Leveraging its G20 presidency, India is committed to depoliticising the global supply of food, fertilisers and medical products so that geopolitical tensions do not lead to a humanitarian crisis, the country’s envoy to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj has told the Security Council.
Observing that the global food insecurity situation is daunting, with an increasing number of people facing acute food shortages over the past four years, Kamboj said the international community must work together to find common solutions through dialogue and diplomacy.
‘Leveraging our presidency of the G20, India has advocated for greater efforts to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), including SDG 2 calling for zero hunger,” Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations said in her address to the UN Security Council’s Open Debate on Famine and Conflict-Induced Global Food Insecurity.
“The Indian presidency is committed to, in our Prime Minister’s words, ‘depoliticising the global supply of food, fertilisers and medical products, so that geopolitical tensions do not lead to humanitarian crisis’,’ she said. ‘Choosing peace, cooperation, and multilateralism is essential for building our collective future. Strengthening the international architecture and governance systems to protect the global order, global laws, and global values is a shared responsibility,’ she said.
Noting that addressing the growing food grain shortages requires going beyond current constraints, she said India is committed to playing its part in addressing contemporary global challenges, as reflected in its membership in the Champions Group of the Global Crisis Response Group.
India supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General in continuing the Black Sea Grain Initiative and hopes for an early resolution to the present impasse. Recent developments in this matter have not helped in securing the larger cause of peace and stability, Kamboj said.
‘It is necessary for all of us to adequately appreciate the importance of equity, affordability and accessibility when it comes to food grains. We have already seen to our great cost how these principles were disregarded in the case of the Covid-19 vaccines. Open markets must not become an argument to perpetuate inequity and promote discrimination,’ Kamboj said.
Food assistance, she said, alone surely cannot be a long-term sustainable solution to food insecurity and added that peace-building and development is paramount and must include livelihood support, social protection programmes, and community-based approaches including investment in agriculture infrastructure and capacity-building in rural development, especially in conflict areas.
‘This calls for a multi-stakeholder approach,’ the Indian envoy said.
Stating that armed conflicts, terrorism, extreme weather events, crop pests, food price volatility, exclusion, and economic shocks can devastate any fragile economy, leading to food insecurity and an increased threat of famine, Kamboj said therefore, providing capacity-building support to countries facing these challenges in designing, implementing, and monitoring food-related policies and programs is of utmost importance.
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