United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the restoration of freedom of navigation in key global maritime choke points, highlighting the growing threat that shipping disruptions pose to international trade and food security. Speaking at a news briefing, Guterres emphasized the compounded impact of conflicts in regions such as the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Black Sea on the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Guterres described how interruptions to maritime traffic are restricting the flow of crucial commodities including energy supplies, fertilizers, and agricultural products. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine, in particular, is impeding shipping routes critical for the export of oil, grain, and other foodstuffs. These disruptions, he said, are causing increased global prices, worsening hunger, diminished crop yields, and heightened hardship, especially among vulnerable communities.
According to the UN chief, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly ceased, contributing to a roughly 33 percent rise in oil prices since the onset of the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. He also noted that global container shipping rates have surged by 84 percent compared with the previous year, while costs for fertilizers and other essential inputs continue to climb sharply.
Citing international law, Guterres underscored that navigational rights and freedoms are not abstract concepts but legal obligations. He called on all parties to fully respect international maritime law and humanitarian law, and to safeguard civilian shipping, infrastructure, and seafarers. His appeal included an immediate halt to attacks on commercial vessels and civilian infrastructure in the Black Sea, the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Guterres stressed that maritime choke points should never be exploited as tools of coercion or allow the global food supply to become collateral damage in conflicts. In response to the crisis, the UN is advancing a mechanism designed to facilitate the continued movement of essential commodities amidst the tensions near the Strait of Hormuz.
The initiative, spearheaded by the UN Office for Project Services in partnership with entities including the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the International Maritime Organization, and the International Chamber of Commerce, aims initially to focus on fertilizers and related raw materials, with potential expansion to other goods. Guterres described the mechanism as ready to be implemented swiftly but clarified that it does not grant ships passage rights nor alters the sovereign rights of involved states. Instead, it would serve as a neutral facilitator, with registration and verification processes for ships carrying fertilizers and a deconfliction arrangement managed in Oman.
The Secretary-General emphasized that the success of the initiative depends on the agreement of all states engaged in the ongoing conflicts. “The unimpeded exercise of navigational rights and freedoms is a cornerstone of peace, security and shared prosperity and must be respected,” he said, calling protection of these principles both a legal duty and a humanitarian necessity.