MONTREAL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE BACKGROUND GUIDE
World Food Program 1
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the World Food Programme! My name is Kareem Faraj and it is my honor to be chairing this committee. I am currently majoring in Political Science at McGill University with a minor in History. By the time MUNC 2020 rolls around, I will have spent 6 years on the Model United Nations circuit and have had the pleasure of occupying positions ranging from that of committee page all the way to that of Secretary General across a variety of conferences around the island of Montreal and beyond.
I would also like to take this occasion to welcome you to MUNC 2020, which, to this day, holds a very special place in my heart. Current events may have forced the conference online, but I remain convinced that this year’s conference will continue to grow and improve on its previous iterations. While I am disappointed that I will not be able to meet and interact with you in person during committee, I have no doubt that this new format will offer new opportunities for the entire MUN community. Past MUNCs have provided me with the opportunity to make lasting memories and friendships over the years. I hope your experience at MUNC will be just as educational and enjoyable as mine was.
As the chair of a Blue Division committee, it is my wish that this committee be as accessible and inclusive as possible for all delegates, regardless of prior MUN experience. The move to an online platform will a new experience for many, including myself. I understand that such a change can be intimidating and promise that I will do my utmost to make this transition as seamless as possible. I invite you to raise any questions or any fears you might have to my assistant chairs or to myself at any time before or during the simulation. We are here to help you.
Humankind has a long history with hunger. It is an incredibly complex subject that sadly continues to have very real implications for many people around the world. The global pandemic has not only demonstrated how interconnected the world of today truly is, it has revealed how fragile the global economy and global food system can be. Although multilateral organizations, such as those of the UN system are currently facing increased challenges in the 21st century, I remain convinced of the continued place of food aid as a cornerstone of the humanitarian world. In these trying times, the WFP must continue to play its integral part helping save lives around the world.
Sincerely,
Kareem Faraj Chair, World Food Programme 2
COMMITTEE OVERVIEW
Introduction
The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency. It assists almost 100 million people in 83 countries around the world.1 It distributes some 15 billion rations at an estimated average cost per ration of US$ 0.61.2 The WFP is currently striving to fulfill the strategic goals and objectives set out in its 2017-2021 Strategic Plan. These include supporting countries to achieve zero hunger by protecting access to food, improving nutrition, and achieving food security.3 The drive to end world hunger is currently the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations (UN).4The WFP additionally seeks to support its partners in implementing other SDGs (SDG 17).
The WFP is primarily funded by governments. This support is entirely on a voluntary basis.5 Contrary to some other UN organizations, the WFP “receives no dues or portions of the UN assessed contribution”.6 The WFP has no independent source of funds. In addition to the average group of 60 countries that regularly fund the WFP, corporations and individuals can also make donations. Countries in which the WFP operates are provided with a Country Strategic Plan (CSP). Each CSP is unique and are designed to reflect the distinct national needs of each country.7 CSPs are a useful tool which synthetises an entire country’s humanitarian and development portfolio.8
Purpose and Functions
The World Food Programme (WFP) defines itself as the “food aid arm of the United Nations system”.9 The ultimate goal of this food aid is the elimination for the need for food aid. Food aid is used to support economic and social development, meet refugee and emergency food needs and promote food security. Food aid is primarily destined to save lives, to improve the nutrition of the most vulnerable people at critical times as well as to promote self-reliance in poor people and communities.10
1 “Overview”, United Nations World Food Programme, accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/overview 2 Ibid. 3 “Corporate strategy”, United Nations World Food Programme, accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/corporate-strategy 4 “Goal 2: Zero Hunger”, Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations, accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/ 5 “Funding and donors”, World Food Programme, accessed August 5, 2020, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/funding-and-donors 6 Ibid. 7 “Country strategic planning”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15,2020https://www.wfp.org/country- strategic-planning 8 Ibid. 9 “WFP Mission Statement”, World Food Programme, accessed June 28, 2020, https://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/newsroom/wfp076289.pdf 10 Ibid. 3
The WFP’s work can be classified along several main lines:
• Technical assistance and country capacity strengthening The WFP offers “nationally-tailored technical assistance and capacity development to strengthen government capacities” in order to improve a nation’s ability to “withstand shocks and stress factors which limit the availability of food or constrain access to it”.11 This technical assistance can also include helping country’s elaborate “disaster risk management plans, robust social systems and inclusive economic and social programs”.12 Such work is a boon for developing countries who face food security problems, but who sometimes lack the necessary expertise or resources required to address them. Effective WFP solutions are often shared between developing countries, bolstering South-South cooperation.
