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	Protecting the fundamental human right to a safe and healthy workplace by ITUC, HRW, Social Europe, agencies   Protecting the fundamental human right to a safe and healthy workplace, by Dr Ivan Jimenez.   Protection of workers’ health and safety is core to achieving sustainable, decent working conditions. Workers should not suffer accidents or illness, or even die, as a result of an unsafe and unhealthy working environment.   Yet the global evidence of poor practice in occupational safety and health (OSH) is staggering. Before the pandemic, the International Labour Organization estimated that annually more than 2.78 million deaths resulted from occupational accidents or work-related diseases, with 7,500 people dying from unsafe and unhealthy working conditions on average every single day. Additionally, there are some 374 million non-fatal work-related injuries each year.   Within the European Union, the latest figures suggest there were more than 3,300 fatal and 3.1 million non-fatal accidents in 2018, with more than 200,000 workers dying each year from work-related illnesses. On top of the paramount human tragedy, work-related accidents and illnesses cost the EU economy over 3.3 per cent of gross domestic product annually.   Protecting the fundamental human right to a safe and healthy workplace has long been demanded of policy-makers. And the EU treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Pillar of Social Rights and the recent European Commission strategy for decent work worldwide, as well as the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs), all embed health and safety in European and global standards.   But there remains a pressing need for a more effective regulatory mechanism, which stimulates greater accountability on the part of governments and imposes stronger obligations on companies and other organisations.   There are frameworks, of a more voluntary nature, to address the risk of adverse impacts on human and labour rights, such as the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and its Global Compact or the older Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Regrettably, however, governments and companies still lag behind in their duty to protect workers’ health and safety.   These frameworks share a human-rights-based approach to workplace health and safety. Linking OSH to human-rights due diligence can put recognition of the right to safe and healthy working conditions on a par with the International Labour Organization’s fundamental rights to decent work—alongside freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining and the conventions on protection against child and forced labour.   In the bigger picture, OSH is an ethical and social duty. There is growing momentum, on the part of governments, investors, companies, civil society, the social partners and other stakeholders, behind making protection of OSH mainstream through regulations and standards and further embedding it into the corporate-governance framework.   Fundamental right   As the world staggers out of the pandemic, and as governments, society, workers and employers approach the 2030 SDGs milestone, it is time to reinforce the principle that all workers should enjoy safe and healthy working conditions. This can only be realised if the right to a safe and healthy working environment is formally recognised as just that—a fundamental human right.   If an initiative to this affect is approved at the next (110th) session of the ILO’s International Labour Conference, it will entail amendment of the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work or adoption of a self-standing declaration. Either way, this will just constitute the starting point of a long process.   In the long term more countries would feel compelled to ratify and implement core ILO labour and health-and-safety conventions covering prevention of injuries and illnesses arising from work, including throughout global supply chains. It would also favour a more human-centred commitment, on the part of the commission and EU member states, to integration of the right to safe and healthy working conditions into the ILO framework of fundamental principles and rights at work.   At a time when the European labour market is confronted with far-reaching issues—globalisation, the informal economy, technological development, precarious work—this initiative should represent an urgent and compelling wake-up call.   The right of workers, irrespective of their background, type of employment or the country where they operate, to enjoy the highest level of protection at the workplace must be recognised as non-negotiable.   * Dr Ivan Jimenez is a policy and advocacy manager at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health in the UK.   http://socialeurope.eu/occupational-safety-and-health-a-fundamental-right http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/lang--en/index.htm http://www.ituc-csi.org/IWMD22-Unions-workplace-health-and-safety   Apr. 2022   End Violence and Harassment at Work, by Erika Nguyen and Rothna Begum. (HRW)   On International Workers’ Day, May 1, countries worldwide celebrate workers’ rights, and people take to the streets to call for better working conditions. Governments should also recognize people’s rights to safety and dignity in the world of work by ratifying the International Labour Organization (ILO) Violence and Harassment Convention (C190).   Adopted in 2019, the groundbreaking treaty lays out international legal standards for preventing and responding to violence and harassment at work. It requires governments to ensure comprehensive national laws against harassment and violence at work, including prevention measures, complaints mechanisms, monitoring, enforcement, and support for survivors; and laws obligating employers to maintain workplace policies against violence and harassment.   