The Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the UN, Ambassador Andreas Hadjichrysanthou, represented the Republic of Cyprus, on 19 May 2022, at the open debate of the UN Security Council, chaired by US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, on "Conflict and Food Security".
In his intervention, Mr. Blinken spoke at the UNSC Secretary of State's meeting on the topic "Conflict and Food Security". Hajichrysanthou stated that although the link between conflict and famine is a long-established phenomenon, however, according to reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme, there has been a significant increase in acute food insecurity in recent years due primarily to armed conflict.
He pointed out that the challenge we face today takes two forms: on the one hand, the food crisis that threatens civilians in armed conflict, including its deliberate provocation as a tactic of war, and on the other hand, the food crisis that threatens wider populations beyond those directly affected by a particular conflict, arising from the resulting disruptions to food production and distribution systems.
Hatzichrysanthou recalled that in Resolution 2417 of 2018, the Security Council condemned the use of food deprivation as a weapon of war, reflecting the relevant obligation of States under International Humanitarian Law. It also pointed to the 2019 amendment to the Rome Statute that makes the intentional creation of conditions of starvation/starvation of civilians a war crime also in non-international conflicts.
The Permanent Representative next referred to the current war in Ukraine, which has not only affected the Ukrainian people, but has exacerbated food shortages on a wider scale. He pointed out that this conflict had exacerbated the situation previously created by the severe pandemic and the effects of climate change which had already caused disruptions in the production and supply chain.
The Security Council, the Permanent Representative of Cyprus said, was called upon to act to end the Ukrainian crisis and to ensure that its humanitarian impact on other conflicts did not worsen and that the resulting food insecurity did not trigger new conflicts or unrest. He stressed that given the global dependence on Ukrainian grain, the Government of Cyprus supports efforts to reintegrate Ukraine's agricultural production into global markets for the benefit of the producing country and the most vulnerable populations. Hadjichrysanthou welcomed the establishment and activities of the Global Crisis Response Team for Food, Energy and Financial Crises, whose work could be used to mitigate the current crisis and draw lessons for the development of a draft comprehensive strategy to prevent and respond to similar situations.
In conclusion, the Permanent Representative expressed the Cyprus Government's support for the global call for collective action for food security, based on solidarity and the prevalence of humanitarianism in international cooperation.
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