February 24, 2025
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J. Tuyet Nguyen, a journalist with years of experience, has covered major stories in New York City and the United Nations for United Press International, the German Press Agency dpa and various newspapers. His reports focused mostly on topics with international interests for readers worldwide. He was president of the United Nations Correspondents Association (2007 and 2008), which is composed of more than 250 journalists representing world media with influence over policy decision makers. He has chaired the organization of the annual UNCA Awards, which seeks to reward journalists around the world who have done the best broadcasts and written reports on the UN and its specialized agencies. He has traveled the world to cover events and write stories, from politics to the environment as well cultures of different regions. But his most important reporting work has been with the United Nations since the early 1980s. He was bureau chief of United Press International office at the UN headquarters before joining dpa in 1997. Prior to working at the UN, he was an editor on the International Desk of UPI World Headquarters in New York. He worked in Los Angeles and covered the final months of war in Vietnam for UPI.

UN calls for “goodwill on all sides” of Ukraine war to resolve global food crisis

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New York, May 18 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he has been in “intense contact” with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union to work out a solution to the food crisis threatening the livelihood of millions of people in developing countries.

 “Russia must permit the safe and secure export of grain stored in Ukrainian ports,” Guterres told a high-level ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council being presided over by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

”Alternative transportation routes can be explored – even if we know that by itself, this will not be enough to solve the problem. Russian food and fertilizers must have full and unrestricted access to world markets,” he said, adding that he has been also in touch with “several other key countries” to discuss the food crisis.

“I am hopeful, but there is still a way to go. The complex security, economic and financial implications require goodwill on all sides. I will not go into details because public statements could undermine the chances of success,” he said.

“But let’s be clear: there is no effective solution to the food crisis without reintegrating Ukraine’s food production, as well as the food and fertilizer produced by Russia and Belarus, into world markets — despite the war.”

Guterres said global hunger has reached new levels in just two years, from 135 million pre-pandemic to 276 million today and more than half a million people are living in famine conditions – an increase of more than 500 percent since 2016. In addition to conflict, he said the climate emergency is another driver of global hunger and over the past decade, 1.7 billion people have been affected by extreme weather and climate-related disasters.

The United States, which holds the 15-nation council’s presidency in May, said the two-day meeting will debate links between armed conflict and food security with a focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine as a major culprit for growing food prices and hunger affecting millions of people. The council will hear representatives from 30-35 countries, including those most affected by food insecurity and those that can take action and strengthen the food systems.

“The hard truth we have to reckon with is that people starve every day all around the world even though we have more than enough food to go around,” US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said before the council meeting. “Worse, many go hungry and don’t know where their next meal will come from because warmongers are intentionally using starvation as a weapon of war. Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen are just a few examples of places where conflict is driving people to desperate hunger.”

“These Days of Action are about bringing this crisis to the center of the world’s attention, and this is – this all takes on heightened significance given Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war in Ukraine.”

UN: Fragile economic recovery from COVID-19 pandemic upended by war in Ukraine

The UN issued a mid-year economic report, saying that the war in Ukraine has “upended the fragile economic recovery from the pandemic, triggering a devastating humanitarian crisis in Europe, increasing food and commodity prices and globally exacerbating inflationary pressures.”

The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) said as of mid-2022, “the global economy is now projected to grow by only 3.1 per cent in 2022, down from the 4.0 per cent growth forecast released in January 2022.  Global inflation is projected to increase to 6.7 per cent in 2022, twice the average of 2.9 per cent during 2010–2020, with sharp rises in food and energy prices.”

“The downgrades in growth prospects are broad-based, including the world’s largest economies, — the United States, China and the European Union —, and the majority of other developed and developing economies. The growth prospects are weakening particularly in commodity-importing developing economies, driven by higher energy and food prices. The outlook is compounded by worsening food insecurity, especially in Africa.”

Read report: https://www.bit.ly/wespmidyear

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  Fragile economic recovery from COVID-19 pandemic upended by war in Ukraine 

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Amid rising inflationary pressures, UN revises global growth estimates downwards for 2022 (Following is a news release from the UN)
  New York, 18 May – The war in Ukraine has upended the fragile economic recovery from the pandemic, triggering a devastating humanitarian crisis in Europe, increasing food and commodity prices and globally exacerbating inflationary pressures, says the latest United Nations forecast released today. 

According to the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) as of mid-2022, the global economy is now projected to grow by only 3.1 per cent in 2022, down from the 4.0 per cent growth forecast released in January 2022.  Global inflation is projected to increase to 6.7 per cent in 2022, twice the average of 2.9 per cent during 2010–2020, with sharp rises in food and energy prices. 

The downgrades in growth prospects are broad-based, including the world’s largest economies, — the United States, China and the European Union —, and the majority of other developed and developing economies. The growth prospects are weakening particularly in commodity-importing developing economies,  driven by higher energy and food prices. The outlook is compounded by worsening food insecurity, especially in Africa.

“The war in Ukraine – in all its dimensions — is setting in motion a crisis that is also devastating global energy markets, disrupting financial systems and exacerbating extreme vulnerabilities for the developing world,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.  
 
He added, “We need quick and decisive action to ensure a steady flow of food and energy in open markets, by lifting export restrictions, allocating surpluses and reserves to those who need them, and addressing food price increases to calm market volatility.”
 
European Union prospects
 
In addition to the tragic loss of many human lives and the unfolding humanitarian crisis, the war is exacting heavy tolls not only on the economies of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, but also on the neighbouring economies in Central Asia and Europe, including the European Union. 

