your Excellencies, Permanent Representatives of Brazil, Italy, and Uganda to the United Nations – co-organizers of this event,

 

Distinguished Representatives of the EU, FAO, and WFP – also co-organizers of the event,

 

Madame Deputy-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed,

 

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,

 

I should like to thank the Permanent Missions of Brazil, Italy and Uganda – along with the delegation of the EU, and representatives of FAO and WFP – for co-organizing this important event.

 

I must also recognize the Global Network Against Food Crises for answering the call – to contribute to finding innovative approaches to tackle the unrelenting root causes of food crises and promoting sustainable, resilient solutions.

 

Today, as a huge number of people around the world are increasingly at alarming risk of famine – eight times higher than in 2016  – this policy dialogue, which is aimed at addressing the worsening situation of global food insecurity and the ever-looming risk of famine, could not be timelier.

 

And our responsibility, no more profound.

 

Food is, without doubt, a fundamental human right – as it is deliberately identified as part of the standard of living in article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – thus a necessity for delivering on the Declaration’s highest calling of a world free from fear and want.

 

With this as our mandate, we cannot accept that 281 million people were living in acute food insecurity in 2023 – the fifth consecutive year of numbers on the rise.

 

It is inconceivable – in a world of such abundance, waste and opulence enjoyed by the privileged – to accept or tolerate perpetual inequality where the most vulnerable among us continue to bear the debilitating brunt; with more than 36 million children under the age of 5 suffering from acute malnutrition.

 

With conflict and insecurity – perhaps most visibly in Haiti, the Gaza Strip and Sudan, all on the verge of famine – showing no signs of abatement.

With climate change spiraling beyond control – and with economic shocks caused by a myriad of disruptions and other multifold stressors – it is imperative that we reach people in dire need, first, so that they are not left behind.

 

To achieve this goal, we must heed the repeated calls by UN funds and programmes such as the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization to urgently increase funding for emergency humanitarian operations – so that we have a shot at saving human life from starvation and famine.

 

But it is even more important for parties in conflict situations – the glaring example of which is the concerning situation in Gaza – to firmly uphold their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law.

 

I therefore take this opportunity to reiterate the repeated call of the General Assembly to ensure, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid, especially in Gaza – and for everyone, elsewhere, where conflict reigns.

 

We must achieve – at all cost – our goal to end hunger by 2030.

 

We must treat the food crisis as a development crisis – one that requires an all- hands- on- deck approach, to forge the comprehensive policies and coordinated responses to attenuate the suffering, manage the risks, and critically, to build resilience against future shocks.

 

This means ensuring more technical and financial support for countries in special situations – the LDCs, SIDS and LLDCs   – to safeguard their ability to root out food crisis at the source.

 

It means adopting policies at national, regional and international levels to ensure that agrifood systems are resilient to the pressures.

 

From population growth and urbanization to the fierce ripple effects of increasing global wealth that are rapidly transforming normal consumption and production patterns.

 

And it means choosing sustainability in all activities across the global economy – the resounding message delivered during the General Assembly’s first-ever Sustainability Week, I convened earlier this month to drive progress across the SDGs.

 

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,

 

I end by emphasizing that – as the calls throughout the Sustainability Week made clear – the United Nations plays a central role in harnessing the real power of our multilateral system, to meet global challenges such as addressing food insecurity and risks of famine.

 

I highly commend the unrelenting efforts of FAO, WFP and other humanitarian entities across the UN system and beyond – that are answering the urgent call to mobilize capacity and resources, deepen international cooperation to deliver support to the most vulnerable.

 

To break the vicious cycle of food insecurity, we must place highest priority on promoting peace, enhancing economic stability and building climate resilience – thus creating ideal conditions for no person going hungry and losing their dignity.

 

We must adequately and sustainably fund all noble endeavors – to fill the shortfalls and meet the increasingly desperate needs in both the short and long term.

 

This ECOSOC Chamber itself serves as an architectural anthem to this solemn responsibility.

 

Its “unfinished” ceiling a symbolic reminder that our work at the UN is never truly finished.

 

That “there will always be something more that can be done to improve living conditions for the world’s people” – in the words of Swedish architect, Sven Markelius, who designed the theme embedded in here.

 

With food costs rising to 70 per cent of household budgets in too many countries – let us also rise to the noble occasion, inspired by the messaging in the architecture of this very Chamber – to ensure we leave no nation or person behind, in our drive to rid the world of any form of hunger.

 

I thank you.

 

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