• Emergency relief Humanitarian emergencies occur when a large-scale event causes human suffering and threatens livelihoods, during which the country’s government does not have the means to respond effectively.13 Disasters can be natural, man-made, or a combination of both. In such contexts, the WFP provides life saving aid when local governments would otherwise fail.
• Cash and in-kind food assistance A relatively new program dating back to the late 2000s, cash-transfers represent new a strategic “shift from the traditional concept of food aid to that of food assistance”.14 Food assistance “involves a more complex understanding of people’s long-term nutritional needs and the diverse approaches required to meet them.”15 Cash-transfers can be “physical bank notes, vouchers, or electronic funds” can be spend directly by the recipients. This policy allows recipients of aid to play a more active role in the aid process because it gives them the tools to decide what food they would like to receive and how they would like to receive it.
• Humanitarian support and services In order to “save more lives, faster, and at a lower cost to donors and the environment”, the WFP uses “vast expertise and capacity in supply chain, engineering and emergency telecommunications” to help its private partners. To this end, the WFP leads the Logistic Cluster and the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster and co-leads the Food Security Cluster.16 This allows the WFP to quickly coordinate different humanitarian partners during large-scale emergencies for maximum effectiveness.17
11 “Country capacity strengthening”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/country-capacity-strengthening 12 Ibid. 13 “Emergency relief”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/emergency-relief 14 “Food assistance: cash and in-kind”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/food-assistance 15 Ibid. 16 “Humanitarian support services”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/humanitarian-support-and-services 17 Ibid. 4
• Resilience building By building resilience within communities, the WFP can “lessen the effects of shocks and stressors” in the future.18 An example of such a program is the Food Assistance for Assets program which provides food assistance while encouraging beneficiaries to rehabilitate “assets such as forests, water ponds, irrigation systems, and feeder roads that will strengthen their resilience and food security in the long term”.19
The WFP has proven particularly effective at quickly providing emergency relief as well as playing a key role in the “continuum from emergency relief to development” – the crucial period of recovery in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster of conflict.20 This is because of the WFP’s multilateral character, which enables it to operate with great flexibility throughout the developing world with little regard to the politics of governments.21 Such neutrality is often key to reaching the world’s most vulnerable.
History
The WFP was officially established by the United Nation (UN) General Assembly on November 24, 1961 in the context of US president John F Kennedy’s “Decade for Development”. The WFP was originally only an experimental three-year program of approximately $100 million, undertaken jointly by the UN and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).22 Its first Executive Director was Addeke Hendrik Boerma from the Netherlands.23 Not even a year after it was established, the WFP responded to its first emergency, distributing some 1,500 tons of wheat, 270 tons of sugar and 27 tons of tea to the survivors of an earthquake in northern Iran. In 1963, the WFP begins its first development mission to assist in the resettlement of 50,000 indigenous Nubian people displaced by the construction of the Aswan High Dam.24 Over the following decade, the WFP juggled between providing emergency food aid and providing long-term developmental assistance. This dual role was met with only moderate success, as the WFP proved much more effective at transporting and distributing food aid than it was at orchestrating development projects.25 It would only be under the directorship of the Australian diplomat James Ingram that the current form of the WFP would begin to take shape. Ingram believed that if the WFP were able to carve out a niche in the humanitarian aid sector, it could better secure its place in the eyes of donor countries.26 By the early 2000s, this transformation was complete. The WFP was now decidedly an emergency relief organization, a role it continues to play to this day.
18 “Resilience building”, World Food Programme, accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/resilience- building 19 Ibid. 20 WFP, “Mission Statement”. 21 Ibid. 22 Shaw, D. John. The World's Largest Humanitarian Agency: The Transformation of the Un World Food Programme and of Food Aid. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 15. 23 “History”, World Food Programme, accessed July 2, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/history 24 Ibid. 25 Shaw, The World’s Largest Humanitarian Agency, 44. 26 Ibid, 63. 5
Organization
The WFP is divided into two principle organs: the Executive Board and the Secretariat.
The Executive Board is the WFP’s supreme governing body. It includes representatives from 36 Member States, 18 of which are elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and 18 States Members elected by the FAO Council.27 “The Board provides intergovernmental support, policy direction and supervision of the activities of WFP” and serves as a space for information-sharing, consensus-building, and decision-making. 28 The Executive Board concerns itself primarily with the coordination of food-aid policies and can recommend new policy initiatives to the United Nations General Assembly through the ECOSOC and the FAO Council. The Executive Board is also responsible for elaborating new frameworks for the strategy, policy, oversight and accountability of the WFP.29 This is the organ we will be simulating during committee.
