Action Against Hunger urges G7 members to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and increased humanitarian funding and access in Ukraine

At the closing of the G7 Ministerial meeting on Foreign Affairs, Action Against Hunger welcomes the G7 State members’ commitment to address food insecurity and malnutrition. We recall that reaching the SDG 2 Zero Hunger objective requires urgent measures to address the structural causes of hunger – armed conflicts, climate change, poverty and inequalities. We call for G7 members to commit to both short-term humanitarian action in emergencies, including in ‘forgotten crises’, and to a long-term transformation of food systems to become more sustainable, resilient and fair by investing in an agroecological approach. We further welcome G7 members’ commitment to the next 2025 Nutrition for Growth and call on them to ensure that an ambitious, decisive and inclusive International Summit will be held in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

With regards to Gaza, we welcome the G7 members’ call for urgent action to address the current humanitarian crisis. The conflict in Gaza has led over 1 million people to face catastrophic levels of food insecurity, placing the civilian population at imminent risk of famine. As of 15 April 2024, at least 28 children have died as a result of human-made starvation, malnutrition, and dehydration. If immediate action is taken, famine can be prevented. Action Against Hunger reiterates its call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, which is the only way to avoid famine in Gaza, scale up the necessary humanitarian response, and protect the civilian population.

We welcome the G7 members’ call for a full, rapid, safe, unhindered, and effective humanitarian access, the massive increase of aid flow through the opening of land crossings, and the protection of humanitarian aid workers. Action Against Hunger welcomes the reopening of the Erez crossing in north Gaza, and urges its immediate use for both commercial and humanitarian goods to allow for the necessary drastic increase of entry of food-related aid. Additional border crossings where road access is possible, such as Gate 96, should also be prioritized. Any road and border crossing access must be implemented alongside assurances of safety and effectiveness of humanitarian aid delivery within the Gaza Strip. Movement of humanitarian personnel must be efficient, safe, unhindered, and coordinated to ensure that aid deliveries arrive in a timely and systematic manner. Too often are aid convoys impeded without transparency or uniformity, creating an ever-shrinking operational space for humanitarian organizations. The development of maritime corridors and of any new initiative to increase aid in Gaza, including the “Food for Gaza” initiative launched by the Italian MFA in cooperation with FAO, WFP, and IFRC, must consider such factors and include concrete, explicit measures to address access barriers and movement safety in the Strip.

We recall the provisional measures set out in the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decisions regarding the conduct of hostilities and the unhindered provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance, and we urge third States, including the G7 members, to employ all diplomatic and political means at their disposal to ensure compliance with the ICJ’s orders.

An immediate and permanent ceasefire is a fundamental step, as it would also allow measurement of the level of impact the conflict has had on the population and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and the scale of the humanitarian response required to fulfill the immediate needs and plan an effective reconstruction of the area in the long term. All diplomatic efforts should be rooted in International Law, ensure accountability, and provide a leadership role for humanitarian organizations in any humanitarian and development response for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

With regards to the war in Ukraine, we emphasize that the protection of civilians and essential infrastructures in conflict-affected areas remains the foremost concern. Over 14 million people need some form of humanitarian and protection assistance in Ukraine. However, we highlight that humanitarian funding to meet immediate needs of the population in Ukraine is declining and is increasingly concentrated on delivering aid in areas close to the frontline, thus leaving increasing gaps in assistance in other areas where 3.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have fled, who are living in a precarious situation and in need of long-term support.

It is imperative for Ukraine’s international partners, including G7 members, to create and fund a transitional plan which recognizes the need for increased humanitarian funding to ensure a continued locally-led humanitarian response that meets the extreme and immediate needs of the population, complemented by recovering and development funding that must ensure the continued support to vulnerable populations, including IDPs and those located far away from the frontline. Moreover, it is imperative that humanitarian aid be clearly distinguished from military assistance in political discourses.

Furthermore, Action Against Hunger and other organizations active in Ukraine, note with concern that humanitarian access to the areas in territories under Russian control is extremely constrained, hindering the delivery of a principled, timely and effective humanitarian response, yet high-level and diplomatic engagement to enable access to these areas remains limited. We call on G7 members to urge parties to the conflict to remove existing legislative and policy barriers that may impede or prevent humanitarian action in territories under Russian control and in frontline areas, in order to enable humanitarian actors to meet the needs of the population. We further call on G7 members to continue to advocate for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure and ensure principled aid dialogue through humanitarian channels.