Address by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella at the Opening Ceremony of World Food Day

Courtesy translation

Mr. Director-General Qu,

Your Majesty,

Your Excellency the President of Ireland,

Mr. Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania,

Your Royal Highness the Prince of Jordan,

Authorities,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am particularly grateful for the opportunity that was offered me to speak at World Food Day, a stimulating event for the whole International Community, which particularly solicits the most prosperous Countries to multiply their efforts to end hunger in the world and ensure millions of human beings an equitable access to food.

As the Director-General just reminded us, the number of people suffering from malnutrition is increasing, depicting a world that is running alarmingly late in achieving the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda – the framework of reference for the goals set forth by the International Community to make life on the planet sustainable.

Today, to achieve this “sustainability” not only means combating hunger at present, but also committing to eradicate the causes underlying it: I am thinking about the persisting difficulties of some of the regions in the world in halting the spiral of poverty, the numerous conflicts, with their aftermath of ever-longer humanitarian crises; the intensity and frequency of natural disasters caused by climate change, which is already conditioning every aspect of our life, devastating territories and claiming lives, as tragically testified by the recent flooding in Derna, Libya.  

After all, hunger is the concurrent or triggering cause of violence and also of war, and fighting it constitutes a valuable peace endeavour.

It is a difficult and complex task that requires the awareness of decision-makers to be followed up by a coordinated effort by all.

Instead, what we are seeing is an alarming hike in international tension, a widening divide between Countries and regions of the world and the rebound of imperialistic behaviours and nationalisms.  

This is the scenario that UN Secretary-General Guterres efficaciously described as a “multipolar world without multilateralism”, therefore more exposed to geopolitical tensions and an alarming tendency towards a confrontation rather than cooperation between States.

Unfortunately, we are not short of examples of this.

The Middle East is once again up in flames because of the vile attack that has managed to elevate the spiral of horror and violence to unprecedented levels.

But this is not the only case.

The war that has been sowing death and destruction in the heart of Europe over the last 20 months following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is further evidence of the dangerous tendency to reinstate chaos.

Far from limiting its effects to the regions directly involved in the conflict, the war contributes to increase instability in vast areas of the world and prevalently in the most vulnerable Countries, thus continuing the spread of food insecurity and the lack of basic commodities.

Moscow’s rogue decision to pull out of the grain deal last July further worsens the scenario.

Weaponizing food and water in a conflict is a crime.

On the contrary, food and water are evidence of the indivisibility of the fate of humankind.

The right to food and water is enshrined in the broader right to life and supports the concept of “human security” which requires cooperation.

This is the challenge that we are called upon to meet: give life and dignity to individuals and peoples at all latitudes.

Food insecurity does not only mean food shortage: it also includes lack of access to water and this year’s World Food Day is conveniently dedicated precisely to this aspect.

The challenge posed by water security is age-old; suffice it to think of the sophisticated network of aqueducts that makes up the legacy of Ancient Rome and which won it the title of Regina Aquarum – the Queen of Water – testifying to the ingenuity and determination necessary to ensure access to this precious element.

Today, the shortage or lack of water increasingly underlies poverty and conflict, and its sustainable management needs to be tackled with as much determination and ingenuity as that of any basic commodity that is concomitantly an instrument of peace and a multiplier of wellbeing.  

Access to water is a fundamental right that is currently too often at risk, also due to the climate change that causes the desertification of ever-wider areas of the planet.

The challenges that I have recalled – from climate change, to rising conflict and the ensuing food and water shortages – have a common denominator: they are all transnational.

This creates the need to combat these risks by resorting to the unique, formidable, and available instrument represented by the United Nations, making the most of its capabilities and, for what concerns agriculture and nutrition, to the UN Agencies that we proudly host here in Rome.

FAO, the World Food Program, and IFAD concur to decisively respond to the problem of food security from different perspectives.

The challenge posed by the scourge of hunger – a moral even more than socio-economic imperative – can and must be won by focusing back on the centrality of multilateral commitment and the United Nations’ capacity to effectively combine the human, technological, and financial resources of single States, allocating them where they are needed, thus creating lasting development. 

It is a commitment that the Italian Republic actively supports and that has led us to co-organize with FAO the second UN Food Systems Summit here in Rome last July, turning food security into one of the priority themes of the Italian Presidency of the G7.

It is with the firm resolve to contribute to building sustainable and resilient food systems that I would like to express my gratitude to all those who work to achieve this goal at different levels and in different geographical contexts.

Thank you.