The Secretariat of the WFP is headed by an Executive Director who is responsible for the administration of the WFP and for the implementation of WFP programs and projects.30 The Executive Director is appointed by the Secretary-General of the UN after consultation with the Executive Board for a five-year term.31 They are responsible for the management of staff, and expenses, as well as submitting an annual report to the Board.32 The current Executive Director of the WFP is David Beasley, the former Governor of South Carolina, who was led the agency since 2017.33
The WFP works closely with its Rome-based sister organizations: the FAO and the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) with whom it shares the common objective of alleviating hunger and eliminating the root causes of food insecurity.34 Despite this similar mandate, it is important to be able to distinguish between these different agencies. While the WFP concerns itself mainly with providing food aid in countries affected by conflicts and natural disasters, the FAO primarily serves to provide technical expertise in order to make agriculture,
27 “Members of the Board”, Executive Board, World Food Programme, accessed June 30, 2020, https://executiveboard.wfp.org/members-board 28 “About the Board”, Executive Board, World Food Programme, accessed June 30, https://executiveboard.wfp.org/about-board 29 Ibid. 30 World Food Programme, General Regulations; General Rules; Financial Regulations; Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board (Rome: World Food Programme, 2009), available from https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP- 0000102455/download/ 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 33 “David Muldrow Beasley: Executive Director of the World Food Programme”, United Nations Secretary-General, United Nations, accessed July 3, 2020, https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/profiles/david-beasley 34 “UN agencies and international institutions”, World Food Programme, accessed June 30, https://www.wfp.org/un- agencies-and-international-institutions 6 forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable. 35 The IFAD, meanwhile, focuses on improving the quality of life in rural areas affected by poverty and malnutrition. 36
Conclusion
Because of its role as the food arm of the UN system, the WFP is uniquely placed to help achieve the second SDG: zero hunger. While food insecurity is on the rise across the world, delegates must rise to the task and propose thoughtful and innovative solutions so that SDG 2 can be achieved by 2030.
35 “Collaboration among FAO, WFP and IFAD”, UN Rome-based agencies, Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the UN Organizations in Rome, accessed July 30, 2020, https://rom-io.diplo.de/fao- en/un-rome-based-agencies/collaboration-fao-wfp-ifad/-/1593150 36 Ibid. 7
Bibliography
Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the UN Organizations in Rome. “Collaboration among FAO, WFP and IFAD”. UN Rome-based agencies. Accessed July 30, 2020, https://rom-io.diplo.de/fao-en/un-rome-based- agencies/collaboration-fao-wfp-ifad/-/1593150
Shaw, D. John. The World's Largest Humanitarian Agency: The Transformation of the Un World Food Programme and of Food Aid. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
United Nations. “David Muldrow Beasley: Executive Director of the World Food Programme”. United Nations Secretary-General. Accessed July 3, 2020, https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/profiles/david-beasley
United Nations. “Goal 2: Zero Hunger”. Sustainable Development Goals. Accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/
World Food Programme “History”. Accessed July 2, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/history
World Food Programme, “Members of the Board”. Executive Board. Accessed June 30, 2020, https://executiveboard.wfp.org/members-board
World Food Programme, General Regulations; General Rules; Financial Regulations; Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board. Rome: World Food Programme, 2009. Available from https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000102455/download/
World Food Programme. “About the Board”. Executive Board. Accessed June 30, https://executiveboard.wfp.org/about-board
World Food Programme. “Corporate strategy”. Accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/corporate-strategy
World Food Programme. “Country capacity strengthening”. Accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/country-capacity-strengthening
World Food Programme. “Country strategic planning”. Accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/country-strategic-planning
World Food Programme. “Emergency relief”. Accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/emergency-relief
World Food Programme. “Food assistance: cash and in-kind”. Accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/food-assistance
World Food Programme. “Funding and donors”. Accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/funding-and-donors 8
World Food Programme. “Humanitarian support services”. Accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/humanitarian-support-and-services
World Food Programme. “Overview”. Accessed August 5, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/overview
World Food Programme. “Resilience building”. Accessed August 15, 2020, https://www.wfp.org/resilience-building
World Food Programme. “UN agencies and international institutions”. Accessed June 30, https://www.wfp.org/un-agencies-and-international-institutions
World Food Programme. “WFP Mission Statement”. Accessed June 28, 2020, https://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/newsroom/wfp076289.pdf
9
TOPIC 1: FOOD SECURITY
Introduction
According to the definition by the FAO “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”37 It is important to recognize the distinction between hunger and food insecurity. Hunger is defined as the craving or urgent need to consume food or obtain nutrients whereas food insecurity is the inability to fulfill this need on account of financial insufficiency or lack of access. 38 Food security can be classified into four essential dimensions: availability, access, utilization and stability. However, the nutritional aspect is also imperative to the concept of food security.39
Firstly, the availability of food must be considered when discussing food security. This refers to the physical availability, or the food supply, which is determined by the food production, stock levels and net trade. 40 However, the availability of food alone does not necessarily guarantee food security. Secondly, economic and physical access to food is the second condition that needs to be met in order to achieve food security. Citizens need to possess the financial power required to purchase food, as well as a physical means of obtaining it.41 Thirdly, food utilization which refers to the biological process of consuming and digesting food in order to transform it into energy and harvest its nutrients. Regular consumption, proper food preparation, good hygiene habits and a diverse diet constitute ideal food utilization. Fourthly is stability which is to the ongoing and uninterrupted fulfillment of the first three dimensions over a long period of time. Accordingly, when one or more of these dimensions is not met, the consequence is food insecurity.
