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Conflict breeds hunger, and when that turns into famine, that breeds conflict, the UN chief told the Security Council on Thursday, adding that “if you don’t feed the people, you feed the conflict.”
“When a country or a region is affected by hunger and conflict, they reinforce each other …[and] it cannot be solved separately, ”Secretary General António Guterres told the meeting through a videoconference that focused on how conflict and food security are interrelated.
And when hunger meets inequality, climate shocks, sectarian and ethnic tensions, coupled with grievances over resources, then “they trigger and fuel conflict.”
At the same time, the conflict forces people to abandon their homes, lands and jobs; it disturbs agriculture and commerce; reduces access to vital resources such as water and electricity; and it also drives hunger.
‘One step’ from famine
By the end of 2020, more than 88 million people were suffering from acute hunger due to conflict and instability, an increase of 20% in one year, and projections for 2021 point to a continuation of this “terrifying trend”, according to the main organization. from the ONU. official.
He warned the Council of multiple conflict-sparked famines around the world, with climate crises and COVID-19 “adding fuel to the flames.”
“Without immediate action, millions of people will come to the brink of extreme hunger and death,” Guterres said, noting that there are more than 30 million people in more than three dozen countries, “just one step away” from famine.
He drew attention to the hunger crises in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, South Sudan, Yemen and Afghanistan, while noting that reduced humanitarian access threatens food insecurity, including in Tigray, Ethiopia.
‘Act now’
The UN chief stressed that hunger and death begin long before the highest levels of food insecurity.
“We must anticipate and act now,” he said, informing ambassadors that he was creating a high-level task force to prevent famine, led by United Nations emergency aid coordinator Mark Lowcock, in conjunction with the World Program. of Food (WFP), “to mobilize support to the most affected countries.”
Other members of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee will participate as needed, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and UN Women.
More serious concern
Against the backdrop of more than 34 million people already facing emergency levels of acute food insecurity, the UN chief recalled WFP’s $ 5.5 billion appeal “to avoid catastrophe.”
“While all countries face some economic stress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the solution does not lie in cutting aid to hungry children,” he said, adding that “the disappointing outcome” of the pledging event for Yemen last week “you cannot become a pattern.”
Hunger war tactic
As an example of how hunger has been used as a tactic of war, including in Syria, South Sudan and Myanmar, the Secretary-General called it a “war crime”.
He urged the Council to “take maximum measures to seek accountability for these heinous acts” and to remind parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Building a foundation
Addressing hunger is a “basis for stability and peace,” Mr. Guterres said.
“We need to address both hunger and conflict, if we want to solve them,” he said, pointing to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in particular Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 on Zero Hunger, as the plan to do so.
Noting that ending hunger requires political solutions to the conflict, the UN chief urged all states to make this “a key foreign policy priority.”
“Do everything in your power to end the violence, negotiate peace and alleviate the hunger and suffering that afflict so many millions of people around the world,” he concluded. “There is no place for hunger and starvation in the 21st century.”
‘Slipping to the edge’
WFP chief David Beasley warned: “We are … sliding to the edge of the abyss.”
‘Shocking’ food insecurity
- Yemen: 2.3 million children under the age of five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year.
- South Sudan: 60% of the population is increasingly hungry.
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: Almost 21.8 million people suffered from acute hunger in the past year.
- Afghanistan: Almost 17 million people, up to 13.9 million, are food insecure.
- Nigeria: 13 million today, 8 million more than before.
- Syria: now the figure exceeds 12 million people, compared to 9.3 million.
“Conflict and instability are driving a new destructive wave of famine that threatens to sweep the world,” taking an “unimaginable” price on human misery, he said.
And the cycle of violence, hunger and despair is encompassing more and more people with consequences, from economic decline to mass migration and hunger, affecting everyone.
Beasley noted that looming famine emergencies are driven primarily by conflict.
“Make no mistake: man-made conflicts are the real culprits,” he said, adding that they are “totally preventable.”
Eating mud
The WFP chief explained that people face extreme situations, including in Yemen, Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and drew particular attention to South Sudan, where he spoke of “children fed with mud.”
Following up on the Secretary General’s request for $ 5.5 billion, Mr. Beasely urged Council members to open their “hearts, show compassion and give generously.”
Looking beyond the immediate crisis, he underscored the need to invest in conflict prevention to ensure desperate families are not “forced to the brink of survival by the bullet and the bomb.”
“Please don’t ask us to choose which hungry child lives and which dies. Let’s feed them all. “
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