Statement by

Ms. Nooshin Teymourpour

Second Secretary

Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

At the Second Committee

Under Agenda Items 22, Eradication of poverty and other development issues

and item 24, Agriculture development, food security and nutrition and their sub-items

New York, 12 October 2022

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Madam Chair, 

My delegation would like to associate itself with the statement delivered by Pakistan and Venezuela, respectively, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations.

Madam Chair,

At the outset, let me recall that the Sustainable Development Agenda places the eradication of poverty and hunger among its core priorities and identifies sustainable agriculture and food systems as crucial drivers of development.

However, in the face of such urgency regarding said issues, the 2022 report on the "State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World" contains alarming facts indicating that the world is regressing in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms. It goes on to state that despite the fact that we are only eight years away from 2030, the distance to reach many SDG 2 targets grows more expansive each year. The report notes that between 702 to 828 million people were affected by hunger, and around 2.3 billion or nearly 30 percent of the global population people in the world experienced moderate and/or severe food insecurity in 2021. The further increase in global hunger in 2021 reflects exacerbated inequalities across and within countries as well. These figures set off the global alarm on the urgent need to pay special attention to addressing food security.

Although this report profiles the state of food security and nutrition up to 2021, ongoing unilateral coercive measures as well as conflicts and the negative implications of climate change as well as other crises pose additional challenges for achieving the SDG 2 targets to end both hunger and the endangered state of food security and nutrition for many countries, in particular those that are already facing hunger and food crises.

Dear Colleagues,

Eradicating hunger and malnutrition as well as increasing agricultural productivity are the prerequisites for lifting people from poverty, deprivation and underdevelopment.

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy and the main contributor to sustainable development for developing countries. It is also considered an important sector to contribute to national, regional and global efforts to alleviate poverty as well as reduce hunger and malnutrition.

Excellencies, 

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to agricultural economies and severely impacted the countless livelihoods of the people living in developing countries. However, for some countries, including Iran, the condition is even worse. In Iran, we face another dangerous virus, namely unjust and illegitimate unilateral coercive measures, including illegal sanctions.

The Unilateral Coercive Measures have restricted Iranians’ access to food, health and vital medicines as well as medical equipment. They hamper the realization of the SDGs, especially SDG 2, and have severely affected our efforts to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. The adverse consequences of such measures are far-reaching and severe, especially in the context of the current trying situation affecting all human rights, particularly the right to development and the right to life. In other words, while the world faces the COVID-19 pandemic as a grave global health crisis, our people are subjected to the most brutal form of “health, food, and economic terrorism.” In this sense, the continuation of these measures, which are threatening, among others, food security, is simply criminal.        

To end this unjust and dangerous trend, we must take concerted effective multilateral actions. We are of the view that our endeavors to realize our efforts to end hunger and achieve food security, international cooperation and solidarity continue to be fundamental.

Having said that, the Islamic Republic of Iran deems the immediate removal of such unlawful measures essential for sustainable development, including food security.

In conclusion, let me reiterate our firm commitment to contributing to the international community's collective efforts toward hunger reduction, sustainable agriculture, and global food security for all.