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Statement on behalf of the Baltic States at the UN Security Council Open Debate: Maintenance of International Peace and Security - Conflict and Food Security on Thursday, 19 May 2022.

Delivered by H.E. Mantas Adomėnas, Deputy Foreign Minister, Republic of Lithuania

Thank you, Mister President,

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the three Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and my own country Lithuania.

Let me start by thanking the United States for organizing this Open Debate and the distinguished briefers for their statements. On behalf of our countries, I would also like to express the gratitude to the United Nations Secretary General for his consistent focus on the destructive consequences of the Russian war against Ukraine, including the threat it poses for global food security.

Dear colleagues,

This unjust and unprovoked war - first and foremost – has caused unimaginable and immeasurable suffering in Ukraine. People of the city of Mariupol have been kept in siege for almost three months. The Russian army turned Mariupol into rubble leaving thousands dead and depriving the city of food, water, electricity and medical assistance.

Starving of civilians and unlawful denial of humanitarian access as methods of warfare are prohibited by international humanitarian law, and have been condemned by resolution 2417, adopted unanimously by this very same Council in 2018. Yet, the Russian Federation, a permanent member of this Council, behaves as if they were above the law.

The Azovstal steel plant became the final holdout and a symbol of resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. We welcome the UN’s life-saving humanitarian action on the ground in Azovstal complex that helped to escort hundreds of civilians who had been taking refuge in the plant to safety.

Mister President,

The effects of Russia’s war are reaching beyond Europe. If Russia does not stop this war, the rise in food insecurity in 2022 and beyond could be catastrophic and with far-reaching consequences.

Russia blames the consequences of the war they themselves started on sanctions. This is a very poor attempt to distract attention and is inherently false. Hunger and conflict are tragically interlinked. Sahel region, East Africa have already reported alarming increases in levels of food insecurity. The Secretary General reported “the worldwide implications of this war being in full view” after his recent travels to West Africa. UNICEF emphasizes the vulnerability of children in the Middle East and North Africa. Not sanctions but Russia’s war on Ukraine is causing these devastating effects.

Russia is systematically targeting all aspects of Ukraine’s agriculture - fields, farm equipment, warehouses, and markets. In addition, the Russian Federation is blocking hundreds of ships filled with wheat in the Black Sea.

We need quick and decisive action to ensure the food supply and minimize the effects of Russia’s war to global food markets. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were among the first to propose to help the Ukrainian government by shipping the wheat to global markets through our ports. The European Union is making the efforts through the so-called “solidarity lanes”.

However, it is impossible to ensure the same volume of exports by other means of transportation as via seaports in the immediate future. We need Russia to unblock Ukrainian ports and restore the freedom of navigation. We need the safe passage for grain-carrying ships to Ukraine’s territorial waters across the Black Sea.

Keeping Ukrainian grain blocked could result in 44 million people worldwide falling into starvation, to quote the World Food Programme. We encourage the Security Council and the relevant UN agencies to consider the ways to prevent this scenario. Furthermore, international community must also consider the possible assistance to Ukraine to resume agricultural production and ensure the harvest for next years.

We call on the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance to closely monitor the situation and provide the consistent reports on the effects of Russia’s war to global food insecurity and concrete recommendations on how to manage them in a coordinated manner.

International system based on international law, including the UN Charter, must not tolerate the deliberate attacks on global agricultural supply chains and global food markets. This is exactly what Russia is doing by intentionally crippling Ukraine’s agricultural sector and blocking exports.

Finally, Mister President, allow me to reiterate, that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia firmly stand for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We stand for accountability. We stand for humanity. We will do everything we can to support Ukraine in its fight to defend the rules-based international order.