‘All humanity is paying the price’ – UN’s Guterres urges full reopening of Hormuz, warns of worsening economic crisis

Humanitarian and Economic Impact

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned that 45 million people could face acute hunger if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, urging countries to respect navigational rights at the key waterway.

“The whole of humanity is paying the price,” Guterres said. “The pain will be felt for a long time to come. Supply chains will take months to recover, prolonging lower economic output and higher prices.”

Outlining the economic impact of the closure of the strait, he said that global growth would drop from 3.4 percent to 3.1 percent, and global inflation, which had been declining, would climb by 0.6 percent to 4.4 percent.

“45 million more people will face extreme hunger. Hard-won development gains are reversed overnight,” he added.

Worsening Global Outlook

Guterres added that the world was already recovering from COVID-19 and the Ukraine conflict, and said that if supply chain disruption continues until year-end, inflation would cross 6 percent and growth would nosedive to 2 percent.

“The crisis has already locked in losses for months to come, and every day that ships cannot move escalates these costs and amplifies the reverberations across the global economy,” he added.

UN Response and Rising Tensions

He said that the UN, along with the International Maritime Organisation, was working on a framework to securely evacuate ships and seafarers from the conflict zone.

“UN Office of Project Services, Jorge Moreira da Silva, who is leading the UN Task Force for the Strait of Hormuz, will be heading to the region to continue his active consultations for a possible humanitarian corridor to be ready if the worst-case scenarios materialise,”

Oil prices reached a four-year high on Thursday after reports that the US military would brief President Donald Trump on potential new options against Iran. This comes as the US and Iran have imposed restrictions on the passage of ships in one of the world’s key chokepoints.