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STORY: UN / CONFLICT AND HUNGER
TRT: 03:13
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 23 MARCH 2018, NEW YORK CITY
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
23 MARCH 2018, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Andrew Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations:
“Hunger is the clear corollary to the vicious cycle of displacement and conflict. The behaviour of combatants in these contexts is often atrocious. Humanitarian access - both by agencies to reach people and for people to reach aid - is difficult or denied. In some cases, starvation is used as a method of warfare. Warring parties continue to damage or destroy water systems, farms, livestock, markets. Food- sellers and traders face looting and exorbitant costs to get food to their clients.”
4. Med shot, Kaag looking at screen
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Andrew Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations:
“There are no humanitarian solutions to conflict and we all know that peace and political solutions will disrupt the vicious cycle of conflict and hunger. This Council's main responsibility is peace and international security. In other words, you can help prevent famine ever occurring again.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP):
“You see ISIS and terrorist groups, they want to use food as a weapon of recruitment, a weapon of war, as Mark was saying, a weapon of destruction. We think the Security Council, the United Nations, and our donors around the world, our Member States, should use food as a weapon of reconstruction, a weapon of peace, a weapon of bringing people together.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP):
“This Security Council, I believe, has a chance to do more to impact the world than any other time period in our history because we are facing the worst humanitarian crisis since the history of the United Nations. And I believe the men and women in this room from the various nations that may have differences on some issues, but we shouldn’t have differences on all issues. Let us work together to end conflict. Let us work together to make certain that we have the access we need to provide the humanitarian and development support. Until we do that, we will never solve world hunger; because hunger is directly related to conflict, conflict is directly related to hunger.”
10. Med shot, ambassadors
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, The Netherlands:
“The fact that this is happening in the 21st century, in an age of unparalleled progress, technological possibilities and wealth, is shameful. If people are the main cause of famine and food insecurity in conflict situations, then surely people are able to solve this issue. This means the end of famine depends on political will.”
12. Med shot, ambassadors
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, The Netherlands:
“Hunger is the most avoidable of disasters. Starvation is the most heinous method of warfare. It is upon us to ensure that starving civilians will become a crime of the past, a practice both forbidden and punishable.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said the Security Council could “help prevent famine ever occurring again” adding that hunger was the “clear corollary to the vicious cycle of displacement and conflict.”
Speaking via teleconference from Dublin today, Lowcock said it was possible to eradicate famine from the human condition within our lifetime. He noted that the remaining risk of famine and hunger was now concentrated in a relatively small number of countries affected by large-scale, severe and protracted conflict. He stressed that the behaviour of combatants in these contexts is “often atrocious” as humanitarian access is difficult or denied and starvation “used as a method of warfare” in some cases.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator said the Security Council had the means to investigate violations of international humanitarian law adding that there were “no humanitarian solutions to conflict.” He emphasized that only peace and political solutions “will disrupt the vicious cycle of conflict and hunger.”
Speaking from Biel, Switzerland via teleconference, World Food Programme (WFP) chief David Beasley said the number of people who are acutely hungry in the world has increased by 55 percent in just the last two years, to reach 124 million. He said people living in conflict situation are facing tough choices when they cannot ensure where their children’s next meal was coming from. He stressed that terrorist groups, want to use food “as a weapon of recruitment, a weapon of war” and called on the international community to use food “as a weapon of reconstruction, a weapon of peace, a weapon of bringing people together.”
Beasley noted that each one percent rise in the rate of hunger was matched by a two percent increase in migration. He added that the price of programmes to tackle the root causes of hunger was far cheaper that the cost of the current conflict cycle adding that WFP could save one billion USD a year if all armed groups respected international humanitarian law. He also stressed that ending wars was not enough and called on the international community to help people in war-torn areas rebuild their communities in the long term.
The WFP head said the Security Council, “has a chance to do more to impact the world than any other time period in our history because we are facing the worst humanitarian crisis since the history of the United Nations.” He called on Council members to work together to end conflict and ensure the delivery of humanitarian and development support, otherwise “we will never solve world hunger; because hunger is directly related to conflict, conflict is directly related to hunger.”
Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag said the main cause of hunger was man-made conflict. She said the unthinkable was happening as hunger was once again on the rise adding that conflict and hunger do not respect national borders. Kaag said the fact that this is happening in the 21st century, “in an age of unparalleled progress, technological possibilities and wealth, is shameful.” She stressed that if people are the main cause of famine and food insecurity in conflict situations, “then surely people are able to solve this issue; this means the end of famine depends on political will.”
The Dutch Minister said hunger is the most avoidable of disasters and starvation “is the most heinous method of warfare.” She said it was upon the Security Council “to ensure that starving civilians will become a crime of the past, a practice both forbidden and punishable.”
