Two UN officials on Monday urged World Trade Organization (WTO) member states not to impose restrictions on food exports to avoid the risk of a food crisis hovering over the world following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. .
The open letter was signed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and Rebecca Greenspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
“The war in Ukraine has caused great suffering to the Ukrainian people and has increased the risk of starvation and famine for tens of millions of people on the brink of extinction or already living in food insecurity,” the two officials wrote to WTO ministers.
They also called on ministers to “refrain from imposing restrictions on exports of basic foodstuffs purchased by the least developed and developing countries (…) and those purchased by the World Food Program (WFP) for humanitarian purposes”.
The war in Ukraine has raised concerns about global food security, as the country’s Black Sea ports remain closed, leaving Kyiv, one of the world’s largest grain exporters, unable to export its produce.
At the end of May, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonzo-Iueala also called for no export restrictions.
One country that has taken such measures is India, which announced a ban on sugar exports from June 1, after banning wheat exports.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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