UN official warns Strait of Hormuz dispute is disrupting global food supply

[0:00] To help us understand the global stakes of the impasse at the Strait of Hormuz, [0:04] especially its impact on the deepening humanitarian crises, [0:07] we're joined now by George Moreira de Silva, [0:10] Executive Director of the UN's Operational Arm [0:13] and Head of the UN Task Force on the Strait. [0:16] Thanks for being here. [0:17] Thank you, Jeff. [0:18] So, as I mentioned, you are leading this UN task force [0:21] during what is this volatile moment in the Strait of Hormuz. [0:24] Where are you most concerned about the ripple effects right now? [0:27] We are mostly concerned about the consequences of the disruption on fertilizers. [0:35] I know that everyone is talking about energy, oil and gas, [0:39] but the fact that there is so much dependence from so many countries, [0:43] particularly in Africa and in South Asia, [0:47] from fertilizers from the Gulf will very likely trigger a massive food security crisis [0:53] with devastating consequences on the poor. [0:56] That's why we can't delay, we must find a solution to unblock the Strait. [1:03] Of course, freedom of navigation is critical. [1:06] We must have everything going through the Strait. [1:08] But until we get this freedom of navigation, [1:11] we can't miss the planting season. [1:13] Planting season is from now until May. [1:16] If we miss the planting season, the farmers, particularly in Africa, [1:19] won't have productivity. [1:20] The prices will go up and hunger and starvation will be spread around the world. [1:24] When you say we have to find a solution, [1:27] the UN, as I understand it, is trying to create a mechanism [1:29] for what you call safe, predictable transit through the Strait. [1:32] What does that actually look like right now in practice? [1:35] In language that is less technocratic, in practical terms, [1:39] we need to build confidence and trust [1:41] to ensure that we can de-conflict so that the vessels can cross the Strait with no risk. [1:49] We must monitor and verify to ensure that the cargo that is loaded is fertilizers and related raw materials. [1:56] And we need to track the vessels and report. [1:59] This is not rocket science. [2:01] We have done this in Yemen. [2:03] We have done this in Gaza. [2:04] We have done this on the Black Sea Grain Initiative. [2:06] It's something that my team is already ready to put on the ground. [2:10] What are we missing? [2:11] We are missing a political deal. [2:14] If access remains constrained, [2:16] how do you prioritize which countries, [2:18] which regions get the fertilizer and get the raw materials? [2:21] A week ago, the main concern was Sudan, [2:26] Somalia, Mozambique, Kenya, Sri Lanka, [2:29] countries that were most dependent from fertilizers from the Gulf. [2:32] Now we know more. [2:34] We know that the entire fertilizer market is disrupted, [2:38] that even the producers of fertilizers in South Africa, [2:41] in Morocco, in China, in Turkey, [2:43] are being affected because they don't have the raw materials. [2:46] If you don't get the fertilizers, the productivity goes down. [2:49] You don't have the ability to put the agriculture functioning properly [2:56] and we have massive devastation on hunger and salvation. [2:59] If we don't get a solution quickly, [3:02] we'll have 45 million people more forced into food insecurity. [3:08] It sounds like we're already at the point [3:10] at which aid groups cannot compensate now for this disruption. [3:14] We have seen this movie, this script, [3:18] a crisis that starts locally, [3:21] it becomes regional, and then it's global. [3:23] I have my team ready. [3:25] Look, I have identified already the monitors to put on the ground. [3:27] I have already developed with my team the digital platform [3:31] to approval of the vessels. [3:32] I can in seven days, my team can in seven days put everything functioning. [3:37] We just need a political will. [3:40] From the humanitarian crisis in Gaza [3:42] to this crisis now we're talking about connected to the Strait of Hormuz, [3:46] is the international community moving with enough urgency? [3:48] We are living in the worst conditions ever since the World War II in terms of conflict. [3:56] One quarter of the people in the world live under conflict. [4:01] When was the last time that we spoke about Afghanistan, [4:03] or Myanmar, or Somalia, or Sudan, or Mali, or Haiti, or Ukraine? [4:08] So it's important that we don't jump from one crisis to the other, [4:12] forgetting the others that were already happening and didn't disappear. [4:16] So this is a moment where solidarity must be boosted. [4:20] It's one planet, one society, and we are all on this together. [4:25] If we don't find collective solutions, we will all be significantly affected. [4:31] When you say you have a team ready to move right now, [4:34] what really can the UN do absent a deal between the US and Iran and Israel? [4:39] We will be condemned to deal with the consequences. [4:45] If you don't let the UN act now, [4:48] if you don't let the UN bring the monitors to the Strait of Hormuz [4:52] to monitor, verify, to de-conflict the cargo, the fertilizers, [4:58] you will need the UN later to bring the food for the people that are facing starvation and hunger. [5:05] You will need the UN later to bring the sheltering and the housing and humanitarian need [5:11] for the people that was put on poverty because of this impasse. [5:14] So we really need to find a solution now. [5:16] It's much cheaper, it's better, and it's from a human rights point of view, the right thing to do. [5:22] George Moreira de Silva, thank you for being with us. [5:25] Thank you, Jeff. 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