The treaty is comprehensive in who it covers: workers, trainees, workers whose employment has been terminated, job seekers, and job applicants. It also applies to both informal and formal sectors. The convention is a powerful tool in the fight to eliminate gender-based violence at work, as well as strengthening efforts to mitigate the effects of domestic violence in the world of work.   Human Rights Watch research has long documented the impact of violence and harassment at work, including in agriculture, domestic work, the garment sector, and the informal sector. The treaty requires special attention be paid to sectors that have a heightened risk of harassment, such as these.   As of writing, 12 countries have ratified the convention following hard-won campaigns by workers, trade unions, human rights and other organizations, and dialogue with employers and workers. San Marino ratified in April. The United Kingdom ratified in March, after advocacy by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), CARE, ActionAid, Human Rights Watch, and others. Argentina, Ecuador, Fiji, Greece, Italy, Mauritius, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, and Uruguay have also ratified.   Legislatures in Albania, France, Mexico, Peru, and Spain all voted to authorize ratification of the treaty. Once these governments have officially deposited their ratifications at the ILO, 17 countries will have ratified.   Many countries committed to ratify and implement C190 at the UN Women’s Generation Equality Forum in 2021. These countries include Belgium, Iceland, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Spain, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.   Other countries like Finland and Sri Lanka have also publicly pledged to ratify C190. Trade unions and worker organizations – such as in Canada – are pushing for their governments to ratify.   States should prioritize to #RatifyC190 and to reform laws and policies in line with the convention. Likewise, employers should also put in place workplace policies and collective bargaining agreements in line with the treaty. We all have the right to safety and dignity in the world of work, no matter where we work and who we are.   http://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/29/may-1-end-violence-and-harassment-work http://bit.ly/3kCfuKp http://www.ipsnews.net/2022/06/jobs-will-not-empower-young-women-address-sexual-harassment/ http://www.ids.ac.uk/publications/the-gendered-price-of-precarity-voicing-and-challenging-workplace-sexual-harassment/ http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/violence-harassment/resources/WCMS_814507/lang--en/index.htm http://www.ituc-csi.org/GBV
	Ukraine crisis will worsen global hunger by FAO, WFP, Global Crisis Response Group, agencies   "Rapidly escalating energy prices will drive up the cost of basic food commodities,” said Gabriel Ferrero, chair of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), a top-level UN forum. “This is not just a problem between Russia and Ukraine; it is a problem for all of us, worldwide.”   Apr. 2022   1.7 billion people are facing heightened exposure to spiking food, energy, and fertilizer costs   UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has presented the first policy briefing issued by the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance (GCRG), which was set up to examine the impacts of the war in Ukraine on the world’s most vulnerable.   The Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance is a 32-member group, which includes heads of UN agencies, development banks and other international organizations. It was launched in March, in response to concerns over the potential consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the continuing wide ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group is tasked to advance collaboration across governments, the multilateral system and a wide range of sectors, to help vulnerable countries avert large-scale crises.   Speaking at the launch of the brief, Mr. Guterres pointed out that, whilst most attention is focused on the effects of the war on Ukrainians, it is also having a global impact, in a world that was already witnessing increased poverty, hunger and social unrest.   “We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens to devastate the economies of developing countries”, said the UN chief.   The Ukraine crisis risks tipping up to 1.7 billion people — over one-fifth of humanity — into poverty, destitution and hunger.   Ukraine and the Russian Federation provide 30 per cent of the world’s wheat and barley, one-fifth of its maize, and over half of its sunflower oil. Together, their grain is an essential food source for some of the poorest and most vulnerable people, providing more than one-third of the wheat imported by 45 African and and least-developed countries. At the same time, Russia is the world’s top natural gas exporter, and second-largest oil exporter.   The war has compounded the challenges many developing countries are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as historic debt burdens and soaring inflation.   Since the start of 2022, wheat and maize prices have increased by 30 per cent, oil prices have gone up by more than 60 per cent over the last year, and natural gas and fertilizer prices have more than doubled.   At the same time, the UN’s humanitarian operations are facing a funding crunch: the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it does not have enough resources to feed hungry people in desperate situations. The agency urgently needs $8 billion to support its operations in countries in humanitarian crisis.   