Establishment of a United Nations working group to address the Holmuz crisis

At a press conference on 24 August, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Gutierrez, stated that the current Middle East conflict and the Russian-Uu conflict were having a serious impact on global trade, energy and food supplies by disrupting maritime shipping. The obstruction of shipping in the Straits of Hormuz, the Red Sea and the Black Sea has led to restrictions on the transport of important goods, such as oil, fertilizers and food, and to significant increases in oil prices, container freight and fertilizer costs, further exacerbating the hardships of hunger and vulnerable groups globally. Gutierrez described the establishment by the United Nations of a working group in response to the Holmuz crisis, which planned to establish a United Nations-coordinated mechanism for registration, verification, monitoring and conflict de-escalation, with an initial focus on the transport of fertilizers and related raw materials. The Secretary-General stated that the mechanism would not alter the sovereign rights of any State or replace the political efforts needed to restore freedom of navigation and resolve conflicts, but could be a practical first step towards reducing risk, guaranteeing the transportation of essential goods and rebuilding trust. (In Russian)