Critical food systems — and the lives and livelihoods they sustain — are under attack across the world, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres reminded the Security Council on Tuesday. He urged the UN’s most powerful body to end the cycle of conflict and hunger by taking action "when the warning lights are flashing" — from Gaza and Haiti to Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, and beyond.
Tuesday’s high-level open debate centered on the link between armed conflict and conflict-induced food insecurity, first established by the Council in Resolution 2417 (2018). This resolution strongly condemns the use of starvation as a method of warfare against civilians and the denial of humanitarian access. It also allows the Council to sanction individuals or entities that obstruct humanitarian aid delivery.
However, observers note that the Council has failed to act for years. The most prominent example of this failure occurred last year when Israeli forces used mass starvation as a method of warfare against the civilian population in Gaza. Another example unfolded in Sudan where the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces used starvation as a means of war in the Darfur region and other parts of the country.
In his opening remarks, the Secretary-General stated that a staggering 266 million people were facing acute food insecurity in 2025, a year that also witnessed the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II and some of the highest levels of global acute hunger ever recorded.
“2025 also marked the first time this century that two famines were confirmed simultaneously, in Sudan and Gaza: a shameful milestone,” he said.
The UN’s latest Hunger Hotspots report shows that conflict and violence are the primary drivers of hunger in 12 out of 13 of hunger hotspots of greatest concern.
“The link between armed conflict, violence and hunger is undeniable,” the UN Secretary-General stressed.
“We know that rising hunger can fuel displacement, fragility, instability and competition for scarce resources. And the effects are borderless, with conflicts and violence triggering shockwaves of hunger across borders and regions.”
Across the Sahel region, farmers are driven from their fields as conflict disrupts farming, trade, and livelihoods. He pointed to Sudan, where markets have been hit by drone strikes and missiles. In Haiti, gang violence has cut off entire communities. At the same tine, the war in Ukraine is affecting grain and energy exports.
“And humanitarian workers have been denied access to assist people in desperate need — from Gaza to Mali, Myanmar and Sudan. Some have come under direct attack — and even been killed,” Guterres said.
Meanwhile, closures of the Strait of Hormuz following the United States' and Israel's war against Iran have driven up commodity prices, and attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea are threatening supply chains. The Strait carries a fifth of global oil supplies and a third of the global fertilizer trade.
“For import-dependent countries, many struggling with high debt, this directly increases the cost of farming and imperils future harvests,” Guterres warned.
The UN has proposed practical mechanisms to address the global humanitarian needs triggered by the Strait of Hormuz crisis. This time-bound effort would initially focus on fertilizers and raw materials, and could then be expanded to include other products.
"What is needed now is the cooperation and political will of the parties," he said.
Guterres pressed the Council to act immediately when new famine risks or threats to food systems and humanitarian operations emerge. The Council should also renew its support for safeguarding farms, water systems, markets, storage facilities, ports, and supply routes and "make every effort" to ensure accountability.
"The best protection against food insecurity is peace," he said.
“Waiting for Famine to Be Declared Is a Total Failure of Duty”
Carl Skau, the acting executive director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), who also briefed the council, agreed.
“Conflict is the leading driver of hunger around the world. It is not only a consequence of conflict; it is increasingly being used as a weapon,” he said.
After visiting Somalia last week, where families displaced by conflict and drought are facing catastrophic hunger again, he warned that famine is approaching.
In the Somali town of Burhakaba, he met with a family who fled their multigenerational farm when armed groups arrived and demanded taxes.
“They had lost everything, including one child,” he said.
With insurgencies erupting across the country and two consecutive droughts compounding the pressures, Somalis are facing a “perfect storm” at a time when global engagement is at its lowest.
"From Sudan and Gaza to Somalia, Yemen, and beyond, the warning lights are flashing. When families cannot put food on the table, they face impossible choices: starve, move, or rebel. And the cycle repeats itself,” said Skau.
He warned that the global food system is now vulnerable to shocks that spread more quickly and widely — from choke points in the Black Sea and the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz.
“Disruptions to fuel, fertilizer, grain, shipping and humanitarian supply routes mean higher food prices, smaller harvests and fewer meals for children thousands of miles away,” Skau said.
He illustrated this point by saying that an oil tanker anchored in the Strait of Hormuz can mean one less meal a day for a child in Sudan because "all food systems rely on fuel."
Attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial vessels in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait particularly affect food-importing countries like Yemen, while escalating attacks in the Black Sea affect highly import-dependent countries like Somalia, which buys 90 percent of its cereals.
He urged the Council to enact "circuit breakers" — measures to prevent conflict in one region from causing hunger in another — as well as stronger protections for civilians, food systems, and humanitarian personnel. Above all, action is needed to ensure that agricultural seasons are not lost.
"Waiting for famine to be declared is a total failure of duty," Skau said.