The report, said Mr. Guterres, “shows that there is a direct correlation between rising food prices and social and political instability. Our world cannot afford this. We need to act now”.   The policy brief underlines the importance of global cooperation in tackling the crisis, which, it says, “will leave deep and long-lasting scars”. The report calls on all countries – as well as the private sector, NGOs and other actors – to recognize that “the very nature of increasingly common global shocks is such that countries are not individually responsible”, and that solutions need to be based on the global, rather than national, risk.   In light of the soaring cost of food, fuel and other commodities, all countries are urged to keep their markets open, resist hoarding and unnecessary export restrictions.   The report calls on international financial institutions to release funding for the most vulnerable countries, help governments in developing countries to invest in the poorest and most vulnerable by increasing social protection, and work towards reforming the global financial system so that inequalities are reduced.   Humanitarian appeals, says the policy brief, must be fully funded, and major reform of the international financial system is needed to, in the words of the UN Secretary-General, “pull developing countries back from the financial brink”.   The policy brief acknowledges that, in the short term, strategic reserves of fossil fuels need to be released in order to stabilize prices and ensure sufficient supplies. However, a ramped-up deployment of renewable energy would help to ensure that the kinds of energy prices rises currently being seen are not repeated in the future, whilst hastening progress towards a cleaner, low carbon, energy future.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1116152 http://news.un.org/pages/global-crisis-response-group/ http://www.wfp.org/publications/unprecedented-needs-threaten-hunger-catastrophe-april-2022 http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/terrifying-prospect-over-quarter-billion-more-people-crashing-extreme-levels-poverty http://www.fao.org/3/cb9444en/cb9444en.pdf   http://www.dw.com/en/un-warns-of-great-finance-divide-as-covid-shocks-debt-hits-poorest-hardest/a-61461015 http://www.un.org/en/desa/great-finance-divide-amid-covid-19-poses-major-setback-sustainable-development http://jubileedebt.org.uk/press-release/growing-debt-crisis-to-worsen-with-interest-rate-rises http://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/14/imf/world-bank-targeted-safety-net-programs-fall-short-rights-protection http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/imf-must-abandon-demands-austerity-cost-living-crisis-drives-hunger-and-poverty http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1758-5899.13028   Mar. 2022   Food security implications of the Ukraine conflict. (WFP)   The main expected effect of the conflict on global food security comes through the impact on global grain and energy markets. International food and fuel prices have increased sharply since the onset of the conflict; this will ultimately affect local food prices and, because of this, access to food. At the same time, grain and oil price hikes increase the cost of WFP’s operations, reducing the ability to serve those in need just when it is most required.   Adding to the challenges, the Ukraine conflict does not happen in a vacuum. New COVID-19 variants and supply chain issues have disrupted the global economic recovery, while rising inflation and record debt constrain countries’ ability to address renewed problems.   Poorer countries are struggling the most to recover from the pandemic’s economic fallout, left behind by a lack of access to vaccines and lower capacity to finance stimulus measures. About 60 percent of low-income countries are currently in, or at high risk of, debt distress, compared with 30 percent in 2015. Despite sluggish economic growth, inflation has been on the rise – and with it the risk of stagflation.   Global grain markets in turmoil   Both Ukraine and Russia are critical players in global wheat and maize markets, ranging among the top five exporters globally for both commodities. Together, the two countries supply 30 percent of wheat and 20 percent of maize to global markets. In addition, Russia and Ukraine are key exporters for sunflower oil and barley, accounting for more than three-quarters and one-third of supplies to international markets, respectively.   The Russian military invasion has brought shipments from Ukraine to a halt and paused Russian grain deals, amidst uncertainty around sanctions. An estimated 13.5 million tons of wheat and 16 million tons of maize are frozen in the two countries – 23 and 43 percent of their expected exports in 2021/22.   Movements in international grain prices reflect these disruptions, with major export quotations for wheat up by 28 percent on average within two weeks – US No 2 Soft Red Winter Wheat increased by 52 percent between 21 February and 7 March. FAO’s Food Price Index reached a new all-time high in February 2022.   Export disruptions in the Black Sea have immediate implications for countries such as Egypt, which heavily rely on grain imports from Russia and Ukraine. Beyond countries sourcing Black Sea grain, those dependent on grain imports more broadly are the first in line to experience domestic food price increases, following rising prices on global grain markets. In more than 40 countries with WFP operations, imported cereals such as wheat and maize account for 30 percent or more of dietary energy.   