Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Chumakov at an "Arria-formula" meeting of UNSC members on conflict and hunger
Mme. President,
We thank you, and we thank today’s briefers to whom we listened very carefully. We specifically thank FAO and WFP for highlighting crisis trends, both in 2020 and 2021. We really did not expect the briefers to provide such an honest and comprehensive analysis of today’s problems. Nowadays it is quite a rear thing, because a lot of delegations are afraid to do so.
We do share all the concerns about rising food insecurity around the globe, and we do share and support all the calls to strict observance of international humanitarian law. Yet we continuously oppose any cherry-picking when it comes to the root causes of problems. And let me be clear – armed conflicts are very often the sequence, and not the drivers of today’s challenges. That is why generic discussions on food security in the Council undermine the role of the specialized UN agencies with appropriate mandates.
We proceed from the fact that food problems have economic nature and challenges to sustainable development which should be addressed internally and with respective external assistance, including the one provided by the UN and its agencies. Thus, for example, problems of the Horn of Africa (that were mentioned today) affected by the drought should be considered taking into account the history of development assistance to those countries. Due regard should be made to the systems of early-warning and monitoring and assistance in their deployment. Instead of learning lessons and trying to improve these tools we already have in hands, we see huge pressure from a number of countries to politicize the issues.
As to the newly branded “anticipatory approach” - we see some rational in this mechanism, its cost-efficiency. But we strongly believe that it should be tailored to specific needs of each affected State and should feed into the strengthening of national resilience systems. Meaning it is all about development assistance. That is why “anticipatory action” of the Security Council in terms of food crises and food security would lead the Council astray from its mandate.
A couple of words about the “Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance”. We see the merit in it as such, its first report, unfortunately, lacks impartiality. The document replicates the one-sided narrative put in place by Western countries, who always see the root causes of all the problems somewhere else, elegantly putting aside their own role in many disastrous crises around the world. In this connection, we cannot forget Syria, where the US occupied the north-east part of the country which had always served as a breadbasket for the entire region. We can recall Afghanistan, where 20 years of the US and NATO’s democratic experiments turned the country’s agricultural sector into drug-factory which productivity has reached unprecedented levels. The Afghani people were left in such a poverty that parents today have no choice but to sell their youngers and kidneys to feed the rest of the family. Since today a number of briefers and delegations mentioned a UNGA resolution on the right to food, it is very regretful that the US delegation is always a delegation that votes against this resolution.
Getting back to the “Global Crisis Response Group” and the first product of its experts’ brainstorm we would like to underscore the following. Instability in the world food, energy and financial markets has been developing for over 2 years and became the result of the pandemic, excessive subsidies to their economies by Western countries, trade wars, protectionism and illegal unilateral sanctions, from which two thirds of the world's population suffer.
We also welcome that the UK mentioned today the intention to promote removal of export bans. We will be happy if in this intention you do not forget about the import bans that you mounted.
The accelerated energy transition, which Western countries are implementing primarily in the interests of fighting for their technologies, has an extremely negative effect as well. “Accelerated greening exercise” in the countries of the “global south” should be reconsidered to take into account the interests of their population, which need reliable and affordable sources of energy that can stimulate profoundly their agricultural sector – as per SDG 7 in the Agenda 2030.
Mme.President,
I wanted to conclude here, but I will allow myself another brief comment, because we hear a lot of direct accusations today, and we will hear more of them. We were stunned to read that the EU High Representative, Mr.Borrell, said today to France 24 channel that “it is Russians who are blocking Ukrainian wheat exports to Africa”. We would like to refer to the statement by the Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response of Russia which states that 76 foreign vessels from 18 countries remain blocked in Ukraine’s ports because of the threat of shelling and mine danger from Ukraine. This danger was recognized by the Ukrainian delegation at the IMO. Ukrainian side never agrees on our announcements of maritime humanitarian corridors. And also blocking Russian vessels from European ports is “very helpful” for resolving today’s problems.
The Russian Federation is taking the full range of measures to ensure civilian navigation in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, and Mediterranean. We call on the IMO, other international organizations, and other countries to interact with Kiev authorities to engage in negotiations on this topic.
Yes, there will be more accusations of Russia of the upcoming global food crisis, trying to shift the focus from economic egoism of the developed countries during the pandemic and unilateral sanctions. Colleagues, blame game and speeches are your sovereign right. Waste your time to your liking. But when you think you are ready to look for effective solutions to catastrophic problems of food security, especially in the developing countries, let’s meet again and have a look at what we have been talking about today and on many occasions before, and let’s talk more about it.
I thank you.
