Global Leaders Propose ‘Hormuz Initiative’ to Avert Food Security Crisis

A coalition of international policy experts and former world leaders has called for an urgent global initiative to safeguard food security amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, warning that disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a worldwide agricultural crisis.

In a joint statement released by the International Crisis Group with dozens of prominent signatories, the group proposed a “Hormuz Initiative” modeled on the Black Sea Grain Initiative to ensure the continued flow of food, fertiliser and key agricultural inputs through the strategic waterway.

The appeal follows a sharp escalation in hostilities after a US-Israeli military campaign launched on February 28. In response, Iran has carried out a series of attacks on vessels near its southern coast, significantly reducing maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s most critical trade chokepoints.

Experts warn that the disruption extends beyond oil supplies, affecting nearly one-third of global fertiliser shipments. This poses a severe risk to agricultural production, particularly in developing countries where farmers rely heavily on imported fertiliser.

“Smallholder farmers in poorer nations will be hit hardest,” the statement noted, cautioning that rising input costs could force many to reduce planting. Such a scenario could worsen food shortages in already vulnerable regions, including conflict-stricken areas like Sudan.

While the group acknowledged that a ceasefire would be the most effective solution, it expressed skepticism about immediate diplomatic breakthroughs. Instead, it urged world leaders to pursue practical measures to mitigate the humanitarian fallout of continued conflict.

The proposed Hormuz Initiative would focus narrowly on facilitating the safe passage of fertiliser, food and related materials such as sulfur and ammonia through the Strait, regardless of the broader military situation. The approach mirrors the Black Sea agreement, which allowed Ukrainian agricultural exports to reach global markets despite ongoing war, helping to stabilize food prices worldwide.

The United Nations has already announced a task force to address maritime trade disruptions in the region. According to the statement, this body should work alongside a newly appointed Middle East envoy to develop a concrete transit mechanism involving diplomatic, maritime and humanitarian experts.

Proponents argue that such an initiative could serve the interests of all parties involved. For Iran, it would help secure domestic food supplies and reinforce claims that its maritime restrictions are selectively targeted. For the United States and its allies, it would ease pressure on global markets and reduce the broader economic consequences of the conflict.

“The UN has taken the welcome step of announcing a task force to address maritime trade disruption through the Strait and floating an operational mechanism to permit transit for fertiliser shipments, along with humanitarian aid and select commercial imports to affected countries. The task force, working with the Secretary-General’s new envoy for the Middle East conflict, should bring together diplomatic, maritime and humanitarian specialists charged with crafting a Hormuz transit initiative. The focus should be narrow: working with all parties to develop a mechanism that allows for the unhindered flow of fertiliser, related intermediate materials (such as sulfur and ammonia) and food through the Strait, whether outgoing or incoming. The initiative would be independent of any plan to open the Strait by force. Such an approach would serve both Iranian and U.S. interests. It would protect Iran’s own food security and underline its claim that its selective control of the waterway is aimed only at belligerents. Meanwhile, it would also help farmers and consumers, while lowering the conflict’s costs to the rest of the world. Washington and Tehran must urgently find a way to end an enormously damaging war, but the prospect of continued or even more destructive confrontation should also focus minds on immediate steps that can be taken to manage the fallout, ” the statement said.

The statement also said while efforts to end the war must continue, the international community cannot afford to delay immediate action to manage its cascading effects on global food systems.

The global leaders that signed the statement are:

1. Fola Adeola – Founder and Chairman, FATE Foundation
2. Gérard Araud – Former Ambassador of France to the United States
3. Carl Bildt – Former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden
4. Maria Livanos Cattaui – Member of the Board of Directors, Open Society Foundations; Former SecretaryGeneral of the International Chamber of Commerce
5. Helen Clark – Former Prime Minister of New Zealand; Former Head of UNDP; Member of The Elders
6. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer – Former Senior Mediation Adviser to the United Nations; Founding Member of the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators
7. Nathalie Delapalme – Executive Director and Board Member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation
8. Maria Fernanda Espinosa – Former President of the UNGA’s 73rd Session; Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Defence, and Coordinating Minister of Natural and Cultural Heritage of Ecuador; Chief Negotiator at COP16 and COP17
9. Gareth Evans – Former Foreign Affairs Minister of Australia
10. Sigmar Gabriel – Former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
11. Ralph Gonsalves – Former Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
12. Arancha González Laya – Dean, Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), Sciences Po; Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation of the Government of Spain
13. Martin Griffiths – Executive Director of Mediation Group International; Former Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations
14. Jean-Marie Guéhenno – Arnold A. Saltzman Professor of Practice in International and Public Affairs; Director of SIPA’s Kent Global Leadership Program on Conflict Resolution
15. Gro Harlem Brundtland – Former Prime Minister of Norway; Former Director-General of the WHO; Member of The Elders
16. Stephen Heintz – President and CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
17. Mo Ibrahim – Founder and Chair, Mo Ibrahim Foundation; Founder, Celtel International
18. Bert Koenders – Former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs; Former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
19. Pascal Lamy – Former Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO); Former European Union Commissioner for Trade
20. Jean-David Levitte – Former Ambassador of France to the United States and the United Nations in New York
21. Helge Lund – Former Chair of Novo Nordisk and bp 22. Susana Malcorra – Former Foreign Minister of Argentina; Former Chef de Cabinet of the United Nations SecretaryGeneral
22. Lord (Mark) Malloch-Brown – Former UN Deputy Secretary-General and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Former President, Open Society Foundations
23. Ibrahim Mayaki – African Union Special Envoy for Food Systems; Former Prime Minister of Niger
24. Shivshankar Menon – Former Foreign Secretary of India; Former National Security Advisor
25. Saad Mohseni – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MOBY Group
26. P.J. Patterson – Former Prime Minister of Jamaica 2
27. Kerry Propper – Founder and Managing Partner of ATW Partners
28. Nirupama Rao – Former Foreign Secretary of India; Former Indian Ambassador to the United States
29. Mary Robinson – Former President of Ireland; Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Member of The Elders
30. Juan Manuel Santos – Former President of Colombia; Nobel Peace Laureate; Chair of The Elders
31. Alexander Soros – Chair of the Open Society Foundations
32. Nathalie Tocci – Director, Istituto Affari Internazionali; Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Europe