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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday announced the creation of a dedicated task force to develop technical mechanisms aimed at safeguarding humanitarian flows through the Strait of Hormuz, as the Iran war threatens global trade routes.
The move comes amid growing concern that disruptions to maritime traffic through the strategic waterway could trigger wider impacts on food security and agricultural production in the coming months.
“This new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz aims to facilitate fertiliser trade, including the movement of related raw materials,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
“The mechanism’s operationalisation will be done in close consultation with relevant member states with full respect for national sovereignty and established international legal frameworks.”
The task force will be led by Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the UN Office for Project Services, and will include representatives from the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the International Maritime Organisation and the International Chamber of Commerce.
“The immediate focus is on meeting humanitarian needs, especially fertiliser and agricultural products,” Mr Dujarric said.
On Wednesday, Mr Guterres appointed French diplomat Jean Arnault as his personal envoy to lead the UN’s broader diplomatic response to the conflict, including efforts to restore the movement of fertilisers and humanitarian goods.
“The prolonged closure of the Strait is choking the movement of oil, gas and fertiliser at a critical moment in the global planting season,” Mr Guterres said.
“The Gulf countries are strong suppliers of raw materials for nitrogen fertilisers. And this is absolutely crucial. We are getting close to the planting season in different parts of the world. Without fertilisers today, we might have hunger tomorrow.”
The move mirrors the world body’s involvement early in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when it worked with Turkey to broker the Black Sea grain deal, enabling exports of grain and fertiliser from both Ukraine and Russia.
The arrangement helped stabilise global food markets for a time but eventually fell apart after Moscow said the expected sanctions relief had not been delivered.
Mr Dujarric added that the UN would work with member states, while respecting their sovereignty and international law, to determine how safe maritime passage could be secured.
