In normal times, one third of global fertiliser trade \u2013 along with 35 per cent of crude oil and a fifth of liquified natural gas\u00a0\u2013\u00a0passes\u00a0through the maritime corridor\u00a0located\u00a0south of Iran,\u00a0but tanker traffic has\u00a0essentially come\u00a0to a standstill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In response,\u00a0United Nations\u00a0Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a>\u00a0established a\u00a0task force<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0facilitate\u00a0the safe\u00a0passage\u00a0of\u00a0fertilisers\u00a0and related raw materials\u00a0for humanitarian purposes.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u00a0is headed by\u00a0Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the\u00a0UN\u00a0Office for Project Services (UNOPS<\/a>), which provides infrastructure,\u00a0procurement\u00a0and project management services across the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot afford to wait,\u201d he said in an exclusive interview with\u00a0UN News.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe planting season is upon us, and the risk of a major food crisis is real. We need the support and the cooperation of all stakeholders to make this mechanism a\u00a0success.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He told Reem Abaza that the UN task force he is leading will be able to get its \u201cone stop platform\u201d up and running in just seven days, if combatants blocking the strait allow fertilizers and other raw material through, to benefit the world\u2019s most vulnerable.<\/p>\n The\u00a0interview has been condensed and edited\u00a0for\u00a0clarity\u00a0<\/p>\n Jorge Moreira da Silva:\u202fThe\u00a0idea of the task force was to develop a mechanism focused on fertilisers and related raw materials such as urea,\u00a0sulphur, and ammonia,\u00a0to prevent a massive humanitarian crisis.\u202f\u00a0We\u00a0have one-third of all\u00a0fertilisers\u00a0in the world going through the Strait of Hormuz, so you can see how important the Persian Gulf\u00a0is\u00a0for the production of\u00a0fertilisers\u00a0and how impacted is the entire supply chain of fertilisers with the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n If we don\u2019t get\u00a0some\u00a0solution immediately, the crisis will be very significant and severe, particularly for the poorest countries\u00a0and for the poorest citizens<\/p>\n But we also know that there are some countries that are more dependent on those\u00a0fertilisers.\u00a0Unfortunately, some of those countries were already highly vulnerable due to\u00a0previous\u00a0shocks,\u00a0such as Sudan, Somalia, Mozambique, Kenya, Sri Lanka. These are just a few countries that are high importers of fertilisers coming from the region.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n UN News:\u202fWe\u2019re\u00a0talking about a time-sensitive period because it is the agricultural\u00a0season in some parts of the world, and not having fertilisers will have a huge effect\u00a0on food security.\u00a0But how fast can you be operational?\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Jorge Moreira da Silva:\u202fThe point of\u00a0speed, as you mentioned, is\u00a0a\u00a0critical one. Diplomacy and nature do\u00a0not\u00a0have the same speed. And I know that there are diplomatic efforts\u00a0towards\u00a0a political solution for the Middle East,\u00a0and for this war,\u00a0to have a lasting peace.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n But the point that\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been making is we\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0wait until everything\u00a0is\u00a0fixed to at least get something fixed in time for the planting season. The planting season\u00a0has\u00a0already started, and in most countries in Africa it will end in May. So,\u00a0if we don\u2019t get\u00a0some\u00a0solution immediately, the crisis will be very significant and severe, particularly for the poorest countries\u00a0and for the poorest citizens.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n I want to stress one point. The mechanism is not a way to compromise or challenge\u00a0the freedom\u00a0of navigation. Freedom of navigation is an indisputable principle, and the Secretary-General and\u00a0I\u00a0have been\u00a0very clear\u00a0in\u00a0stating\u00a0the need to reinstate the freedom of navigation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But what we are saying is: while we don\u2019t have that freedom of navigation fully embedded and established because there are these negotiations in the context of the war, at least let\u2019s have a time-bound, exceptional, limited\u00a0mechanism just for\u00a0fertilizers\u00a0and related raw materials because this will still\u00a0be\u00a0in time for the planting season.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n UN News:\u202fCan you explain how this mechanism will work?\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Jorge Moreira da Silva:\u202fThe mechanism is based on one principle, which is confidence building. It draws on previous experience\u00a0with\u00a0the Black Sea Grain Initiative, also in the context of the war in Ukraine; the\u00a0UN\u00a0Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen\u00a0(UNVIM<\/a>)\u00a0where UNOPS monitors,\u00a0\u00a0verifies and inspects all vessels going to Yemen via Djibouti; and also the UN 2720 mechanism for Gaza,<\/a> also managed by UNOPS, where we approve the consignments going to Gaza, the trucks, and also monitor on the ground the supply of those goods.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n At least let\u2019s have a time-bound, exceptional, limited\u00a0mechanism just for\u00a0fertilizers\u00a0and related raw materials<\/p>\n This mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz will be based on the same principle of building trust through more accountability and transparency.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0basically a\u00a0mechanism that would go through a series of steps such as registration, de-confliction, monitoring, verification, and reporting.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a system that would\u00a0facilitate\u00a0the logistics\u00a0operation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s\u00a0about commercial\u00a0vessels carrying\u00a0fertilizers\u00a0and related raw materials, but the purpose is to avoid a humanitarian crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n The question is why\u00a0fertilizers, because there are so many other important items in the Gulf\u00a0such as oil and gas? The case for\u00a0fertilizers\u00a0is\u00a0because there is a clear nexus between the lack of access to\u00a0fertilizers\u00a0and the disruption\u00a0to\u00a0food systems,\u00a0and therefore starvation and hunger looming in many countries.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n UN News:\u202fThis is\u00a0a very complex\u00a0operation, as you mentioned. How are you coordinating with the different stakeholders, including shipping and insurance companies?\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n