United Nations officials Rebeca Grynspan and Michelle Bachelet defended today at the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) an agreement to prevent the war in Ukraine from aggravating the food crisis of millions of people.
In an open letter, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), Rebeca Grynspan, point out that the negotiations taking place this week in Geneva must lead to an agreement that can improve the food shortages faced by millions of people in the poorest countries, particularly in Africa.
Quoted by the Efe agency, the open letter argues that the end of restrictions on food exports to the least developed countries and net importers of the basic basket should be agreed, and they demand financial and technical support so that these countries can take measures of protection. . to prevent a worsening of the food crisis.
The objective, they argue, is “to pave the way for the strengthening of the multilateral agricultural system.”
In the text, they also expect the WTO to guarantee the obligation not to impose restrictions on exports for humanitarian purposes for the World Food Program, something to which 80 countries have committed in 2021 but which has become an urgent issue this year due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which cut grain supplies to several dependent African countries, causing or exacerbating a food crisis.
The war “increased food shortages and the hunger of tens of millions of people,” says the open letter from Grynspan and Bachelet, who recall that African countries are forced to import about 80% of their food and 92% of their cereals to economies of other continents.
Russia and Ukraine account for around 25% of wheat exports and around 15% of barley exports, among other basic products, so the war between the two countries, together with the sanctions and the Russian maritime blockade on the Black Sea, has exacerbated the global food crisis. that started during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that wheat prices have risen by around 56% in one year, vegetable oils have risen by 45% and fertilizers, another product widely exported by these two countries and essential for Africa. countries, increased by 128%.
Source: Observadora
