An agreement between the u. N. , turkey, russia, and ukraine that allowed ukrainian grain and other products to be exported. This is about 3 1 2 hours. [chimes] the 9392nd meeting of the Security Council is called to order. The 9392nd meeting of the Security Council is called to order. The provisional agenda for this meeting is maintenance of International Peace and security, famine, and conflict induced global Food Insecurity. The agenda is adopted. First, i wish to warmly welcome the distinguished ministers and other highlevel representatives. Your presence here today underscores the importance of the subject matter that is under discussion. In accordance with rule 37 of the counsels provisional rules and procedure, i invite the representatives of algeria, argentina, armenia, australia, azerbaijan, bangladesh, belarus, the National State of bolivia, martina fassler, cambodia, to lay, cuba, denmark, egypt, estonia, ethiopia, georgia, germany, guatemala, guyana, haiti, india, indonesia, ireland, israel, latvia, lebanon, liberia, liechtenstein, the kingdom of the netherlands, nigeria, oman, pakistan, philippines, poland, portugal, the republic of korea, romania, saudi arabia, sierra leone, singapore, slovakia, slovenia, south africa, spain, thailand, tunisia, ukraine, the bavarian republic of venezuela,. , and yemen to participate in the meeting. It is so decided. In accordance with rule 39, the council provisional rules and procedure i invite the following briefers to participate in this meeting. Ms. Rena gilani the United Nations famine response coordinator. David milliken the president and chief executive officer of the International Rescue committee. The founder and chief executive officer. It is so decided. In accordance with rule 39, the councils provisional rules and procedure i also invite the following to participate in the meeting. His excellency the European Union delegation to the United Nations and his excellency, the permanent observer for the United Nations. It is so decided. I propose that the counsel invite the permanent observer of the observer state of the holy seed of the United Nations to participate in the meeting in accordance with the provisional rules and procedure on the previous practice in this regard. There being no objection it is so decided. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of item 2 of the agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council Members to document s 2023560. A letter dated 26, july, 2023, from the permanent representative of the United States of america to the United Nations addressed to the president of the Security Council transmitting a concept paper under consideration. The council has before it the text of a statement by the president on behalf of the council on the subject of todays meeting. I think the Council Members for their valuable contributions. In accordance with the understanding region and members of the council i shall take it that members of the Security Council agreed to the statement which will be issued as a document by the Security Council under the symbol i now give the floor to renas gilani. Over to you. Thank you, mr. President. Thank you for the opportunity to take part in this briefing today. Mr. President , this counsel is more than aware of multiple challenges and threats the world is facing today, with the threat of famine people starting out slowly to death must be a redline. Yet the number of people suffering from acute Food Insecurity reached a quarter of 1 billion last year. This is the highest recorded in recent years. These people, some 376,000, or facing famine like conditions in seven countries. Another 35 Million People were on the edge. As in all crisis situations, women and children are the most impacted. This situation has not come as a surprise. Its a manmade crisis that has been swelling for years. We are now at the tipping point. Mr. President , hunger and conflict feed off each other. Conflict and insecurity remain key drivers of famine. Every one of the countries were affected by Armed Conflict or extreme levels of violence. Five of those seven countries afghanistan, haiti, somalia, sudan, and yemen are regularly on the council agenda. This leaves many extremely vulnerable and hungry. Sometimes these impacts are byproducts of war. All too often they are to flip did inflicted deliberately and unlawfully with hunger utilized as a tactic of war. Conflict does not spare those providing assistance to stave off famine. Dozens of humanitarian workers were killed and many more were kidnapped or injured in situations of conflict. Facilities and supplies also often come under attack or used for military purposes. The difficulties the United Nations and their partners are facing in sudan is a stark reminder. Our deepest condolences to the families of the 11 humanitarian workers killed in sudan in recent weeks. Food insecurity also fuels instability. For example, recent research highlighted by the World Health Program has shown how Food Insecurity coupled with desperation often fueled by poverty and inequality and governance issues cause people to choose violence over peace. It is the straw that breaks the camels back often resulting in conflict. Mr. President , excellencies, conflict induced hunger is compounded by a toxic mix of Climate Change and economic shocks. Change is increasingly becoming a threat multiplier. As the stress on water and other Natural Resources leads to increased competition and displacement, conflict and hunger spread. Of