Famine: Definition and Historical Examples
Food insecurity is a complex issue that currently affects many countries all around the world. Food security is especially troubling on account of the fact that it can evolve into a famine, which is a widespread lack of food where starvation and death are imminent. The World Health Organization defines famine as “the severe lack of food that causes people to suffer from starvation, which weakens the immune system. The body becomes more susceptible to diseases that can be fatal if left untreated.” 42 Famine can be classified into three distinct subcategories: undernourishment, malnutrition and wasting.43 Undernourishment, more commonly referred to as hunger, occurs when people do not consume a sufficient number of calories. Presently, an estimated 820 million people are undernourished around the world. 44 Malnutrition arises when people do not consume enough of the correct types of food and therefore do not receive the
37 Food and Agriculture Organization, World Summit on Food Security, (FAO of the United Nations, 2009), 1 38 The Outreach Program, Hunger vs. Food Insecurity, (2020 Outreach Program, 2015) 39 Food and Agriculture Organization, An Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security, (FAO Food Security Programme, 2008), 1 40 Ibid. 41 Ibid. 42 World Health Organization, Food Insecurity and Famine, (WHO of the United Nations, 2020) 43 BBC News, Factors Affecting Food Security, (BBC News Bitesize 2020) 44 Food and Agriculture Organization, Hunger and Food Security, (FAO of the United Nations, 2020) 10 proper nutrients for good health. Wasting is the most dangerous subcategory of famine. Wasting manifests itself through severe weight loss which occurs as a result of extreme malnutrition. 45
While some famines have a natural cause, they are often exacerbated by human activity. The Great Irish Famine in the 1840s, for example, occurred due to a mass crop failure when a fungal disease infected three-quarters of the Irish potato crops. Due to the fact that potatoes were the main source of sustenance for Irish people at this time, the loss of their crops was devastating. With their primary food source compromised, Irish farmers now had to purchase their food, but the prices were far too high for them to afford. Despite the ongoing famine, Ireland continued to export food to England. Ireland provided meat, butter, cereal and grain to the British market which were commodities that the impoverished Irish farmers simply could not afford. Accordingly, the cause of the issue was not necessarily food insufficiency, but rather the inability to purchase food when the destitute farmers lost their own potato crops. During the famine, more than one million Irish people lost their lives, and another million people became refugees to seek food and shelter in foreign lands 46
Alternatively, there were several famines that occurred deliberately throughout history. For example, the 1930s famine in Ukraine, also known as Holodomor, was a deliberate act at the hands of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in an attempt to destroy the Ukrainian peasantry class of landowners, the Kulaks. In fact, Holodomor is derived from the Ukrainian words holod and mor, which translate to hunger and extermination. The Soviet government sought ‘collectivization’, which was essentially an attempt to transform traditional agriculture and decrease the economic power of prosperous of Kulaks. Thusly, Communist Party government forced Ukrainian peasants to relinquish their land and proceeded to seize their housing and personal property as well. Consequently, the Kulaks had no means of procuring sustenance and rebellions emerged. The Soviet collectivization campaign was largely successful in destroying the Kulaks both economically and physically. As a result of forced collectivization, an estimated 5 million people perished due to starvation across the Soviet Union 3.9 million of which were Ukrainian citizens. 47 Similarly, the Bengal famine of the early 1940’s is another example of an anthropogenic famine. The Bengal famine is thought to have been a deliberate act executed by Winston Churchill. 48The perilous political context of World War II in combination with India’s precarious agrarian way of life provided an unstable environment that bred the Bengal famine. There was a multitude of factors leading up to the Bengal famine, notably insufficient crop yields and reduced rainfall, as well as a rapidly expanding population which resulted in major food insecurity in Bengal, India. The invasion of India’s neighboring nation, Burma, by Japan further exacerbated the issue. Burma was a rice producing country that provided over two million tons of rice to the British Empire. As a supposed preventative measure, the British implemented the “Scorched Earth” policy in India and proceeded to burn down Indian rice fields to ensure that they would not end up in the Japanese enemy hands. However, the British still exported 70,000 tons of rice from India despite the severe food insecurity, in order to compensate for the loss of Burma’s rice. This was absolutely disastrous considering the fact that India was having experiencing difficulty feeding its own growing population. Accordingly, the food supply in
