UNITED STATES MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS
Office of Press and Public Diplomacy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 3, 2023
Presidential Statement from the UN Security Council Puts Conflict-Induced Food Insecurity and Famine at the Center of its Agenda
U.S.-Led Effort Results in First Security Council Product Addressing Food Insecurity in Years
Today, the United Nations Security Council unanimously put conflict, hunger, and famine at the center of its agenda. For the first time in years, the Council has united to address food insecurity and its varied causes.
In line with the joint communiqué drafted by the United States, today’s presidential statement strongly condemns the use of starvation as a method of warfare. Roughly 345 million people – in 79 countries – experience food insecurity, often caused or exacerbated by armed conflict.
“This Council is charged with maintaining international peace and security,” Secretary Blinken said today during the United Nations Security Council High-level Open Debate on Conflict-Induced Global Food Insecurity. “And we simply cannot preserve peace and security without strengthening food security.”
The presidential statement also expands the Council’s engagement on climate change and its impact on peace and security, reaffirms the central role of women in peacebuilding, and underscores the importance of regional and sub-regional organizations in preventing famine.
“The Council has spoken: we must address food insecurity and end famine. Now we must harness this momentum for further action. Around the world, hostilities breed hunger, fighting breeds famine,” said U.S. Representative to the UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “The international community has the power to feed the world and end famine. But to do so, we must root out conflict-induced food insecurity. This is a security issue. It’s an economic issue. And it’s a moral issue.”
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