Statement by Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations Samuel Žbogar at the UNSC meeting on the threats to international peace and security, open debate titled Conflict-related food insecurity: Framing the global dialogue: addressing food insecurity as a driver of conflict 

Thank you, Mr. President.

We would like to thank Sierra Leone for organizing this open debate today.

And we thank you, President Maada Bio, for chairing the meeting and thus for elevating the importance of conflict-induced hunger for global peace and security.  We thank all briefers for their insights.

Colleagues,

Serving as the Informal Co-focal Point on Conflict and Hunger with Guyana, we feel we encountered acute food insecurity too many times during our tenure.    

For the first time ever, we face two famines unfolding simultaneously: in Gaza and in Sudan.

And these are not the only crises demanding our urgent response. Attention to the looming hunger is critically needed in Yemen, South Sudan, Eastern DRC, Mali, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, and beyond.

The interplay of climate and conflict continues unleashing the perfect storm on the already vulnerable populations.

My first message today is on the need to globally enhance the respect of international humanitarian and human rights law. The clearest tool we have to prevent conflict-driven hunger.

Armed conflict does not inevitably produce famine; disrespect for international humanitarian law and this Council’s resolutions does.

Through siege tactics, destruction of agricultural systems, obstruction of aid, or attacks on markets, water systems and transport routes, the result is predictable: starvation, disease, displacement and the collapse of people’s ability to feed themselves.

When starvation as a weapon of war continues with impunity in one conflict, erosion of respect for international humanitarian law is inevitable in all the others.

As a consequence, we are confronted with the largest numbers of starving civilians in conflicts.

My second message is on the role of this Council and the tools at its disposal.

Over the past year, through numerous informal briefings convened by Slovenia and Guyana with partners, one lesson has stood out clearly: knowledge shapes this Council’s action.

And through multiple extraordinary Council meetings requested by our delegations, we have seen that action, even the smallest of steps, saves lives: a newly opened crossing point, a temporary ceasefire that enables delivery, a humanitarian corridor negotiated in time.

This Council should systematically benefit from regular reporting and early-warning data.

The United Nations and its partners, especially the Global Network Against Food Crises, must continue to use this chamber to sound the alarm.

The IPC reports must remain a trusted and protected source for this Council.

To quote a compelling argument from our partners at the Global Coalition for Action against Hunger in Conflict, and I quote:

“If we can document it, we can predict it. If we can predict it, we can prevent it,” end of quote.

My final message is that famine does not end when the world’s attention shifts elsewhere.

Even when the headlines fade, children who were suffering from stunting or wasting remain marked physically and psychologically for life.

Women who experienced conflict related sexual and gender-based violence and mothers who could not feed their babies carry trauma for life. Girls and boys caught in crossfire bear scars for life.

Those already at heightened risk – children, women, persons with disabilities, older persons, displaced, those facing movement restrictions, those under occupation – are disproportionately affected.

This is why prevention matters. This is why compliance with international law matters. This is why accountability matters. And this is why the action of this Council matters.

Thank you.

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