45 BBC News, Factors Affecting Food Security, (BBC News Bitesize 2020) 46 Mokyr, Joel, Great Famine, (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020) 47 Applebaum, Anne, Holodomor, (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020) 48 Indian Dharmic Genocide Museum, Remembering Our Fallen, (Dharmo Media, 2020) 11
Bengal was depleted and diverted to England in order to increase British food stores. What is more, the British, under Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s leadership, sent 180,000 Bengal farmers to fight in order to contribute to the war effort, and seized 125,000 acres of land to set up a military base. Despite the disastrous state of India, Churchill assumed no responsibility for the Bengal famine and felt no mercy for the anguished Indians, calling them “A beastly people with a beastly religion.” Churchill blamed the country’s food insecurity on imprudent population growth, nonchalantly saying “Famine or no famine, Indians will breed like rabbits.” The failure to recognize and attend to the Bengal famine would result in the loss of four million Bengali lives. 49
Causes of Food Insecurity
Food insecurity can result from a multitude of different causes that vary depending upon the time and place it occurs as well as the people it affects. These causes are often interconnected. Naturally occurring factors such as natural disasters, crop failures, floods, droughts, desertification, and, epidemics, can cause food insecurity.50 Anthropogenic issues are equally as detrimental to food security. These can range from fluctuations in the economy, labour shortages, dollar depreciation, advancements in technology, trade interruptions or embargoes, political conflict and social unrest.51
Unsustainable agricultural practices have also proven to be a threat to food security. For example, the biofuel industry, which uses biological matter, such as corn crops, sugarcane stalks and animal waste, as an energy source, has been particularly problematic. While this energy source is much more environmentally friendly and cost effective than non-renewable energy sources52, the biofuel industry has been expanding at such a quick rate that it has resorted to land grabbing: the seizing of land in an unjust or unlawful manner. The increasing need for crops for the biofuel industry has required more farmland, and resulted in land grabbing of arable soil from produce farmers.53 There are also other agricultural issues that have indirectly contributed to food insecurity such as deforestation, over-cultivation, unfair trade, the usage of harmful pesticides, soil erosion, diseased crops and irrigation failures.54
It must also be taken into consideration that food insecurity is often linked to acute poverty and unstable economies, which are more often observed in developing countries; this ultimately these countries more susceptible to food insecurity than their more developed counterparts. Poorer countries can also be particularly vulnerable if they depend on food imports to satisfy their domestic needs. The volatility of international trade can prove disastrous for these nations.
49 Indian Dharmic Genocide Museum, Remembering Our Fallen, (Dharmo Media, 2020) 50 Peace Corps. Global Issues: Food Security. (Peace Corps 2020) 51 Ibid. 52 Lehman & Selin. “Biofuel.” (Encyclopædia Britannica 2020) 53 Ibid. 54 BBC News, Factors Affecting Food Security, (BBC News 2020) 12
Food Insecurity in the Modern World: The Case of Lebanon
Lebanon is a small upper middle-income country in the Middle East. One-quarter of its population is made up of refugees and half of its population is food insecure.55 The catastrophic context in Lebanon is the result of several factors acting simultaneously and erupting into a full- blown crisis. For several years, the Lebanese government consistently failed to provide basic services to its citizens, while increasing taxes. This has led to extreme social and economic unrest, with the neglected population taking to the streets to protest government corruption.56 The country has been affected by hyperinflation. The national currency has lost 80 percent of its value.57 This has dramatically decreased the purchasing power of the local population, making it increasingly difficult them to procure sustenance, threatening their food security. High rates of poverty and income inequality have compounded the country’s problems and placed additional strain on the country’s already beleaguered public services, infrastructure and trade sector. Since 80% of Lebanon’s food supply consists of imports, this resulted in a disaster when trade slowed. With such a huge decrease in imports, basic commodities became extremely scarce and prices skyrocketed. In fact, the World Food Programme reported a shocking 56% increase in food prices between October 2019 and April 2020, in Lebanon. 58 As a result, the standard of living has decreased in Lebanon and protests and political unrest when citizens became unable to feed themselves and their families.