The sharp increase in energy prices represents a large negative terms-of-trade shock for the European Union, which in 2020 imported 57.5 per cent of its total energy consumption. The growth prospects for the European Union economy weakened significantly, with its GDP forecasted to grow by only 2.7 per cent in 2022, instead of the 3.9 per cent projected earlier in January. 

As imports from the Russian Federation accounted for almost 25 per cent of Europe’s energy consumption in 2020, a sudden halt in oil and natural gas flows from the Russian Federation would likely further increase energy prices and exacerbate inflationary pressures. EU member states from Eastern Europe and the Baltic region are severely impacted as they are already experiencing inflation rates well above the EU average.  

Developing and Least Developed Countries’ prospects
High inflation is reducing the real income of households, particularly in developing countries, where poverty is more prevalent, wage growth remains constrained, and fiscal support to alleviate the impact of higher oil and food prices remains limited.

The surge in food and energy prices are having knock-on effects on the rest of the economy and are posing an additional challenge to an inclusive recovery as it disproportionally affects low-income households that spend a much larger share of their income on food items. 

The monetary tightening in the United States is also set to raise borrowing costs and worsen financing gaps in developing countries, including the least developed countries. Tighter external financial conditions will adversely affect growth prospects, especially for the countries with high exposure to global capital markets facing debt distress or risks of debt default.  “The developing countries will need to brace for the impact of the aggressive monetary tightening by the Fed and put in place appropriate macroprudential measures to stem sudden outflows and stimulate productive investments,” said Hamid Rashid, Chief of the Global Economic Monitoring Branch in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and the lead author of the report. 

Climate actions challenged  
The war in Ukraine unfolds at a time when global CO2 emissions are at a record high. By driving up energy prices, the conflict will significantly impact global efforts to deal with the climate emergency.

As countries are looking to expand energy supplies amid high oil and gas prices, fossil fuel production is likely to increase in the short term. High prices of nickel and other metals may adversely affect the production of electric vehicles, while rising food prices may limit the use of biofuels.

“However, countries can also address their energy and food security concerns – brought to the fore due to the crisis – by accelerating the adoption of renewables and increasing efficiencies, thus strengthening the fight against climate change,” emphasized Shantanu Mukherjee, UN DESA Director of Economic Policy and Analysis. 
  For more information, please visit: https://www.bit.ly/wespmidyear

Media contacts: 
Sharon Birch, UN Department of Global Communications, birchs@un.org
Helen Rosengren, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, rosengrenh@un.org
 

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World’s leading economies and EU blame Russia’s war in Ukraine for global food insecurity

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Weissenhaus, Germany/New York, May 14 – The world’s seven leading economies (G7) and the European Union said in a statement concluding their three-day meeting in Weissenhaus that the Russia’s war in Ukraine is responsible for spiked food and commodity prices that are threatening millions of people, particularly in poor countries in Africa and the Middle East. The UN Security Council in New York has scheduled an open debate on May 19 on the war’s impacts on the global economy.

The statement said the “war of aggression against Ukraine” and unilateral actions preventing Ukraine’s exports of agricultural products have led to “steep price rises in commodity markets and the threats we are now seeing to global food security.”

“As global markets suffer from Russia’s war of choice by rising food and commodity prices, thus affecting the lives of people around the world and exacerbating existing humanitarian and protection needs, we are determined to contribute additional resources to and support all relevant efforts that aim to ensure availability and accessibility of food, energy and financial resources as well as basic commodities for all.”

The G7, composed of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. called on Russia to immediately cease its attacks on key transport infrastructure in Ukraine, including ports, so that they can be used for exporting Ukrainian agricultural products.

The G7 said it will discuss the causes and consequences of the global food crisis through a Global Alliance for Food Security and will closely cooperate with international partners and organizations beyond the G7 “with the aim of transforming political commitments into concrete actions as planned by various international initiatives such as the Food and Agricultural Resilience Mission (FARM) and key regional outreach initiatives, including towards African and Mediterranean countries.”

The G7 said Russia’s war in Ukraine “violated the UN Charter, undermined the fundamental principles of the European security architecture as enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris and will have to face consequences for its actions.” It also “condemns and will systematically expose Russia’s policy of information manipulation and interference, including disinformation which it employs to justify and support its war of aggression against Ukraine and which deliberately aims at manipulating public opinions domestically and worldwide with a view to covering its responsibilities in the ongoing war.”

UN Security Council to discuss war’s impacts on food security on May 19
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to preside a meeting of the 15-nation council on May 19 at which food security issues and the war in Ukraine will be debated with the participation of UN member nations. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, whose country holds the council’s presidency for the month of May, said the meeting will debate war’s impacts on food security.

The World Food Program (WFP), the UN agency that feeds the world’s hungry, has called for the re-opening of ports in Odesa in the Black Sea in order to allow exports of grains and other commodities to the rest of the world. Ukraine and Russia, known as major food baskets, provide up to 30 per cent of global wheat that are needed in developing countries.

WFP Executive Director David Beasley has said that Ukraine’s grain silos are full but the war has stopped all exports. He said 44 million people around the world are facing starvation because of severe shortages and high food prices.

“We have to open up these ports so that food can move in and out of Ukraine. The world demands it because hundreds of millions of people globally depend on these supplies,” he said. “We’re running out of time and the cost of inaction will be higher than anyone can imagine. I urge all parties involved to allow this food to get out of Ukraine to where it’s desperately needed so we can avert the looming threat of famine”.

