Madam President,

thank you for your leadership in convening this crucial debate.

Germany endorses the statements of the European Union and the Group of Friends on Action on Conflict and Hunger. We also thank the Secretary-General, acting WFP Executive Director Skau, and the representative of civil society for their statements.

The situation is dire: In 2025, 266 million people suffered from acute food insecurity. Millions more are at risk due to ongoing conflicts.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues to disrupt global grain supplies. Targeted attacks on civilian cargo ships, port terminals, and grain silos in Ukraine have virtually brought grain exports to a standstill. Despite this, Russia has recently rejected a Ukrainian proposal to halt attacks on Black Sea shipping.

In Sudan, millions are threatened by the obstruction of humanitarian aid by the conflict parties and repeated attacks on humanitarian workers and infrastructure.

Furthermore, we remain deeply concerned about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

We call once again for immediate and unimpeded access and the sustained distribution of large-scale humanitarian aid.

In light of these challenges, I wish to highlight three points:

First: Security Council Resolution 2417 obliges all parties to armed conflict to comply with international humanitarian law. Civilian infrastructure must be protected; this is critical for the delivery of aid and the functioning of food systems.

Second: Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law and is inseparable from food security. Global food security must not be held hostage by military action.

Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has negatively impacted the global economy and poses a serious threat to food security. We urge Iran to immediately and unconditionally reopen the Strait and ensure free, safe, and toll-free passage for all vessels, in accordance UN Security Council Resolution 2817.

Germany welcomes the joint UN efforts to establish a technical solution for a fertilizer export mechanism and calls upon all relevant actors to support this pragmatic first step for immediate relief.

Third: Structural vulnerabilities demand structural answers.

Today, low-income, import-dependent countries are paying the highest price. We must all better integrate prevention, preparedness, resilience, and timely response much better.

In this vein, and with the goal to support transition to a system that better aligns stakeholders, priorities, and financing and strengthens anticipatory action, Germany is taking action and working with partners – and offers to work together.

• Beyond providing nearly 300 million USD for immediate global food needs, we are allocating 35 million USD to boost local fertilizer production.

• Through our Hydrogen Diplomacy Programme we are promoting green fertilizer for a carbon-free agricultural sector, which we will highlight at the African Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town in September.

• We are scaling up development cooperation to support smallholder producers and climate-adapted production to reduce import dependencies.

• To champion international efforts, we have designated “Resilient Food Systems” as main subject of the international Conference of Agriculture Ministers at the 19th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in January 2027 in Berlin.

• Finally, and more immediately, Germany will host a high-level side event during the upcoming High-Level Week titled “United Against Hunger: Realigning Global Action for Food Crises in Times of Disruption”.

Madam President, colleagues.

Ensuring food security—especially in conflict situations—and the resilience of the global food system are global security priorities. They must therefore become a top priority for the Security Council, and I am grateful for the debate today.

I thank you.