The World Food Programme continues to provide aid and relief to Lebanon, as they have been doing since their initial arrival in the country in 2012. The WFP offers food and financial assistance to people in Lebanon, working towards re-establishing food security and helping citizens to regain a sense of normality. Furthermore, the World Food Programme has been working with the Lebanese government to develop its social assistance system and prevent future issues of this kind.59
WPF Initiatives to Combat Food Insecurity
Today, vulnerable communities in Asia and across the African continent are facing an unprecedented catastrophe in relation to food supply and security. This wave of food insecurity has given rise to international initiatives to combat against the situation that many people are suffering from. Of this, the World Food Programme has said; “This is our broken world. This is our collective failure - and so this is our great challenge.” 60 Countries such as Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen are on the brink of famine, leaving nearly 20 million people, 600,000 of whom are young children, in grave danger of starvation. 61 The World Food Programme has been leading campaigns combatting food insecurity within these countries. In order to provide aid and relief, the WFP has been distributing food packages and offering cash to over one million citizens in Nigeria. In Somalia, the World Food Programme has provided aid to more than 2.2
55 World Food Programme, Lebanon, (WFP of the United Nations, 2020) 56 BBC News, Lebanon: why the country is in crisis, (BBC News Bitesize 2020) 57 World Food Programme, Lebanon, (WFP of the United Nations, 2020) 58 World Food Programme, Lebanon, (WFP of the United Nations, 2020) 59 World Food Programme, Lebanon, (WFP of the United Nations, 2020) 60 World Food Programme, Fighting Famine, (WFP of the United Nations, 2020) 61 Ibid. 13 million people, of which 764,000 were mothers and young children, by offering food, financial and nutritional support. The WFP’s initiative in South Sudan’s resulted in astronomical numbers when they assisted more than 2.9 million South Sudanese people 62 However, the World Food Programme’s largest undertaking to date has been combatting the catastrophic food crisis currently taking place in Yemen.
The World Food Programme has mobilized to come to Yemen’s aid, as the country is presently experiencing a severe case of food insecurity. In fact, the Yemen food crisis has been deemed the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. 63 Armed conflict between warring parties in combination with a drastic economic collapse are the primary factors that contributed to the chaotic Yemen Crisis. 64The WFP’s campaign in Yemen has proven to be an immense undertaking, considering the fact that over 20 million Yemeni people are suffering from undernourishment and malnutrition. Taking into account that Yemen’s current population is estimated to be about thirty million, exactly two thirds of the Yemeni population is food insecure. Furthermore, nearly 10 million people, about one third of the population, are on the brink of famine and starvation in Yemen.65 In August 2019 alone, the World Food Programme provided food assistance and aid to over 7 million people in Yemen. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming number of people experiencing food security throughout the country, many citizens were given reduced rations. 66 What is more, nearly one-third of Yemeni families have diets that do not include fruits, vegetables, meat or dairy products. Due to this widespread malnutrition, the World Food Programme has assisted more than two million young children and one million mothers who required treatment for acute malnutrition. 67 These efforts are yet another attempt to work towards the United Nation second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). In essence, the “Zero Hunger” SDG commits to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” in Yemen by 2030. 68 This enormous endeavor will require much time, effort, support and funding in order to end food security in Yemen. Unfortunately, the WFP has revealed that they are experiencing great difficulty with funding for food assistance in Yemen. In order to provide uninterrupted food security in Yemen for a six-month period, the World Food Programme requires 878 million US$. 69
Questions to Consider
• Do wealthy and developed countries have an obligation to aid of food insecure nations? • How does wealth disparity play a role in food insecurity in developing countries? • What measures should be taken following a natural disaster to prevent food insecurity? • Based upon the current global context, how can the United Nations’ SDG 2 be made a more tangible goal by 2030?
62 Ibid. 63 Food and Agriculture Organization, Crisis in Yemen, (FAO of the United Nations, 2020) 64 Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Yemen, (OCHA of the United Nations, 2019) 65 Food and Agriculture Organization, Yemen Crisis, (FAO of the United Nations, 2020) 66 World Food Programme, Fighting Famine, (WFP of the United Nations, 2020) 67 World Food Programme, Yemen Emergency, (WFP of the United Nations, 2020) 68 United Nations, Yemen. Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger in Yemen, (United Nations 2020) 69 World Food Programme, Fighting Famine, (WFP of the United Nations, 2020) 14
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Mokyr, Joel. “Great Famine.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., February 4, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Famine-Irish-history. 15
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TOPIC 2: HUMANITARIAN AID IN CONFLICT-AFFECTED COUNTRIES
Introduction
The World Food Programme (WFP) has the responsibility of managing global humanitarian aid delivery and responding to emergency food crises all over the world. The WFP is crucial to bringing emergency assistance, relief and rehabilitation, development aid and special operations to countries in need.70 This is notably important for fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS). The World Bank Group (WBG) classifies these states as either a country with high levels of institutional and social fragility or a country affected by violent conflict.71 Today, about 1.8 billion people live in FCAS, but this figure is expected to rise significantly to 2.3 billion by 2030.72 Therefore, it is vital for the WPF to fulfill its missions as many of these states depend on their aid.
