Conflict and Food Insecurity: High-level Open Debate
Tomorrow (17 November), the Security Council will convene for a high-level open debate on conflict-related food insecurity, under the agenda item “Threats to international peace and security”. The meeting, titled “Framing the global dialogue: addressing food insecurity as a driver of conflict and ensuring food security for sustainable peace”, is a signature event of Sierra Leone’s November Council presidency and will be chaired by Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio. The expected briefers are Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General and Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group; Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs; Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, the Special Envoy for Food Systems of the African Union (AU); and Maximo Torero Cullen, the Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Sierra Leone has circulated a concept note ahead of the open debate. It identifies several objectives for the meeting, including deepening the understanding of the links between conflict and food insecurity and promoting discussion on integrated, multisectoral approaches to address both the immediate impacts and the structural roots of conflict-related hunger.
The concept note also poses several questions to help guide the discussion, including:
- How can the Security Council and the broader UN system better address the use of hunger as a weapon of war and ensure accountability for violations of humanitarian law?
- What are the principal ways in which armed conflict disrupts food systems, and how can these be mitigated through the Security Council and international collaboration?
- How does food insecurity influence the outbreak, escalation, or continuation of conflict, and what preventive actions might address these risks early?
- How can humanitarian access be improved and maintained in active conflict zones to provide timely food assistance for vulnerable populations?
The Security Council has often convened to discuss food insecurity in recent years. Guyana and Switzerland both organised high-level open debates on food insecurity during their presidencies in February 2024 and May 2023, respectively. Furthermore, there were several briefings on food insecurity in country-specific situations in 2024 and 2025. The last time the Council convened for a high-level open debate focused specifically on the link between conflict and food insecurity was on 3 August 2023—a signature event of the US presidency—during which a Council presidential statement (S/PRST/2023/4) was adopted.
The subject of tomorrow’s meeting is a key priority for Sierra Leone, as a country which has experienced first-hand the negative repercussions of conflict on food security and adopted strategies to improve the resilience of its food systems. In this regard, Bio may refer in his statement to “Feed Salone”, a flagship national initiative under his presidency’s National Development Plan 2024-2030, which, among other things, seeks to promote food system resilience and address food insecurity through national reforms.
The briefers are expected to warn that conflict-related food insecurity is on the rise, as conflicts multiply and drive mass displacement, destruction of agriculture and food systems, reduction in humanitarian access, and damage to essential infrastructure. Mohammed and Msuya are likely to stress that conflict remains the primary driver of acute food insecurity across the globe—exacerbated by climate change, economic fragility, and an unprecedented decline in humanitarian funding—all converging towards situations of mass starvation.
According to the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises of the World Food Programme (WFP), published in July and updated in September, more than 280 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity across 53 countries and territories in 2024—13.7 million more than in 2023 and the sixth consecutive annual increase. Conflict was the primary driver of acute food insecurity in 20 countries and territories, affecting nearly 140 million people.
Council members and other member states are likely to raise grave concerns about the worsening hunger crisis and speak to the urgent need to respond and prevent further degradation, including through early intervention. Some speakers may refer to the most recent Hunger Hotspots report—a periodical early warnings report jointly published by the FAO and the WFP—which was issued on 11 November and provides an alarming outlook on worsening conditions of acute food insecurity across 16 countries and territories between this month and May 2026. The report identified conflict as the primary driver of deteriorating food insecurity in 14 out of 16 hotspots, including in all the six contexts of highest concern where populations are facing famine or risk of famine: Haiti, Mali, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen.
Two contexts of particular concern, which are likely to be highlighted by several speakers, are the situations in Gaza and Sudan. In both settings, conflict is driving catastrophic levels of food insecurity, compounded by severe limitations on humanitarian access.
In Gaza, the Israel–Hamas war and Israel’s restrictions on aid caused famine conditions in the Gaza governorate, which was confirmed in August by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Although aid flows have increased after a ceasefire between the sides went into effect on 10 October, the situation remains critical as restrictions continue to impede aid.
On 3 November, the IPC confirmed that in Sudan, aid blockades and restricted access amid the ongoing civil war have produced famine conditions in El Fasher (the capital of North Darfur state) and Kadugli (the capital of South Kordofan state). The hostilities and mass displacement are also heightening risks of famine for 20 other areas, as an estimated 21.2 million people—45 percent of the population—faced high levels of acute food insecurity in September, at the peak of the lean season. In her briefing, Msuya may provide the latest updates on food insecurity and efforts by humanitarians to address the issue in these contexts, including on the ongoing week-long visit of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher to Sudan, which began on 11 November.
Cullen is expected to describe the latest data and projections published by the IPC, including its recent reports on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, both of which are facing deteriorating conflict-induced food insecurity.
Many member states are likely to stress that several situations of conflict-induced food insecurity and famine are preventable and man-made, highlighting the urgent need for states and conflict parties to fully respect international humanitarian law, facilitate humanitarian access, and ensure protection of civilians and essential food infrastructure. Speakers may note that the Security Council has condemned both the use of starvation as a weapon of war and attacks depriving the civilian population of objects indispensable to their survival, through resolution 2417 of 24 May 2018
and resolution 2573 of 27 April 2021, respectively, and call on the Council to ensure their implementation, including through exerting necessary pressure on conflict parties.
Member states are also likely to stress the need to ensure accountability for the war crime of starvation, including through the Council’s mechanisms. In accordance with resolution 2417, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) submits a white note to the Council to report on the risk of conflict-induced famine when it arises. Some members may lament that such tools remain underused, that Council follow-up on white notes is lacking, and that bureaucratic procedures may result in white notes being issued after famine has already occurred. In this regard, speakers may further emphasise that early warning mechanisms—such as the white notes—need to be linked to early action, including by utilising partnerships with regional organisations such as the AU, to ensure a holistic approach towards both prevention and accountability for the instrumentalisation of aid.
Another focus of the open debate will be on promoting solutions which strengthen the resilience of food systems to reduce structural causes of food insecurity. Speakers may underscore the importance of building inclusive, equitable food systems which are less susceptible to the shocks of conflict and climate impacts, including by supporting efforts to align global, regional, and national frameworks tackling conflict and food insecurity with development and peacebuilding efforts built on community-centred approaches that promote social cohesion and prioritise the role of women and youth.
Several speakers may warn, however, that severe reductions in funding this year have contributed to a critical lack of resources across the humanitarian and development spheres, and that without urgent, scaled investment towards humanitarian assistance, early interventions, and resilient systems, the impact of conflict on vulnerable populations will only intensify.
