Press release on the extraordinary session of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Council over the situation in Ukraine
11 April 2022 20:50
791-11-04-2022
On April 8, the FAO Council held its extraordinary 169th session at the FAO Headquarters in Rome in a hybrid format. The FAO Council consists of 49 elected members - out of 197 member countries - and acts as the organisation's governing body between sessions.
The extraordinary session was convened at the initiative of United States and the EU countries to analyse the effect that the conflict in Ukraine is having on global food security. The initiators of the event chose to politicise the organisation's activities, despite the FAO's mandate under which the FAO is supposed to consider only matters of agriculture and raising productivity for the benefit of developing agricultural areas and ensuring food security.
This is the first time in the history of this organisation that the participants in a session voted to approve a decision on measures affecting the FAO's subsequent activities in response to a specific conflict and its impact on food security. The opinions of a large number of Council members were ignored, as they insisted on a comprehensive analysis of the reasons behind the worsening situation in the global food market, including the impact of other conflicts besides the one in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, illegitimate unilateral sanctions, and economic measures.
The Russian delegation underscored the importance of keeping the food security agenda apolitical. We expect the FAO will return to pursuing is goals and objectives in line with its mandate.
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