the 10 countries most vulnerable, seven are affected by conflict. Six are on a peacekeeping mission and four have more than 1 Million People one step away from famine at the same time, it hinders Climate Adaptation efforts leaving already vulnerable communities even poorer, hungrier, and less resilient. Mr. President and excellencies, the challenge may appear overwhelming, but progress has been and is again possible. So what can we do . First and foremost we must redouble efforts to prevent, reduce, and end conflict in all its forms. There needs to be a renewed commitment to peace through a reinvigorated system where we work handinhand. With peace it may still take time. Five things are critical. One, ensuring parties respect the humanitarian law including protecting objects necessary for survival such as food stocks, Water Systems and other objects necessary for food distribution. It also includes facilitating unimpeded humanitarian access to civilians and protecting staff. States must spare no effort in exerting their influence to ensure parties respect the rules of war. Two, making better use of existing Early Warning mechanisms such as the resolution in a focused and effective manner. Too often we have sounded the warning alarm without effective followup and concentrated action. Three, being bold and creative in finding ways to mitigate the impact of war on the most vulnerable. Such solutions are possible. We have seen agreements between parties to conflicts and resolutions in this counsel agreed to for the send. They require political courage and compromise. Four, women and girls must be at the center of our efforts. Crisis and hunger affect them disproportionately and they also hold the key to lasting solutions. Research has shown that involving local women increases the probability that violence will end by 24 . Five, we also need to acknowledge that a pathway, fragmented response to interconnected risks will not cut it. We need Adequate Funding on which the lives of millions depend. For lasting peace we must address the climate and economic crisis. The secretarygeneral has prioritized the threat of famine and hunger among other initiatives in 2021. He created a Highlevel Task force on famine prevention to lead and organize a cohesive systemwide response. Together we are in the process of reorienting to provide dedicated support to countries. We really need your support and we count on it to make this an effective form. Mr. President , in this role i visited communities teetering on the brink of famine. I have sat with mothers and too many nutrition warts. As these children fought for their lives they were too weak to cry or even make a sound. That eerie silence is deafening. It never leaves you. That silence is also a call for action. As Martin Luther king said in his Nobel Peace Prize lecture, famine is wholly unnecessary in the modern world. There is no deficit in human resources. The deficit is human will. I think you for the briefing. I give the floor now to mr. David millman. Thank you, mr. President and they give to the team for your leadership on this issue. It is a true honor to speak today on behalf of the 40,000 International Rescue community employees and volunteers working in 40 countries around the world. Our mission is to find by conflict and its consequences. This debate means a lot to us. Every day our staff live about a simple mantra focus on solutions, not suffering. My briefing today takes the form of a plea to the council to focus on the solutions and not the suffering. Five years ago the council recognized the need to break the link of Armed Conflict and Food Insecurity. Five years later, however, there is more Armed Conflict. More famine, more malnutrition and more Food Insecurity. Food insecurity the euphemism that is used for hunger and starvation. Today the call is for action to help the people facing famine like conditions at the end of last year. The 35 million on the brink. We have more than enough analysis. There is consensus that conflict is the primary driver of Food Insecurity today exacerbated by the climate crisis. There is consensus also on the line of causation. Planting is disrupted, prices are driven up. Food storage is targeted. We also know the countries. Every single assessment has the same list. Somalia, afghanistan, yemen, nigeria, south sudan, sudan, mali and haiti. It is not in dispute. Analysis is too often followed by paralysis. We need new muscle in the international system, not the muscle of debating strategies and plans, but the muscle of taking action. Today at present to the council five current problems matched by five immediate solutions. Problem one, my colleagues on the panel will rightly draw attention to the impact of last years funding increases on raising the number of children with acute malnutrition being treated. The year on year statistics show that 80 of the worlds acute hunger children are not getting any treatment at all. I repeat. 