WFP’s studies showed that 276 million people worldwide were already facing acute hunger at the start of 2022 and that number is expected to rise by 47 million people if the conflict in Ukraine continues, with the steepest rises in sub-Saharan Africa. WFP said most of Ukraine’s food productions before the war could feed some 400 million people and they were shipped through the Black Sea ports.

The World Bank in Washington said in its Commodity Markets Outlook report published on April 25 that Russia’s February 24 war in Ukraine has dealt a “major shock” to commodity markets and has altered global patterns of trade, production, and consumption in ways that will keep prices at historically high levels through the end of 2024.

The report said the increase in energy prices in the past two years has been the largest since the 1973 oil crisis. Price increases for food commodities—of which Russia and Ukraine are large producers—and fertilizers, which rely on natural gas as a production input, have been the largest since 2008.

Download the report

“Overall, this amounts to the largest commodity shock we’ve experienced since the 1970s. As was the case then, the shock is being aggravated by a surge in restrictions in trade of food, fuel and fertilizers,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions. “These developments have started to raise the specter of stagflation. Policymakers should take every opportunity to increase economic growth at home and avoid actions that will bring harm to the global economy.”

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UN reports nearly half of Afghanistan’s population suffer acute hunger

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Kabul/New York, May 9 – An estimated 19.7 million Afghan people, or nearly half of the country’s population, are facing acute hunger because of a series of setbacks, including drought, years of conflict and the on-going war in Ukraine which is causing a global shortage in wheat and other commodities, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Program (WFP), two major UN agencies specialized in food, said in a joint report.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, conducted in January and February 2022 warned of “catastrophic levels” of food insecurity know as IPC Phase 5 that has been detected in the north-eastern province of Ghor, with a population of 20,000 people. It said the catastrophic levels of hunger are caused by a long period of harsh winter and disastrous agricultural conditions.

Read report: Afghanistan IPC Report,

(NOTE: Definitions provided by the UN: Acute food insecurity is when a person’s inability to consume adequate food puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger. Chronic hunger is when a person is unable to consume enough food over an extended period to maintain a normal, active lifestyle.)

“Unprecedented levels of humanitarian assistance focused on bolstering food security have made a difference. But the food security situation is dire. Humanitarian assistance remains desperately important, as do the needs to rebuild shattered agricultural livelihoods and re-connect farmers and rural communities to struggling rural and urban markets across the country. Unless these happen, there will be no way out of this crisis,” said Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan.

Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP’s Country Director and Representative in Afghanistan, said, “Food assistance and emergency livelihood support are the lifeline for the people of Afghanistan. We mounted the world’s largest humanitarian food operation in a matter of months, reaching more than 16 million people since August 2021.”

“We are working with farmers, millers, and bakeries, training women and creating jobs to support the local economy. Because the people of Afghanistan would much prefer jobs; women want to be able to work; and all girls deserve to go to school. Allowing the economy to function normally is the surest way out of the crisis, otherwise suffering will grow where crops cannot,” she added.

The report predicted that the food security outlook for June-November 2022 may see a slight improvement, including a reduction in the acute food insecurity cases to 18.9 million people due in part to the coming wheat harvest during the May-August period and this year’s “well-coordinated scale-up of humanitarian food assistance – alongside increased agricultural livelihood support.”

But the report said the slight improvement may be limited because of lingering drought and the country’s economic crisis, which means that hunger will remain a threat to millions of people in Afghanistan.

The war in Ukraine will continue to put pressure on Afghanistan’s wheat supply, food commodities, agricultural inputs and fuel prices, the report said. It said access to seeds, fertilizer and water for irrigation is limited, labour opportunities are scarce and enormous debts have been incurred to buy food over the last few months.

FAO and WFP said they will continue to scale up programs across Afghanistan while WFP has reached more than 16 million people so far in 2022 with emergency food assistance, and is supporting local markets, working with retailers and local suppliers. WFP continues to invest in people’s livelihoods through skills training and climate adaption projects so that families can cultivate their land and grow their own food. FAO said it will continue to scale up its assistance to farmers and herders in rural areas and will assist more than 9 million people in 2022 through a range of interventions supporting crop, livestock and vegetable production, cash transfers and the rehabilitation of vital irrigation infrastructure and systems.

“Supporting agriculture is a cost-effective and strategic intervention that delivers great short-term impact as lifesaving support, while it paves the way for longer-term recovery and sustainable development,” the two agencies said.

UN protests Taliban’s order forcing Afghan women to wear hijab and stay home

The UN assistance mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) issued the following statement on May 7 to protest  the order:

“UNAMA is deeply concerned with today’s announcement by the Taliban de facto authorities that all women must cover their faces in public, that women should only leave their homes in cases of necessity, and that violations of this directive will lead to the punishment of their male relatives. Information that UNAMA has received suggests this is a formal directive rather than a recommendation, and that it will be implemented and enforced.

This decision contradicts numerous assurances regarding respect for and protection of all Afghans’ human rights, including those of women and girls, that had been provided to the international community by Taliban representatives during discussions and negotiations over the past decade. These assurances were repeated following the Taliban takeover in August 2021, that women would be afforded their rights, whether in work, education, or society at large.

The international community has been eager for signals that the Taliban are ready for positive relations with the wider world. The decision six weeks ago to postpone secondary schooling for Afghan girls was widely condemned internationally, regionally, and locally. Today’s decision by the Taliban might further strain engagement with the international community.

