The United States convened on May 18 at the UN in New York City, a by-invitation meeting of some 25 nations, chaired by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on the topic of World Food Security and Conflict. The meeting issued a statement for national signatories, titled, “Chair’s Statement: Roadmap for Global Food Security—Call to Action.” Its seven action points have next to nothing to do with action. The invitees and signatories did not include Russia or China. The signers list is below. In order to get a show of signatures, the opening text of the Chair’s Statement conspicuously soft-pedaled the extreme anti-Russia rhetoric otherwise used by Blinken and colleagues in the meeting itself. The statement refers generically only to the impact of “conflict’ among the causes of hunger, and at one point states that hunger “Is compounded by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is further exacerbating this already dire situation.”
The gist of the seven points of the “Roadmap—Call to Action,” Points 1 to 3, is that “UN Member States with available resources” should 1) give funds for food and other aid, 2) give in-kind commodities and services, and 3) keep food and agriculture markets open and avoid bans on food and fertilizer. The UN Member States with available resources should 4) try to increase fertilizer production, and seek alternative use of “residues;” 5) “support sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems,” small holder farms in particular. All UN Member States are to 6) increase research and application of climate-resilient agriculture innovations; and 7) work with regional and international organizations to “share reliable and timely” data on “global food market developments.”
The 37 signatory nations on May 18: Albania, Australia, Brazil, Canada, DRC, Egypt, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guyana, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mauritania, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE, UK, Ukraine, Yemen, Zambia.
