By Prof. Bharat H. Desai
The use of food as a weapon to starve people presents a global challenge. Such aggressive methods of warfare have been prohibited under the four 1949 Geneva Conventions as well as the 1977 Additional Protocols thereto.
On 22 July 2022, in an unprecedented thaw, the Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed in Istanbul (Turkey) by the Russian and Ukrainian ministers in the presence of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The grain initiative, brokered by the UN Secretary-General with the assistance of Türkiye, shows that if negotiations (Article 33, Chapter VI, UN Charter) are given a chance, any contentious global issue including an armed conflict, can be resolved. The invisible seeds for this were sown by the UNSG’s April 2022 visit to Russia and Ukraine, who has been “working every day since". It underscores unique role of the good offices of the UNSG for the peaceful settlement of international disputes among the UN member states. It also provides a pathway for finding an amicable compromise on the Russia-Ukraine standoff arising from the “special military operation” in Ukraine. The Russian action, “in accordance with Article 51 (chapter VII) of the Charter”, has now completed full five months (February 24 - July 24).
The UNSG has aptly described the Black Sea agreement as the “agreement for the world” since it paves the way for food exports from the three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea – Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny. The agreement offers prospects for a new window of peace monitored through the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul that would comprise representatives of Ukraine, Russia and Türkiye.
The Black Sea agreement as expected to immediately ease the global food prices and help in reducing global hunger. The shipments of food and fertilizers reaching the markets will control spiraling food prices and stave off global famine affecting millions of people. “Today, there is a beacon on the Black Sea…a beacon of hope, a beacon of possibility – a beacon of relief - in a world that needs it more than ever”, the UN secretary-general optimistically said.
There has been unprecedented rise in food and fuel prices, as well as supply chain issues as the mountains of grain stocks remained stuck in silos. It shows the enormous cost of allowing the conflict to rage on, supplying arms to Ukraine as well as using the sanctions stick to beat and isolate Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council. As the rival egos held the centerstage and crippling sanctions and geopolitics took priority in place of peace, the world has paid a heavy price for allowing the conflict to rage on. For the last four centuries, Russia has remained central for the European peace and stability. “Failure to restart negotiations with Russia and the further alienation of the Kremlin would have dire long-term consequences for stability in Europe”, Henry Kissinger (99), former US secretary of state, warned in his 23 May 2022 iconoclastic video address to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Russia, a Eurasian nuclear and space power, has a 20% share (2020) in the global wheat exports. Ukraine also accounts for 8% of the wheat supply. It annually supplies 45 million tons of wheat and some 20 million tons are already stuck in Ukrainian warehouses and containers. It is no less significant that some 50 countries around the world import 30 % of their wheat requirements from Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine also exports 16% corn (fourth largest) and grows 46% of sunflower-seed and sunflower oil (world’s largest).
World Hunger
In was no coincidence that early on 06 July 2022 report on the state of world hunger and nutrition was released at an online event. It has been a multi-agency laborious task coordinated by five UN agencies: Food and Agriculture Organization, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UN Children Emergency Relief Fund (UNICEF), World Food Program (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO). Similarly, the UN Security Council (UNSC) held an unprecedented ministerial level open debate on 19 May 2022 on conflict and food security. It took place amidst reports that conflicts have been the primary driver of hunger for 139 million people in 24 countries and territories. It grew from 99 million in 2020. The situation is expected to worsen in 2022 due the conflict in Ukraine. “A sharp increase in global food insecurity threatens to destabilize fragile societies and exacerbate armed conflicts and regional instability”, the concept notes by the US Presidency of the UNSC (May 2022) stated.
On April 12, 2021, the UNSG reported to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Implementation of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016–2025). The report, highlighted the underlying drivers of all forms of malnutrition. It called upon the states to act with urgency for elimination of “all forms of malnutrition and achieving the SDGs by 2030”. In the 2021 report the five UN agencies graphically noted that in 2020 “between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger” and nearly “2.37 billion people did not have access to adequate food”.
The Food Challenge
The large part of the problematique on hunger, inadequacy of food and nutrition has been contributed by various kinds of armed conflicts that rage across the world. They place a large part of the 7.9 billion (2022) global population to live in misery. According to FAO, vicious cycle of hunger is largely fueled by extreme climatic events, economic slowdowns and the Covid-19 pandemic. With the world population expected to reach the staggering figure of 10 billion in 2050, it presents a monumental challenge to sustainably feed the growing population on Earth. The 2021 Global Hunger Index forecast shows 47 countries with alarming levels of hunger and 47 others will fail to reach ‘zero hunger’ by 2030.
The use of food as a weapon to starve people presents a global challenge. Such aggressive methods of warfare have been prohibited under the four 1949 Geneva Conventions as well as the 1977 Additional Protocols thereto. Still, there is a beacon of hope amidst conflicts, arrogance of power, rival games played on the global geopolitical chessboard and the resultant human misery. “These destructive forces are not invincible”, the ICRC President, Peter Maurer, shared his optimism in conversation with this author. Hence, we need to stamp out the use of food as a weapon of war in the 21st century world. It presents a global ideational challenge to connoisseurs of International Law and International Relations.
Originally published: The Tribune, July 28, 2022.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/black-sea-deal-to-ease-global-food-challenge-416250
Posted in SIS Blog with the authorization of the author.
Professor Dr. Bharat H. Desai is Jawaharlal Nehru Chair and Professor of International Law at the Centre for International Legal Studies of SIS, JNU. He coordinated the Making SIS Visible initiative (2008-2013) as well as Inter-University Consortium: JNU; Jammu; Kashmir; Sikkim (2012-2020) and is the Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Policy and Law (IOS Press: Amsterdam).