UNAMA will immediately request meetings with the Taliban de facto authorities to seek clarification on the status of this decision. UNAMA will also engage in consultations with members of the international community regarding its implications.”

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UN leader bluntly told Russian President Putin that war violates the UN Charter

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New York, May 5 – Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, said he did not mince words when he visited Moscow and told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the invasion of Ukraine violated the UN Charter. Guterres and the UN heads of the Human Rights Council and emergency humanitarian affairs briefed the UN Security Council on recent events in Ukraine.

“Throughout my travels, I did not mince words,” Guterres said. “I said the same thing in Moscow as I did in Kyiv – which is exactly what I have repeatedly expressed in New York.

“Namely that: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of its territorial integrity and of the Charter of the United Nations. It must end for the sake of the people of Ukraine, Russia, and the entire world.”

“I visited Moscow and Kyiv with a clear understanding of the realities on the ground.

I entered an active war zone in Ukraine with no immediate possibility of a national ceasefire and a full-scale ongoing attack on the east of the country.”

Guterres met with Putin on April 26 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiyv on April 28 and had discussions over the war in Ukraine with the presidents of Turkey and Poland.

From his discussions Guterres said the UN worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Russian and Ukrainian authorities to open humanitarian corridors and begin the evacuation of civilians caught for months by the fighting in Mariupol and the Azovstal plant. He reported to the council the evacuation of civilians has achieved “some measure of success.”

“Together, the United Nations and the ICRC are leading a humanitarian operation of great complexity – both politically, and in terms of security,” he said.

He said the Ukraine war has unleashed a food security crisis in the West African nations of Senegal, Niger and Nigeria, where he visited after Moscow and Kiyv and directly heard testimony from leaders and civil society there.

“We need quick and decisive action to ensure a steady flow of food and energy in open markets, by lifting export restrictions, allocating surpluses and reserves to those who need them, and addressing food price increases to calm market volatility,” he said.

 “But let me be clear: a meaningful solution to global food insecurity requires reintegrating Ukraine’s agricultural production and the food and fertilizer production of Russia and Belarus into world markets, despite the war.

“I will do my best to help facilitate a dialogue to help make this a reality,” he said.

Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told the council that the destruction of civilian infrastructure has come to characterize the Russian war in Ukraine.

“Apartment buildings, schools and hospitals in populated areas have been attacked. They must not be.

Over 13 million Ukrainians have now been forced to flee their homes, of whom 7.7 million are internally displaced. Lives uprooted, ripped apart. Never the same again.”

“The threat of gender-based violence—including conflict-related sexual violence, sexual exploitation and abuse and human trafficking—has risen hugely since the war began. Allegations of sexual violence against women, girls, men and boys are mounting,” Griffiths said.

“Roads are heavily contaminated with explosive ordnance, putting civilians at risk and stopping humanitarian convoys from reaching them,” he said.

Griffiths said the UN now has more than 1,400 staff deployed across Ukraine and operating out of eight hubs beyond Kyiv, with staff, warehouses and supplies in 30 locations. He said the UN teams have reached more than 4.1 million people with some form of assistance across all the country’s 24 oblasts.”

Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the council information and  reports received so far showed violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, which called for the need for accountability.

“It pains me to say that all our concerns remain valid, and the situation keeps deteriorating,” she said. “Reports of deadly incidents, such as attacks on hospital No 3 and the drama theatre in Mariupol, on the railway station in Kramatorsk, on residential areas in Odesa, have become shockingly frequent. There seems to be no end in sight to the daily reports of civilian deaths and injuries.”

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UN, European Union warn of alarming rise of acute hunger – 193 million people in 53 countries affected

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Following are news releases: The international community calls for a shift towards better prevention, anticipation, and targeting to address the root causes of food crises. Read report: GLOBAL REPORT ON FOOD CRISES: ACUTE FOOD INSECURITY HITS NEW HIGHS

Rome, 4 May – The number of people facing acute food insecurity and requiring urgent life-saving food assistance and livelihood support continues to grow at an alarming rate. This makes it more urgent than ever to tackle the root causes of food crises rather than just responding after they occur. This is a key takeaway from an annual report launched today by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) – an international alliance of the United Nations, the European Union, governmental and non-governmental agencies working to tackle food crises together.

The report focusses on those countries and territories where the magnitude and severity of the food crisis exceed the local resources and capacities. In these situations the mobilization of the international community is necessary.

Key figures

The document reveals that around 193 million people in 53 countries or territories experienced acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels (IPC/CH Phase 3-5) in 2021. This represents an increase of nearly 40 million people compared with the already record numbers of 2020. Of these, over half a million people (570 000) in Ethiopia, southern Madagascar, South Sudan and Yemen were classified in the most severe phase of acute food insecurity Catastrophe (IPC/CH Phase 5) and required urgent action to avert widespread collapse of livelihoods, starvation and death.

When looking at the same 39 countries or territories featured in all editions of the report, the number of people facing crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) nearly doubled between 2016 and 2021, with unabated rises each year since 2018.

The root causes of food crisis

These worrying trends are the result of multiple drivers feeding into one another, ranging from conflict to environmental and climate crises, from economic to health crises with poverty and inequality as undelaying causes.

Conflict remains the main driver of food insecurity. While the analysis predates Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the report finds that the war has already exposed the interconnected nature and fragility of global food systems, with serious consequences for global food and nutrition security. Countries already coping with high levels of acute hunger are particularly vulnerable to the risks created by the war in Eastern Europe, notably due to their high dependency on imports of food and agricultural inputs and vulnerability to global food price shocks, it notes.