Upheaval in global energy markets   Russia is the world’s third-largest producer of crude oil and its second-largest exporter. Europe and China import around 60 percent and 20 percent of Russia’s oil, respectively. Russia is the largest natural gas exporter in the world. European countries heavily depend on Russia’s natural gas imports, as 32 percent of their total consumption is supplied by Russia.   Following the Russian invasion, crude oil prices soared to a 14-year high. The conflict also significantly elevated European gas prices, which have been highly volatile throughout the current heating season in Europe.   Russia’s oil supply to global markets is severely disrupted. Even before western countries imposed sanctions on Russian oil exports, high shipping costs and uncertainty about potential buyers reduced traders’ willingness to order oil from Russian ports.   With global oil supply at its limits, Russian supply disruptions could keep global oil prices elevated.The invasion has so far not severely disrupted Russian natural gas supply to Europe but the EU has published plans to cut Russian gas supplies by two-thirds in 2022.   High global energy prices can lead to increasing food insecurity around the world. By pushing up local inflation, high costs of imported energy reduce purchasing power and poor households’access to food.   Soaring international fuel prices increase already-pressured global grain prices, thereby aggravating the repercussions for food security. In addition, Russia is one of the world’s most important exporters of the three major groups of fertilizers – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Rising input costs in turn could impact the next season’s harvest, leading to elevated food prices in the longer run.   Ripple effects for food security – and the world in a difficult place to brace them   The conflict unfolds in one of the world’s breadbaskets. In addition, Russia is among the world’s most important energy exporters. Global grain and energy markets are in turmoil, reflected by sharp price rises; while these increases are currently in international markets, they are likely to trickle down to domestic markets, especially in import-dependent countries, with implications for access to food for the most vulnerable.   At the same time, grain and oil price hikes increase the cost of WFP’s operations, reducing the ability to serve those in need just when it is most required.   Adding to the challenges, the Ukraine conflict does not happen in a vacuum. New COVID-19 variants and supply chain problems have disrupted the global economic recovery, while rising inflation and record debt constrain countries’ abilities to address renewed challenges.   After working-hour losses equivalent to 258 million full-time jobs in 2020 and 125 million in 2021, labour markets struggle to recover, with lost working hours still estimated to reach the equivalent of 52 million full-time jobs in 2022.   Poorer countries are struggling the most to recover from the pandemic’s economic fallout, left behind by a lack of access to vaccines and lower capacity to finance stimulus measures. About 60 percent of low-income countries are currently in, or at high risk of, debt distress, compared with 30 percent in 2015. Despite sluggish economic growth, inflation has been on the rise, stoking fear of stagflation.   A total of 27 countries currently face annual food inflation of 15 percent or more, including five countries – Lebanon, Venezuela, Sudan, Yemen (Internationally Recognized Government) and Cuba – with three-digit rates. An additional 20 countries have experienced food price rises between 10 and 15 percent over the past year; and 45 countries between 5 and 10 percent.   * Access the full report (19pp): http://bit.ly/3uErhMR   Mar. 2022   UNCTAD’s rapid assessment of the war’s impact on trade and development shows a rapidly worsening outlook for the world economy, with the situation especially alarming for African and least developed countries.   An UNCTAD rapid assessment of the war in Ukraine’s impact on trade and development confirms a rapidly worsening outlook for the world economy, underpinned by rising food, fuel and fertilizer prices.   The report published on 16 March also shows heightened financial volatility, sustainable development divestment, complex global supply chain reconfigurations and mounting trade costs.   “The war in Ukraine has a huge cost in human suffering and is sending shocks through the world economy,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said in a statement.   “All these shocks threaten the gains made towards recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and block the path towards sustainable development.”   Concern abounds over the two fundamental “Fs” of commodity markets – food and fuels.   Ukraine and Russia are global players in agri-food markets, representing 53% of global trade in sunflower oil and seeds and 27% in wheat.   This rapidly evolving situation is especially alarming for developing nations. As many as 25 African countries, including many least developed countries, import more than one third of their wheat from the two countries at war. For 15 of them, the share is over half.   “Soaring food and fuel prices will affect the most vulnerable in developing countries, putting pressure on the poorest households which spend the highest share of their income on food, resulting in hardship and hunger,” Ms. Grynspan said.   http://unctad.org/news/ukraine-wars-impact-trade-and-development http://news.un.org/pages/global-crisis-response-group/ http://ipes-food.org/pages/foodpricecrisis http://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/above-or-below-poverty-line http://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/14/imf/world-bank-targeted-safety-net-programs-fall-short-rights-protection http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/imf-must-abandon-demands-austerity-cost-living-crisis-drives-hunger-and-poverty http://www.socialprotectionfloorscoalition.org/2021/04/video-of-the-event-international-solidarity-to-support-a-robust-and-inclusive-recovery-a-global-social-protection-fund/ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1758-5899.13028   * Available funds to meet urgent needs. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported in April 2022 that global military expenditure reached $2113 billion in 2021 a new record high. Tax revenue losses and illicit financing meant anywhere between $450-900 billion was lost to Government revenues in 2021.   It is the viewpoint of the Universal Rights Network that the basline figure most relevant to measure current global poverty estimations is the upper band of the 2020 FAO SOFI report of at least 811 million people. Recent upward revisions to poverty numbers as a result come on top of this figure, and most likely mean those suffering extreme poverty now exceeds 1 billion people.   17 Mar. 2022 (IFAD)   As the war continues to rage in Ukraine, impacts of rising food prices and shortages of staple crops are already being felt in the Near East and North Africa region and spreading to the world’s most vulnerable countries, including in the Horn of Africa, with poorest people at greatest risk, warned the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) today. This comes amidst mounting concerns by the international community that the ongoing conflict will escalate global hunger and poverty.   A quarter of global wheat exports come from Russia and Ukraine. Forty percent of wheat and corn from Ukraine go to the Middle East and Africa, which are already grappling with hunger issues, and where further food shortages or price increases risk pushing millions more people into poverty.   Russia is also the world’s largest fertilizer producer. Even before the conflict, spikes in fertilizer prices last year contributed to a rise in food prices by about 30 percent. IFAD’s analysis looks at the impact that the war will have on already poor small-scale producers and rural communities.   “I am deeply concerned that the violent conflict in Ukraine, already a catastrophe for those directly involved, will also be a tragedy for the world’s poorest people living in rural areas who cannot absorb the price hikes of staple foods and farming inputs that will result from disruptions to global trade,” said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD. “We are already seeing price hikes and this could cause an escalation of hunger and poverty with dire implications for global stability.”   IFAD’s analysis shows that price increases in staple foods, fuel and fertilizer and other ripple effects of the conflict are having a dire impact on the poorest rural communities. For example:   In Somalia, where an estimated 3.8 million people are already severely food insecure, the costs of electricity and transportation have spiked due to fuel price increases. This has a disproportionate impact on poor small-scale farmers and pastoralists who, in the face of erratic rainfall and an ongoing drought, rely on irrigation-fed agriculture powered by small diesel engines for their survival.   In Egypt, prices of wheat and sunflower oil have escalated due to Egypt’s reliance on Russia and Ukraine for 85 percent of its wheat supply and 73 percent of its sunflower oil.   In Lebanon, 22 percent of families are food insecure and food shortages or further price hikes will exacerbate an already desperate situation. The country imports up to 80 percent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine, but can only store about one month’s worth of the crop at a time due to the blast in Beirut’s port in 2020 that destroyed the country’s major grain silos.   Central Asian countries that rely on remittances sent home by migrant workers in Russia have been hit hard by the devaluation of the Russian ruble. In Kyrgyzstan, for example, remittances make up more than 31 percent of the GDP, the majority of which comes from Russia. Remittances are crucial for migrants’ families in rural areas to access food, education and other necessities.   IFAD’s experts stress that small-scale producers are already reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, droughts, cyclones and other natural disasters. Their incomes are expected to be affected by the rising cost of inputs, reduced food supplies and disrupted markets. This is also likely to have devastating and long-term impacts on their nutrition and food security.   “IFAD is committed to increasing the resilience of the world’s poorest rural people who are critical for producing a third of the world’s food. We must do all we can to ensure they have the resources to keep producing food and be protected from additional shocks,” said Houngbo. “In the short-term, however, it will be difficult to mitigate the global impacts of this crisis. I join the UN Secretary-General’s call to end the conflict now and restore peace. It is the only solution to avert global catastrophe.”   http://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/impacts-of-ukraine-conflict-on-food-security-already-being-felt-in-the-near-east-north-africa-region-and-will-quickly-spread-warns-ifad/ http://www.wfp.org/stories/ukraine-war-more-countries-will-feel-burn-food-and-energy-price-rises-fuel-hunger-warns-wfp http://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/why-russias-war-on-ukraine-poses-a-risk-to-global-food-security/ http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/mar/17/hungry-starving-aid-agency-face-dilemma-ukraine-yemen-ethiopia-sudan http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/03/ukraine-un-expert-warns-global-famine-urges-end-russia-aggression http://www.ipsnews.net/2022/04/rising-food-prices-global-risks-vulnerabilities/   14 Mar. 2022 (FAO)   The world is facing a potential food crisis, with soaring prices and millions in danger of severe hunger, as the war in Ukraine threatens supplies of key staple crops, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has warned.   