Statement by Ms. Jasminka Dinic, Minister Counsellor of the Republic of Croatia to the United Nations, in the Plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly on Global Food and Energy Crises.
Mr. President,
Let me thank you for organizing this meeting on the issue of food security. We believe that the General Assembly is the proper forum to address this very important issue following the FAO Global Food Safety Summit in Rome in early June 2008 and the special meeting of ECOSOC held in May this year.
I am sure that we are all aware of the seriousness of the crises that the world is facing and the imperative to act immediately. Croatia appreciates the initiative of the Secretary General on setting up a High-level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis and also welcomes its report on a Comprehensive Framework for Action. Indeed, the UN system together with the Bretton-Woods institutions has an important role to play in this regard. Close partnership with the private sector, civil society and NGOs in needed as well.
Increasing investments in agriculture, including support for agricultural research, is the basis for dealing with the food security issue in the long-term. The current world food crisis provides an opportunity to work towards boosting agricultural production in developing countries, in particular in Africa, where smallholder farmers urgently need development assistance. Nevertheless, it is necessary to take some urgent measures to provide access to food for the poor, particularly for the most vulnerable. We commend those countries that have responded swiftly to meet the funding gaps for emergency food assistance operations. We particularly appreciate that food security and the fight against poverty was high on the G-8 summit agenda. Our common challenge is to increase food production and to manage the impact of rising food prices on macroeconomic policy.
Mr. President,
The world will be facing another security crisis if it fails to react adequately and provide affordable food for those in need. The hunger that some parts of the world are facing is absolutely unnecessary; it is degrading and deeply unjust. It is a fact that still more than 9 million children in the world die every year before the age of five, mostly because of malnutrition and preventable diseases. This situation continues despite all the efforts of the UN system and the international community, in particular UNICEF, to alleviate the suffering of and assisting vulnerable groups, especially mothers and children.
Notwithstanding these efforts, we believe it is inadmissible that a solution to this problem remains elusive. One needs to bear in mind that with the current food crisis there is a great risk of a further 100 million people being pushed back below the one dollar a day poverty line unless we act now. Moreover, this crisis also threatens to undermine progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, setting many countries back from the gains of the past few years.
The collective and concerted efforts of the international community, individually and globally, are still of utmost importance. The President of the Republic of Croatia rightly pointed out at the Rome summit last month: “We must admit responsibility and we must accept it”.
Mr. President,
Croatia accepts that there are several complex structural causes, some of them interconnected, for the global escalation in food prices, such as rising energy costs, climate change and turbulence in financial markets. Increased usage of renewable energy sources and alternative fuels could be a part of the solution to the energy crisis and can help towards aiding efforts in mitigating the impact of climate change. The most important challenge is to maintain a balance of different sources of energy production supporting sustainable development.
It is also true that today's crisis did not come overnight; it is partly a consequence of inadequate sustainable development, and the lack of universal access to international trade and international financial institutions. In this regard Croatia would support an early conclusion of the WTO Doha Round which provides significant new market opportunities for developing countries.
For its part Croatia is ready to work actively with other member states and to engage constructively in the implementation of a comprehensive strategy and action plan to address the current food security crisis.
Thank you, Mr. President.
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