Currently, the WFP leads the international community in accomplishing the second United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2). One of SDG 2’s main targets is to “end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.”73 With this, the WFP distributes humanitarian aid provided by the international community to help alleviate hungry and suffering people in FCAS. In fact, two-thirds of WPF effort has gone to conflict-affected countries where the majority of malnourished people can be found. The state structures in conflict-affected countries are weak and conceivably failing which causes the state to lose its ability to perform its basic role of ensuring the food security of its citizens. In conflict-affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa for example, the number of undernourished people increased by 23.4 million between 2015 and 2018.74 Furthermore, “the three worst food crises in 2018 in order of severity were all countries affected by conflict: Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan.”75 As such, the WFP faces a growing demand for humanitarian aid deliveries in conflict-affected countries.
However, the efficacy of humanitarian aid for conflict-affected countries has received increasing criticism for its ramifications. It is said to bring in new potential risks for the country that can ultimately promote more violence. For example, humanitarian aid can create incentives for armed actors to target civilians and loot resources for their own cause.76 Thus, the distribution efforts of the WFP would fall in the hands of the wrong group of people. It is the goal of this committee to analyze the efficiency and responsiveness of humanitarian aid frameworks and discuss how future food aid strategies may be improved to accommodate the increasing malnourished population in conflict-affected countries.
70 WFP, Overview. 71 WBG, Classification of Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations, 2020. 72 OECD, States of Fragility 2018 Highlights, 2018. 73 UN, #Envision2030 Goal 2: Zero Hunger Enable. 74 FAO, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2019, p. 7. 75 WFP, Fact Sheet Hunger & Conflict, 2019. 76 Reed W. and Christopher S., Doing Harm by Doing Good?, 2015, p. 1. 17
Adverse Consequences of Humanitarian Aid
While humanitarian aid may be beneficial for conflict-affected countries, it may unintentionally create incentives for armed political actors which could cause more harm to civilians in a conflict-affected country. Armed groups can use these supplies to influence the direction of the conflict. Humanitarian aid can prompt an increase in rebel violence because it encourages looting and predation, which results in abuse against the local population, and because rebels often perceive humanitarian aid as challenges to their own authority.77 Furthermore, “food aid is regularly appropriated by militia groups or other armed factions during its distribution.”78 An increasing number of illegal checkpoints and roadblocks are created by armed factions to “tax” aid agencies such as the WFP to grant safe passage towards the vulnerable population.79
However, increases in conflict and looting are not the only adverse consequences of humanitarian aid. The following ways have also resulted in a negative impact on the country’s local population:
• Aid can lead victims to become heavily reliant on agencies such as the WFP, making it harder to overcome the crisis by their own means.80 • Aid has the effect of attracting large groups of people which creates overcrowded camps at these distribution centers.81 • Aid can prompt national political leaders to transfer resources from the socio-economic programmes to which they had been allocated to uses that the leaders regard as more important (buying arms, for example).82 • Aid can unintentionally worsen or prolong civil wars or contribute to the diffusion of the conflict.83 • Aid can lose its neutral appeal as bigger countries may use aid as a political tool to influence their foreign political interests.84
Despite these possible consequences, these concerns can be prevented. Over time, the WFP has learned and adapted to avoid some of these problems as seen in previous. On average, “the provision of humanitarian food aid in conflict situations seems to provide some solace to the populations that may be more likely to join the rebellion and fight and weaken the risk of civil war. The positive effect of humanitarian food aid towards conflict mitigation is economically large.”85 However, these consequences are more prominent in high-intensity conflict countries. In Somalia for example, the manipulation of food security is a strategy employed by warring parties to control the local population.86 This means that warring parties try to control food aid flows because otherwise it possibly threatens their position in the conflict. Therefore, strategic
77 Reed W. and Christopher S., Doing Harm by Doing Good?, 2015, p. 6. 78 Nathan N. and Nancy Q., Aiding Conflict: The Impact of U.S. Food Aid on Civil War, 2012, p. 6. 79 Ibid. 80 Pierre P., The Impact of Humanitarian Aid on Conflict Development, 1998, p. 324. 81 Ibid. 82 Ibid. 83 Reed W. and Christopher S., Doing Harm by Doing Good?, 2015, p. 5. 84 Séverine A., United States “Humanitarian Diplomacy” in South Sudan, 2002. 85 Sebastien M. and Ashkok M., Humanitarian Food Aid and Civil Conflict, 2020, p. 10. 86 Inka K., Food Aid in Somalia, 2010, p. 34. 18 planning is crucial to overcome the possible consequences and successfully delivering the aid to those in need, especially in high-intensity conflict countries.