Maximo Torero, the chief economist at the FAO, said food prices were already high before Russia invaded Ukraine, owing to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The additional strain of war could tip the global food system into disaster, he warned.   “We were already having problems with food prices,” he told the Guardian in an interview. “What countries are doing now is exacerbating that, and the war is putting us in situation where we could easily fall into a food crisis.”   Wheat prices hit record highs in recent days, though they have fallen back slightly. Overall, food prices have been rising since the second half of 2020, according to the FAO, and reached an all-time high in February, after wheat and barley prices rose by nearly a third and rapeseed and sunflower oil by more than 60% during 2021. The price of urea, a key nitrogen fertiliser, has more than tripled in the past year, on rising energy prices.   At least 50 countries depend on Russia and Ukraine for 30% or more of their wheat supply, and many developing countries in northern Africa, Asia and the near east are among the most reliant.   Poor countries are bearing the brunt of the price increases. Many of the poorest countries were already struggling financially, with some facing debt crises, amid the pandemic.   “My greatest fear is that the conflict continues – then we will have a situation of significant levels of food price rises, in poor countries that were already in an extremely weak financial situation owing to Covid-19,” said Torero. “The number of chronically hungry people will grow significantly, if that is the case.”   The Covid-19 pandemic has reduced developing countries’ capacity to cope said Torero. The war in Ukraine presents multiple threats to food security that will be felt across the world, according to the FAO.   * The importance of Ukraine and the Russian Federation for global agricultural markets - FAO Market/Risk analysis (40pp): http://bit.ly/3t2HyM2   http://www.dw.com/en/russias-invasion-of-ukraine-drives-global-food-insecurity/a-61124764 http://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/economy-and-ecology/putins-war-is-damaging-the-developing-world-5801/   Mar. 2022 (WFP)   “In a year when the world is already facing an unprecedented level of hunger, it’s just tragic to see hunger raising its head in what has long been the breadbasket of Europe,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley during a visit to a staging hub set up by the organization on the Polish-Ukrainian border. “The bullets and bombs in Ukraine could take the global hunger crisis to levels beyond anything we’ve seen before.”   With reports coming in of severe shortages of food and water in Kyiv, the capital, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, WFP teams are setting up operations and hubs in countries neighbouring Ukraine. These will both facilitate delivery of food assistance into the country and assist refugees coming over the borders.   The immediate priority is to establish a food lifeline into Kyiv and other conflict hotspots. With consignments of food assistance arriving every day, WFP is in a race against time to pre-position food in areas where fighting is expected to flare.   The Russian Federation and Ukraine are responsible for 29% of the global wheat trade. Any serious disruption of production and exports from the region could push food prices beyond their current 10-year highs. This will erode food security for millions of people, especially those who are already under stress because of high levels of food inflation in their countries.   “This is not just a crisis inside Ukraine. This is going to affect supply chains, and particularly the cost of food,” Beasley warned. “Now we’re looking at a price hike that will cost us, in operational costs, anywhere from 60 and 75 million dollars more per month. And that means more people are going to go to bed hungry.”   At the start of 2022, the world is facing an unprecedented hunger challenge, as conflict and climate shocks compounded by COVID and rising costs drive millions of people closer to starvation -- threatening to increase migration and instability globally. With the numbers of hungry rising, WFP is calling for a step-change in global support for its operations.   http://www.wfp.org/stories/ukraine-war-more-countries-will-feel-burn-food-and-energy-price-rises-fuel-hunger-warns-wfp http://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000137512/download/ http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-ramps-food-operation-ukraine-and-warns-worlds-hungry-cannot-afford-another-conflict http://reliefweb.int/report/world/impact-conflict-ukraine-global-food-security http://www.ipsnews.net/2022/03/war-ukraine-poised-threaten-global-food-security/ http://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/mar/09/ukraine-war-piles-pressure-on-global-food-system-already-in-crisis   * FAO Food Price Index rises to record high in February.   The benchmark gauge for world food prices went up in February, reaching an all-time high, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported today.   The FAO Food Price Index averaged 140.7 points in February, up 3.9 percent from January, 24.1 percent above its level a year earlier. The Index tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities. Cereal production in the world’s 47 Low-Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDCs) is expected to decline by 5.2 percent in the 2021/2022 season compared to 2020/2021.
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