Black Sea should open, says UK while terming Russia’s gesture of grain exports
Black Sea should open, says UK while terming Russia’s gesture of grain exports of 50,000 tonnes to six countries worst affected by acute food insecurity
London
The UK on Thursday blamed Russia for food insecurity which has affected over 1 billion of people across the world and called for the opening of the Black Sea.
Addressing the UN Security Council meeting, UK’s Permanent Representative Barbara Woodward said the humanitarian crisis has been caused by Russia.
“The Black Sea Grain Initiative got nearly 33 million tons of grain into world markets.
Russia’s decision to end the initiative has raised food prices hitting the world’s hungriest people,” Woodward added.
Woodward termed Russia’s offer to give 50,000 tons of grain to each of the six countries and said the gesture won’t affect grain prices or help starving people.
“This inadequate gesture falls far short of solving the global problem that Russia has created,” she said.
At present, over one billion people are facing acute food insecurity globally as Russia ended BSGI after the start of the war with Ukraine.
The number of people affected by hunger worldwide before the Ukraine war stood at 193 million people.
The situation is much worse in Haiti, DRC, Burkina Faso, Congo and Afghanistan where children have reportedly died due to starvation.
“If they cannot bear to watch their children die, some mothers face a harrowing choice sell their children or starve.
Congolese women in displacement camps are forced into sex work just to buy food,” the UK Representative told the UN Council.
Woodward called for concerted action to tackle the drivers of conflict and invest in inclusive, sustainable peace.
She also called on conflict parties in Sudan and Somalia to abide by international humanitarian law and to allow unimpeded access to people in need.
“International humanitarian law is our greatest defense against hunger in armed conflict, and violators should be held accountable.
Finally, we need to protect global food systems,” she added.