The key drivers behind rising acute food insecurity in 2021 were:

·       conflict (main driver pushing 139 million people in 24 countries/territories into acute food insecurity, up from around 99 million in 23 countries/territories in in 2020);

·       weather extremes (over 23 million people in 8 countries/territories, up from 15.7 million in 15 countries/territories);

·       economic shocks – (over 30 million people in 21 countries/territories, down from over 40 million people in 17 countries/territories in 2020 mainly due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic).

Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine jeopardizes global food security. The international community must act to avert the largest food crisis in history and the social, economic, and political upheaval that could follow. The EU is committed to address all drivers of food insecurity: conflict, climate change, poverty and inequalities. While it is necessary to provide immediate assistance to save lives and prevent famine, we must continue to help partner countries in transition to sustainable agri-food systems and resilient supply chains by tapping the full potential of the Green Deal and the Global Gateway.”

Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said: “There should be no place for hunger in the twenty-first century. Yet, we are seeing too many people pushed away from the path to prosperity. A clear message resonated today: if we want to prevent a major global food crisis, we need to act now, and we need to work together. I believe the international community is up to this task. By leveraging collective action and pooling resources, our global solidarity is stronger and far reaching. As demonstrating with its aid funding as well as humanitarian-development-peace synergies, the EU remains committed to address this food and nutrition crisis together with the international community.”

“The tragic link between conflict and food insecurity is once again evident and alarming,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “While the international community has courageously stepped up to the calls for urgent famine prevention and mitigation action, resource mobilization to efficiently tackle the root causes of food crises due to, among others, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, global hotspots and the war in Ukraine, still struggles to match the growing needs. The results of this year’s Global Report further demonstrate the need to collectively address acute food insecurity at the global level across humanitarian, development and peace contexts.”

“Acute hunger is soaring to unprecedented levels and the global situation just keeps on getting worse. Conflict, the climate crisis, COVID-19 and surging food and fuel costs have created a perfect storm – and now we’ve got the war in Ukraine piling catastrophe on top of catastrophe. Millions of people in dozens of countries are being driven to the edge of starvation. We urgently need emergency funding to pull them back from the brink and turn this global crisis around before it’s too late,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley.

A paradigm shift

“The situation calls out for at-scale action to move towards integrated approaches to prevention, anticipation, and better targeting to sustainably address the root causes of food crises, including structural rural poverty, marginalization, population growth and fragile food systems,” said European Union-FAO-WFP – founding members of the Global Network – together with USAID and the World Bank in a joint statement that will be released this week.

The findings of the report demonstrate the need for a greater prioritization of smallholder agriculture as a frontline humanitarian response, to overcome access constraints and as a solution for reverting negative long-term trends. Furthermore, promoting structural changes to the way external financing is distributed, so that humanitarian assistance can be reduced over time through longer-term development investments, can tackle the root causes of hunger. In parallel, we need to collectively promote more efficient and sustainable ways of providing humanitarian assistance.

Likewise, strengthening a coordinated approach to ensure that humanitarian, development and peacekeeping activities are delivered in a holistic and coordinated manner, and ensuring and avoiding further fuelling conflict as an unintended consequence will also contribute to resilience building and recovery.

Note to editors

Acute food insecurity is when a person’s inability to consume adequate food puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger. It draws on internationally-accepted measures of extreme hunger, such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) and the Cadre Harmonisé. It is not the same as chronic hunger, as reported on each year by the UN’s annual State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. Chronic hunger is when a person is unable to consume enough food over an extended period to maintain a normal, active lifestyle.

About the Global Network and the Global Report

Founded by the European Union, FAO and WFP in 2016, the Global Network Against Food Crises is an alliance of humanitarian and development actors working together to prevent, prepare for and respond to food crises and support the Sustainable Development Goal to End Hunger (SDG 2

The Global Report on Food Crises is the flagship publication of the Global Network and is facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). The Report is the result of a consensus-based and multipartner analytical process involving 17 international humanitarian and development partners (full list here).

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments is intended for specific individuals or entities, and may be confidential, proprietary or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately, delete this message and do not disclose, distribute or copy it to any third party or otherwise use this message. The content of this message does not necessarily reflect the official position of the World Food Programme. Electronic messages are not secure or error free and may contain viruses or may be delayed, and the sender is not liable for any of these occurrences. The sender reserves the right to monitor, record and retain electronic messages.

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UN adopts measure to increase accountability around vetoes by world powers

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New York, April 26 – For the first time in its history, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution to increase accountability whenever one of the world powers like the United States, Russia, France, United Kingdom and China cast a veto to block a call against military aggression or to provide humanitarian aid. Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on February 25 that demanded an end to its invasion of Ukraine.

Those five countries are known as permanent members of the 15-nation Security Council with power to stop a resolution even if the measure is adopted by a majority of its members, including 10 other countries that are each elected for two-year term. The council tried but failed to stop Russia’s February 24 invasion and was denounced as ineffective in carrying out its world peace and security responsibility.

 The 193-nation assembly adopted by consensus, meaning without a recorded vote, a resolution sponsored by 83 countries that allows it to convene within 10 days a formal meeting to debate after one or more of the permanent members have cast a veto. The resolution is titled “Strengthening of the United Nations System.”