80 of acutely malnourished children have been getting no help. The reason is the divided approaches between moderate and severe malnutrition. Different treatments, different agencies, different products, complicated measuring systems illsuited to conditions of conflict. The solution, however is staring us in the face. A simplified system in the hands of parents and Community Health workers who use a simple upper arm circumference to diagnose acute malnutrition and administer one or two doses of ready to use therapeutic food per day depending on whether the case is severe or not. Our own impacted evaluation shows that this approach is not appropriate. We tested it on 27,000 children and showed a 92 success rate of the treatment with the cost saving of 30 . So more children can be reached for the same amount of money. This approach should be made the default form of provision and humanitarian settings with delivery and funding to match what can be done now. Problem two, there is proliferation of different mobile initiatives on famine and Food Insecurity. The solution is an empowered body to galvanize collective action and drive change. Fortunately we do now have the Highlevel Task force for preventing famine, chaired by ms. Ghelani, given new focus and a new mandate. Frankly she needs support. Support from National Action plans and the countries most at risk. Support from authorities in developing those. Support for engagement of regional and Global Financial institutions and funding and financing the plants. Support and diplomacy to unlock barriers on the ground and scale up her response and support returning delivery plans into action, starting at the september meetings in the city. Problem three, the United NationsDevelopment Program reports that the more fragile the context, in other words the more amount of conflict, the less money is spent on Climate Adaptation. Our clients represent a disproportionate amount of risk. They are highly vulnerable and lack resilience. The solution is a humanitarian face, addressing the finance gap and the delivery gap. The finance gap arises because adaptation is underfunded. It is only 8 of all climate finance. Adaptation is geared toward richard countries. Richer countries. We argue that donors need to increase the ratio of grants to concessional funding for these fragile states. For example, the World Bank InternationalDevelopment Assistance funds as was recommended just two weeks ago. However, there is a delivery gap. The money will not be spent in these states unless the delivery gap is addressed. That means making it the norm, not the exception for funding to be directed through society and not just three governments. This will be real localization. Problem for the rise of impunity and conflict. This is all illegal as well as immoral. The solution is that perpetrators need to be held to account. We do not need new resolutions, but we need a resolution to uphold the existing ones. The next time the council is presented evidence of hunger used as a weapon of war it must trigger action. Also, all Nine Countries at risk of famine ranked to their high, very high, or extreme in levels of humanitarian access constraints. That is another euphemism for stopping humanitarian aid workers reaching people in need. We propose an independent office for the protection of humanitarian access which would ensure that when aid is denied the information is reported without fear or favor to the council, supporting efforts to drive accountability and diplomacy. I know that an ngo usually starts for asking with more money. I will and with that instead of starting. The World Food Program is cutting its lifesaving Food Assistance programs today, sometimes by as much as half because it does not have enough money to do its job. The solution to this is not complicated. Humanitarian response plans and the Nine Countries were on average only 58 funded in 2022. Of these countries had response plans funded to the same proportion as ukraines last year, there would be another 5 billion in the system to address the most acute needs just of those Nine Countries. We need to address the threat of famine by looking through the windshield, not through the rearview mirror. Once a famine is declared it is too late for too many. We know from the 2011 famine in somalia that half the people that died, died before the famine declaration was made. It is too late to wait for a famine declaration. The crisis phase is triggered when one in five families are so desperate to find the next meal that they are considering marrying up their children or sending them out to work. This reaction depends on cash being available. Today it is not. I want to end, mr. President , by quoting a Nobel Laureate whose landmark work on famine 50 years ago starts with these words. Starvation is the characteristic of not having enough food to eat. Its not the characteristic of their be not being enough food to eat. In other words it is a political problem. 50 years later, however, the world is four times richer but there is more famine, not less. That is not fate. It is choice. Its a choice that will only be changed by action. We and Civil Societies need the will to enable action to happen. Thank you very much. Thank you for the briefing. Give the floor. Thank you, mr. President. And to your excellencies. The day that i first met a two yearold as my newborn daughter, it changed me forever. I have been facetoface with a mother and a starting starving child and i know we dont have time to spare. I feel the urgency and see the fear in her eyes. I have seen children take their last breaths. I have watched their hearts stop beating. When i enter a malnutrition clinic, the first thing i hear is the deafening silence. The children do not have the strength to sit up or cry. All their energy is conserved to keep their organs from shutting down. Their mothers sit anxiously by wishing for a miracle. We have that miracle. Today i represent the private sector as a founder and ceo. We make the food that saves lives. This is a ready to use therapeu