Vietnam calls for comprehensive approach and enhanced international cooperation to address food insecurity due to conflict
WVR - On August 25-26, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the United Nations Security Council held a high-level open debate under the theme “Food Under Fire: The Security Council's Role in Mitigating Global and Local Food Crises”.[1]
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| Minister Counsellor Nguyen Hai Luu, Deputy Head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations, speaks. (Source: Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations) |
The discussion was chaired by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (President of the Security Council for August 2026).
Attending and speaking at the session were United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) Carl Skau, Executive Director of Action Against Hunger Perrine Benoist, along with senior representatives from over 80 UN member states, regional and international organizations.
Minister Counsellor Nguyen Hai Luu, Deputy Head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations, attended and spoke.
At the session, the UN Secretary-General warned that essential food systems and people's livelihoods are under severe threat in many parts of the world, from Gaza, Haiti to Myanmar, Sudan, and Ukraine; emphasizing that peace is the best protection against food insecurity, and urging the Security Council to act early to break the vicious cycle between conflict and hunger, fully implementing Resolution 2417 (2018)[2] which condemns the use of hunger as a method of warfare and the obstruction of humanitarian access.
Representatives from countries and international organizations shared deep concerns and emphasized the necessity to prevent conflict, protect civilians, and ensure safe, unhindered humanitarian access.
In his speech, Diplomatic Minister Nguyen Hai Luu highlighted the increasingly clear link between conflict and hunger, noting that conflict is the leading cause of food insecurity, while food insecurity is a root cause of conflict.
He emphasized that, as a nation that has risen from the hardships of war and poverty to become a peaceful country and food exporter, Vietnam reaffirms its full commitment to Resolution 2417 (2018) and presents three groups of recommendations, including: Adopting a comprehensive approach to address the root causes of conflict, including food insecurity, fully utilizing the early warning and prevention tools of Resolution 2417, leveraging the UN system to identify and address early risks to food systems with the motto “prevention is better than cure”; Conflict parties must fully comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, protect civilians and essential objects for civilian survival according to Security Council Resolution 2573 (2021)[3], ensure safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access, and end the use of hunger as a method of warfare; Strengthening investment in resilient food systems, enhancing technical support and knowledge sharing for vulnerable and food-import-dependent countries, and lifting unilateral restrictive measures that hinder countries' ability to ensure food security.
Sharing regional experiences, the Diplomatic Minister highlighted the role of the ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework (AIFS) and the ASEAN 3 Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) in enhancing response capacity to supply chain instability, and affirmed support for South-South cooperation to enhance food resilience among developing countries.
| The high-level open debate of the United Nations Security Council on “Food Under Fire: The Security Council's Role in Mitigating Global and Local Food Crises” is a highlight event during Denmark's presidency (President of the Security Council for August 2026). The discussion aims to reaffirm the link between conflict and food security as asserted in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417 (2018), promoting frameworks and approaches to effectively and sustainably address this issue. |
[1] “Food Under Fire: The Security Council's Role in Mitigating Global and Local Food Crises”.
[2] Resolution 2417 (2018) was adopted by the United Nations Security Council with 15 votes in favor on May 24, 2018, as the first document of the Council recognizing the intrinsic link between hunger and conflict and condemning the use of hunger as a method of warfare, emphasizing that this behavior can constitute a war crime.
[3] Resolution 2573 (2021) titled “Protection of Objects Indispensable to the Survival of the Civilian Population”, was adopted by the United Nations Security Council with 15 votes in favor on April 27, 2021, under the initiative and leadership of Vietnam (then a Non-Permanent Member and rotating President of the United Nations Security Council). This is the first Security Council document on this topic.
