The European Union emphasized the importance of intensifying international efforts to eradicate poverty and enhance the right to food, stressing the adoption of policies that respect human rights and ensure everyone's access to basic services. This was stated in the EU's statement before the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, during its eighty-first session, in the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Elena Carolina Diaz Galan, and the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Sofia Monsalve Suarez.
The EU pointed to its full support for the priority of eradicating poverty within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, welcoming the report on the impact of urban expansion on human rights. It noted that EU policies aim to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by 15 million by 2030, while supporting Member States in strengthening rights-based social protection systems and expanding inclusion at the local level.
Regarding the right to food, the EU expressed concern over the increasing pressures facing food systems due to conflicts, climate change, and biodiversity loss. The statement emphasized the rejection of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, expressing concern over attacks targeting essential civilian infrastructure for food production and distribution, and stressing the necessity of respecting international humanitarian law in all conflict situations.
The EU clarified that its commitment to enhancing food security is reflected in supporting partner countries in transforming food systems and improving nutrition, through the "Global Gateway" strategy. The statement noted that the EU and its Member States provide significant emergency food and nutrition assistance, indicating that approximately one-third of the EU's humanitarian aid budget was allocated over the past four years to these areas, amounting to around 800 million euros annually.
In conclusion, the EU called for clarifying ways in which development partners can improve funding priorities and direct large-scale investments toward transforming food systems into sustainable and resilient ones. It affirmed that this effectively enhances the right to food and ensures support reaches communities most affected by hunger and structural inequalities.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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