Of the five permanent members, the US, United Kingdom and France supported the resolution while Russia and China did not. Other countries among the 83 countries that supported the resolution include the Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Myanmar, Romania, Singapore, Turkey and Ukraine.

 “While not legally binding, it will allow the entire UN membership of 193 countries to have a say on vetoed resolutions, helping to increase accountability,” said United Kingdom Ambassador Barbara Woodward. “By doing so, the resolution seeks to give a voice to the entire UN membership on vetoed resolutions and make permanent members who have used their veto more accountable for their actions.”

“The founding members of the United Nations vowed to save generations that followed them from the scourge of war,” she said. “They conferred the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security on the Security Council. The UN Charter gives the permanent members the power of veto. This is a heavy responsibility, to be used in the interests of securing the peace and security that people around the world seek and the UN was established to provide.It is not to be used lightly. And should not, we believe, be used without accountability. It should not prevent the Council from fulfilling its mandate – which is why we have supported this resolution today.”

Woodward said Russia has used its veto 22 times in the last 10 years – to block aid to civilians and defend war crimes and in 2020, Russia and China vetoed a Security Council resolution to extend cross-border aid access from Turkey into Syria for a year, essentially cutting off humanitarian aid from millions of Syrian civilians.

UN member nations have tried for years but failed to reform the working procedures of the council, including reining in the veto power and expanding the number of permanent members for a more equitable representation of the membership.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made his first virtual address to the Security Council on April 4, urging the body to stop the war or failing that to disband itself.

“Russia was turning ‘the right of veto in the UN Security Council into a right to kill’,” Zelensky said, adding allegations of arbitrary killing of civilians, torture and rape and he called for investigation of war crimes.

“Are you ready to close the UN?” he asked. “Do you think that the time of international law is gone? If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately.”

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UPDATE: UN condemns attacks against civilians in Ukraine conflict; UN chief to hold talks in Moscow, Kiyv

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Geneva/New York, April 22 – The United Nations condemned the indiscriminate uses of military forces by Russia and “horrors” committed against civilians in Ukraine while the organization’s leader, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, is preparing to meet separately with leaders of Russia and Ukraine in their capitals, UN spokespersons said.

Guterres will be in Moscow on April 26th and will have a working meeting and lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before meeting with President Vladimir Putin, said Eri Kaneko, an associate spokesperson in New York. Guterres will visit Kiyv on April 28 where he will have a working meeting with Foreign Minister Minister Dmytro Kuleba and will be received by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The requests were made in letters sent separately to the Russian and Ukrainian UN missions in New York on April 19 following unsuccessful calls by UN officials for a humanitarian cease-fire to bring aid to the millions of people caught in the war started by the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

“The Secretary-General said, at this time of great peril and consequence, he would like to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law,” said spokesperson Stephane Dujarric when the requests were made. “He noted that both Ukraine and the Russian Federation are founding members of the United Nations and have always been strong supporters of this Organization.”

In Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet provided details of what she called a “horror story” of possible war crimes and abuses committed in Ukraine, citing indiscriminate shelling and bombardment of civilian residential areas, widespread destruction of properties and hundreds of summary executions.

“International humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside,” Bachelet said in a statement in which she condemned the “horrors” committed against civilians, including a missile strike on the train station in Kramatorsk that killed more than 50 civilians and injured scores. She said the attacks are “emblematic of Russian forces’ indiscriminate bombardment of civilian targets” which amount to war crimes. “Our work to date has detailed a horror story of violations perpetrated against civilians.”

OHCHR said 5,381 civilian casualties but actual figures are “considerable higher”

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 5,381 civilian casualties in the country: 2,435 killed and 2,946 injured from February 24, 2022 when Russian forces launched attacks against Ukraine to April 21, 2022. This included: a total of 2,435 killed (746 men, 469 women, 48 girls, and 66 boys, as well as 70 children and 1,036 adults whose sex is yet unknown)

a total of 2,946 injured (345 men, 274 women, 62 girls, and 67 boys, as well as 157 children and 2,041 adults whose sex is yet unknown)

OHCHR said it “believes the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.”

In Lviv, West Ukraine, the UN Crisis Coordinator, Assistant Secretary-General Amin Awad told a news conference on April 21 that Ukraine has seen “suffering, devastation, and destruction on a massive scale” in the last two months, UN News reported.

“At least 15.7 million people in Ukraine are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection, over 5 million people fled Ukraine to seek safety in other countries and another 7.1 million have been internally displaced across the country,” Awad said. “This represents more than 25 per cent of the entire population of Ukraine.”

“The world is shocked by what is happening in Ukraine,” said Awad, calling “deeply disturbing” the treatment of war prisoners and that the fate of civilians in Mariupol remains unknown. He said people living in occupied Kherson are short on food and medicines; Mykolaiv has been without water for seven days; and the devastation of urban centres and civilian infrastructure across the oblasts – especially in Donetska, Luhanska, Khakvska, Kyivska and Chernivska – have disrupted critical services for millions, including water and health care.

The Norwegian Refugee Council: Ukraine Fears of besiegement, bloodshed and displacement in eastern regions

In Oslo, the Norwegian Refugee Council said in a press release that it is deeply worried that intensified fighting in eastern Ukraine till lead to besiegement of entire cities and towns. The immense suffering and bloodshed that engulfed Mariupol may be senselessly repeated elsewhere, as the country marks two months of war.