Case Study: Scarce Humanitarian Aid in the Central African Republic
The security situation in the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) is deteriorating and the humanitarian crisis aggravates rapidly over the past six years of conflict. As a result, 1.9 million people are in urgent need of food, nearly half of the national population.87 The latest Human Development Index, an index that measures key dimensions of human development from three important indicators (life expectancy, education and per capita income)88, ranked C.A.R. second to last in the world, with around 79% of the country’s population estimated to be living in poverty.89 The extensive armed conflict has devastated the country since 2014 with widespread and regular attacks on civilians, including targeted attacks on humanitarian actors.90 Although a peace agreement has been created between the government and the 14-armed rebel groups, the humanitarian situation remains critical. One in four citizens are displaced across the country as nearly 70% of the territory is in control by rebel groups.91
In collaboration with other humanitarian organizations, the WFP was only able to provide “emergency food and nutrition assistance” to 920,000 people in C.A.R. in 2018.92 With the high difficulty of accessing these vulnerable groups of people along with the targeted attacks on humanitarian actors by the rebel groups, providing humanitarian aid to these people have become increasingly challenging. Furthermore, violent incidents against humanitarian workers have increased over the years. In 2018, “338 cases of violence were registered in the first 10 months of the year.”93 Between August and September alone, “there were 39 armed robberies of humanitarian facilities, involving physical violence against personnel and forcing several organizations to suspend operations, depriving vulnerable populations of humanitarian assistance.” 94With the rise of violence against humanitarian workers, more people in C.A.R. will experience malnourishment which in turn increases the need for humanitarian aid.
The scale of the conflict can easily be compared to other more widely known conflicts such as in Yemen and Syria, yet the C.A.R. lacks the attention it needs to garner help from the international stage. However, this could be explained by the fact that from January to August 2017, “C.A.R. accounted for one-third of the security incidents against Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) worldwide, making it one of the countries where humanitarian workers are the most at risk.”95 The WFP would be unable to fulfill its mandate if their humanitarian workers’ are deterred by rebel groups. Due to this, the WFP had to create a special operation called the
87 FAO, Monitoring Food Security in Countries with Conflict Situations, 2019, p. 5. 88 UNDP, Human Development Reports. 89 WFP, Central African Republic. 90 Amélie G., The Future of Central African Republic is Still at Risk, 2018, p. 2. 91 Ibid. 92 WFP, Central African Republic. 93 FAO, Monitoring Food Security in Countries with Conflict Situations, 2019, p. 6. 94 Ibid. 95 Amélie G., The Future of Central African Republic is Still at Risk, 2018, p. 3. 19
“Provision of Humanitarian Air Services in Central African Republic” in 2017.96 NGOs relocated their workers out of the most dangerous areas leaving behind an increasingly vulnerable population of malnourished people.
Conclusion
The WFP strongly emphasizes the importance of the 2030 Agenda and the need to cooperate with all stakeholders to address issues of food insecurity and malnutrition, fulfilling its commitment to SDG 2 on achieving zero hunger.97 Delivering quick humanitarian aid to FCAS is crucial to saving lives and alleviate suffering in these countries. However, it has become increasingly challenging for humanitarian workers to provide aid in conflict-affected countries and for aid to reach those most in need. As the malnourished population increases in these countries, the WFP must immediately take action to prevent such matters from getting worse. The international community continues to embrace the SDGs and develop new frameworks to supply food aid, there are major obstacles that the WFP must be prepared to overcome for today’s crises, as well as for possible future crises as well.
Questions to Consider
• How can the access to a stable and safe food supply be ensured for the most vulnerable groups of people? • How can the WFP ensure the safety of humanitarian workers in conflict-affected countries? • What can be done to prevent the loss or obstruction of food aid during the delivery process? • What kind of organizations and programs has your country utilized or participated in regarding the eradication of malnutrition? • What can be done to improve existing frameworks to better adapt to rising future complications?
96 WFP, Provision of Humanitarian Air Services in Central African Republic, 2017. 97 WFP, WFP Strategic Plan (2017 - 2021), 2017, p. 4 20
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