[Check against delivery]

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues,

Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea and intensifying attacks on the Black Sea grain exports are driving a global energy, fertilizer and food crisis, pushing tens of millions more people into hunger.

The costs of producing and moving food is rising.

First and foremost, International navigational rights and freedoms must be fully restored and respected by all parties, in accordance with international law.  

We need a cessation of hostilities, diplomacy and dialogue.

But planting cycles can’t wait for diplomacy.

We need to urgently find a way to build trust to avoid humanitarian disaster.

As you know I lead the taskforce for the Strait of Hormuz that the Secretary General set up in March.

This Mechanism is not a substitute for restoring full freedom of navigation or for a political solution. But, as a time-bound first step, it can demonstrate that safer, more orderly and predictable transit is possible. It can reduce immediate risks and begin rebuilding the confidence needed for diplomacy.

Over the past few months UNOPS and the taskforce have developed, in consultation with relevant parties, a practical proposal for a confidence-building mechanism, focused initially on fertilizers and related raw materials.

There is overwhelming support particularly from the most vulnerable countries. The Mechanism is ready and can be rolled out in a week. But it needs the political will of the parties to work.

Our message is clear: international law must be respected, freedom of navigation restored, and diplomacy must remain the path forward.

The UN can and should play a vital role in keeping essential supplies moving and protecting the people who depend on them, bringing neutrality, working together with the private sector and other partners.

Thank you.