UN News Today 13 April 2026 |

Strait of Hormuz ‘blockade’ heightens food insecurity fears: FAO

As just a handful of ships reportedly made the risky journey through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday ahead of the US decision to blockade Iranian ports, UN economists reiterated warnings of a spike in global hunger, the longer the uncertain situation continues. 

It’s not just energy markets that have been impacted by the war in the Middle East, but also global food systems, said UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Chief Economist Máximo Torero:

“The clock the clock is ticking…If we don’t follow the crop calendar and we don’t have the inputs in the time in the time that is needed for planting and so on and so forward, that implies that producers will have to produce with less inputs, and therefore they could have lower yields, and that will affect the next season, the next half of the year or the potential in the next year.”

Mr. Torero said that the blockade could halt the movement of up to 35 per cent of global crude oil, along with 20 per cent of natural gas that’s used to produce fertilizer and other farming products. 

One of the UN’s main concerns is that delays in transporting fertilizers could disrupt planting cycles, reduce harvests and drive up food prices.

“If vessels don’t start moving soon, we could see lower yields, higher food prices and increased global inflation in the months ahead,” Mr. Torero insisted.

In London, the head of the UN International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez said that the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz “remains of grave concern”.

Mr. Dominguez stressed that 20,000 seafarers “remain stranded in the Persian Gulf” aboard vessels where they’re exposed to “significant risks”.

In a press briefing, the International Maritime Organization chief explained that introducing a toll in the Strait went against the international law of the sea and would “create a very dangerous precedent”.

He also noted that “any additional blockade” on the Strait where shipping was basically at a standstill would not help to find a solution to the conflict.

Middle East war could plunge many Iranians into poverty: UNDP

A warning now from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) that many people in Iran could be pushed into poverty because of the war.

In a new report, the UN agency said that “a significant proportion of the population” could be impacted as daily life and economic activity face ongoing disruption.

UNDP said that over a year of progress could be erased and that rising food inflation is already a major concern, with low-income households already spending nearly half their income on food.

Import disruptions and price shocks are also expected to worsen living conditions, especially for vulnerable groups; while damage to essential infrastructure across health, education, water and electricity now threatens access to basic services.

Budget crisis threatens future of key UN human rights committees

Finally, to Geneva, where key UN human rights treaty bodies meet – at least for the time being – as deep funding cuts threaten their future.

At the opening of the Committee Against Torture on Monday, the panel heard that serious financial constraints are already affecting the United Nations human rights system. 

Mahamane Cisse-Gouro, Representative of the Secretary-General, told the Committee that budget cuts had delayed scheduled country reviews and work on individual cases of torture allegations.  

The UN’s Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture has also faced drastic funding reductions, with cuts to essential support programmes, Mr. Cisse-Gouro noted. 

He said that uncertainty remained about future sessions, including the next session of the Committee Against Torture, which is due to meet in July.  

Confirmation is also pending whether another UN treaty body, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, will be able to meet later this year, because of additional cuts.

Daniel Johnson, UN News