“The escalation of war in east Ukraine will result in horrific bloodshed and mass displacement from the eastern regions, including Luhansk and Donetsk, re-traumatising communities who have already suffered eight years of hostilities. In some places the escalation may also lead to entire cities being besieged,” warned Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), on a five-day visit to Ukraine.

“It’s heart-breaking to think about the horrors these people are forced to relive, and to know that we are unable to get lifesaving assistance into many affected areas. We call for an immediate ceasefire to stop this tidal wave of human suffering.”

Facts and figures:

NRC has ongoing operations in Lviv, Ternopil, Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and Moldova. We plan to assist 800,00 displaced people over the coming months.

NRC has been working in Ukraine since 2014 assisting over 700,000 people through its legal aid, food security and livelihoods, WASH and shelter programmes.  

12 million people have been displaced since the war began on 24 February – over 7 million inside Ukraine and over 5 million to neighbouring countries.

12 million people inside Ukraine are estimated to need humanitarian aid.

At least 199 health facilities suffering attacks, while hundreds of thousands are now without water or electricity. 

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Russian war causes global food, energy and finance crises; affects 1.7 billion people in poor countries: UN

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New York, April 13 – The Russian war in Ukraine not only has caused “terrifying levels” of death, destruction and suffering in Ukraine, it has also triggered food, energy and finance crises that particularly are impacting on scores of poor countries with a total of 1.7 billion people, the United Nations said in a first report on the Global Impact of War in Ukraine on Food, Energy and Finance Systems.

The 22-page report said preliminary assessments showed that the 1.7 billion people exposed to the war’s repercussions live in 107 poor economies in Africa, Asia and the Pacific and in the Caribbean and Latin America regions.

“These are countries where people struggle to afford healthy diets, where imports are essential to satisfy the food and energy needs of their populations, where debt burdens and tightening resources limit government’s ability to cope with the vagaries of global financial conditions,” the report said. It said either of the Covid-19 pandemic, debt payments, climate change or food shortages and blackouts can collapse the economy. Of the 1.7 billion people, 553 million people are already poor and 215 million are already malnourished.

“Since the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, the world’s attention has been focused on the war’s terrifying levels of death, destruction and suffering” while less attention has been paid to impacts of poverty, hunger and social unrest, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in presenting the report.

Guterres said 36 countries, including some of the poorest countries, rely on Russia and Ukraine for more than half of their wheat imports and the war has made a bad situation worse. He said Russia is a top supplier of oil and gasoline but oil prices are up more than 60 per cent in the past year while gas prices have risen by 50 per cent while fertilizers have double in price.

“But now is also the time to turn this crisis into an opportunity,” Guterres said. “We must work towards progressively phasing-out coal and other fossil fuels, and accelerating the deployment of renewable energy and a just transition. “

“We need to pull developing countries back from the financial brink. The international financial system has deep pockets. I have been strongly advocating for its reform. But developing countries need help now, and the funds are there.”

Developing countries under the Sword of Damocles, the report said (excerpts):

Food

The report said the war has impacted on food production and caused rising food prices worldwide which will be felt through 2023. Russia and Ukraine are major wheat and maize producers as well as fertilizers.

“Food and energy import bills are already at record levels, and it seems inevitable that these will continue to rise. This will have widespread impacts that could be far-reaching, but the consequences for poorer and vulnerable people, will be particularly severe. Many food producers are not able to access the agricultural inputs they need.”

Energy

“Energy markets were already tight before the start of the crisis, following strong consumer demand and high GDP growth in 2021. Though crude oil and natural gas are still around 50 per cent above their level at the start of the year, they have witnessed volatile trading sessions following key announcements since the start of the war and, in particular, the commitment by the United States to release 180 million barrels of oil over the next six months.

“The significant increase in oil and gas prices may lead to counteracting effects in the longer term. On the one hand, it may shift investments back into extractive industries and fossil fuel-based energy generation, running the risk of reversing the trend towards decarbonization documented over the past 5-10 years. On the other hand, it can also accelerate the transition towards alternative sources of energy, especially in countries that wish to strengthen their energy resilience by sourcing from more local sources. The jury is still out on which trend will prevail. Much depends on political leadership and maintaining the momentum towards meeting the commitments of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.”

Finance

“We are on the brink of a global debt crisis. Even before the start of this crisis developing countries spent on average 16 per cent of their export earnings in servicing their debt obligations, with Small Island Developing States spending more than twice this figure. By comparison, after the Allied Powers restructured Germany’s debt in 1953, debt servicing payments never exceeded 3.4 per cent of export revenues in any year. On top of that, bond yields of developing countries have been on the rise since September 2021, given expectations of monetary tightening in developed countries. Rate hikes alongside financial disorder would be a double blow for developing economies, of “taper-tantrum-like” effects through interest rate rises and greater volatility in commodity futures and bond markets, leading to increased risk premiums on top of exchange rate pressures.”

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UN: “Great finance divide” amid COVID-19 poses major setback for sustainable development (Press Release)

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With spiking global food and fuel prices, UN fears conflict in Ukraine dramatically worsens the economic outlook and the risk of widespread debt crises    
New York, 12 April 2022 –The crippling cost of debt financing for many developing countries has hamstrung their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, forced cutbacks in development spending, and constrained their ability to respond to further shocks, according to a new report launched by the United Nations today.  
 
The 2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Bridging the Finance Divide finds that while rich countries were able to support their pandemic recovery with record sums borrowed at ultra-low interest rates, the poorest countries spent billions servicing debt, preventing them from investing in sustainable development. 
 
