Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused an immediate food crisis, displacement of millions of people, and significantly complicated the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, Ukraine’s economy remains resilient.
The relevant statement was made by President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations Bob Rae in a commentary to an Ukrinform correspondent in New York.
“That [Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – Ed.] caused an immediate food crisis. International food crisis caused an immediate increase in the price of food for billions of people,” Rae said, answering a question about how Russian aggression affected the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The diplomat mentioned that the war had caused the displacement of millions of people, internally in Ukraine and then externally to other countries.
“So, the population of Ukraine was reduced dramatically. And the question of how do you help them deal with this level of forcible displacement became a huge, a huge issue,” Rae added.
In his words, the consequences of what Russia has done and is still doing on the global economy have been “consistently negative.”
In this regard, international organizations have to “make every step to try and make sure that people have enough food, that the price of food is affordable.”
According to Rae, the inflation spike had “a profoundly negative impact”, even though it has come down at the moment.
In this context, the diplomat recalled a poem by John Donne, where the British poet said: “No man is an island, Entire of itself.”
“When things impact, the impacts are felt much more widely than we realize. And I wouldn’t describe it as a ripple effect. It’s more like a tsunami effect, because of the impact that it had at the time, and there’s no getting around that,” Rae explained.
At the same time, as emphasized by Rae, the global economy is resilient, and the Ukrainian economy is resilient.
“[…] the Ukrainian people are resilient, and hopefully the resilience of Ukraine’s friends will be sufficient to allow Ukraine to succeed in its self-defense,” Rae concluded.
A reminder that Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres stated earlier that a just peace in Ukraine, among other things, would promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Source: ECOSOC President: Russian aggression causes global tsunami effect
