(By Ernesto Cooke) – Hon. Saboto Caesar today delivered a statement to the UN Security Council’s open debate on Food Security.
In his presentation, St. Vincent and the Grenadines called for a global ceasefire in order to reduce conflict-induced hunger.
SVG underscored the need for inclusive multilateral solutions to advance the Sustainable Development Agenda, and to attain the goal of ending hunger by 2030.
The multilateral strategy advanced was premised on the following:
1. All parties to the conflict, and those with influence over them, should heed our collective call for a global ceasefire.
2. Global action must be accelerated to keep temperature rise below 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Emissions must be reduced, and financial commitments towards adaptation measures must be upheld.
3. Major donors, including the international financial institutions, should scale up the assistance offered to developing and conflict-affected countries, including by expanding debt relief and concessional funding, and ensuring that humanitarian agencies are sufficiently resourced to full-execute their life-saving response plans.
“For vulnerable and conflict-affected communities including refugees, internally displaced persons, and those made stateless as a result of political, socioeconomic and environmental forces beyond their control; addressing hunger is more than a moral imperative. It is an existential concern,” the Minister of Agriculture noted.
The Minister recognised the significant efforts of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); Oxfam and the World Food Programme (WFP) in fighting global hunger.