The pandemic shock plunged 77 million more people into extreme poverty in 2021, and by the end of the year many economies remained below pre-2019 levels. The report estimates that in 1 in 5 developing countries’ GDP per capita would not return to 2019 levels by the end of 2023, even before absorbing the impacts of the Ukraine war.
 
“As we are coming up to the halfway point of financing the world’s Sustainable Development Goals, the findings are alarming,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said. “There is no excuse for inaction at this defining moment of collective responsibility, to ensure hundreds of millions of people are lifted out of hunger and poverty. We must invest in access for decent and green jobs, social protection, healthcare and education leaving no one behind.“ 
 
Bridging the Finance Divide says on average, the poorest developing countries pay 14 per cent of revenue for interest on their debt, almost 4 times higher than developed countries, at 3.5 per cent. Globally, many developing countries were forced to cut budgets for education, infrastructure and other capital spending as a result of the pandemic. The war in Ukraine will exacerbate these challenges and create new ones, with higher energy and commodity prices, renewed supply chain disruptions, higher inflation coupled with lower growth, and increased volatility in financial markets.
 
For many developing countries, the war will likely lead to further increases in debt distress and increased hunger. Before the war, the pandemic recovery gaps had already widened, with developing countries on average having only enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for 24 per 100 people, versus almost 150 per 100 people for developed countries. Shockingly, in 2021, 70 per cent of 10-year-olds in developing countries were unable to read a basic text, a 17 per cent increase from 2019. With food prices in 2021 already at their highest level in a decade, the UN fears the conflict in Ukraine risks dramatically worsening the economic outlook for many countries.  

The rate of post-pandemic economic recovery in developed countries, however, points to a way forward for greater investment. 
 
“The developed world proved in the last two years that millions can be lifted out of poverty by the right kind of investment – in resilient and clean infrastructure, social protection or public services,” said UN Under Secretary-General Liu Zhenmin, head of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which produced the report. “The international community must build on that progress, and ensure developing countries can invest at similar levels, while reducing inequality and securing a sustainable energy transition.” 
 
The report notes that there was some progress on poverty reduction, social protection, and investment in sustainable development in 2021, driven by actions in developed and some large developing countries, including $17 trillion in COVID-19 emergency spending. Positive performance includes: Increased funding of research and development, green energy and digital technologies, for example from the European Union’s Next Generation EU recovery plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in the USA. Rebounding of private investment in 2021 — with China and USA accounting for more than 50 per cent of the improvement.Doubling of sustainable investment to over $1 trillion, while sustainability-themed funds grew 62 per cent from 2020.Private equity and venture capital investment in developing countries reached a record $230 billion (from $150 billion in 2020).  
The report also notes record growth of Official Development Assistance (ODA), which increased to its highest level ever in 2020 rising to $161.2 billion. Yet, 13 countries cut ODA, and the sum remains insufficient for the vast needs of developing countries. The UN fears the fallout from the crisis in Ukraine, with increased spending on refugees in Europe, may mean cuts to the aid provided to the poorest countries. In the face of a global crisis, near-time actions and additional international support are needed to prevent debt crises and address the high cost of borrowing. 
However, the vast majority of developing countries will need active and urgent support to get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The report estimates that in the poorest countries a 20 per cent increase in spending will be required for key sectors.
 
Bridging the Finance Divide recommends actions in three areas: Financing gaps and rising debt risks must be urgently addressed. For example, speeding up debt relief and expanding eligibility to highly indebted middle-income countries, agreeing to debt swaps, and rechanneling of $100 billion of unused special drawing rights to countries in need. Countries can boost long-term, affordable, stable financing by strengthening the system of public development banks with higher capacity and financial support to national institutions. All financing flows must be aligned with sustainable development. For example, the international tax system should reflect the changing global economy and allow fair tax governance, trade and investment policy actions that can address vaccine inequality and improve access to medical products, while globally-consistent corporate sustainability reporting standards are needed for both privately-owned and listed companies. Current high fossil fuel prices provide a renewed opportunity for countries to accelerate investments in a sustainable energy transition.Enhanced transparency and a more complete information ecosystem will strengthen the ability of countries to manage risks and use resources well. For example, tackling illicit financial flows with improved sharing and use of tax information, enhancing transparency of debt data and developing long-term credit ratings for sovereigns. – ENDS –  
Notes to Editors:  The report is a joint product of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development, which is comprised of more than 60 United Nations Agencies and international organizations. The Financing for Sustainable Development Office of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs serves as the substantive editor and coordinator of the Task Force, in close cooperation the World Bank Group, the IMF, World Trade Organization, UNCTAD and UNDP. The Task Force was mandated by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and is chaired by Mr. Liu Zhenmin, United Natoins Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs. The full copy of the report will be uploaded to: https://developmentfinance.un.org/fsdr2022The report forms the basis for discussions at the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development follow up, where Member States discuss measures necessary to mobilize sustainable financing. Negotiations based on the report are ongoing. The report also informs the SDG Investment Fair, which brings together government officials and investors. The report covers, among others, areas of the global economic context; trade; debt, private business and finance; technology; and international development cooperation. ***
For more information, or to request interviews with our experts, please contact:
Rita Ann Wallace, UN DESA | Mob: +1 516 707 5570 | rita.wallace@un.org
Sarah DeCuir, UN DESA | Tel: +1 917 367 9272 | sarah.decuir@un.org
Sharon Birch, UN Department of Global Communications | birchs@un.org
 
 

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