Checked Against Delivery
Your Excellency, Foreign Minister Al Zayani, we thank you for your presence, and we thank Bahrain for hosting today’s Arria meeting.
I also would like to thank all the briefers for their important contributions today.
Chair,
As a top ten global shipping nation, Denmark is acutely aware of the importance of maritime security. The world’s oldest long-distance mode of transport remains the backbone of the global economy, moving around 85% of international trade. It is one of the key factors underpinning the interconnected world.
Open sea lanes are vital to international peace and security. This is particularly the case for food and energy security. Attacks in recent years on commercial ships in the Black Sea, the Red Sea, in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman have caused spikes in energy and commodity prices. As always, this has impacted the most vulnerable across the world.
Tragically, increased food insecurity is now a certainty for millions, with less grain available for immediate consumption, and less fertilizer for crops in the next growing season. The recent instability in the Bab al-Mandeb strait only exacerbates these pressures. It is a very concerning development.
Throughout Denmark’s term on the Security Council, we have consistently focused on food security, including in our August signature event on conflict and hunger. Such debates have shown how critical waterways impact food security, most notably in the Global South.
Chair,
Denmark’s approach to maritime security is anchored in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In international straits, unencumbered passage must be the starting point. We cannot permit littoral states to threaten or attack commercial shipping. We unequivocally condemn the illegal obstruction of key international straits.
We also recall the thousands of seafarers trapped on vessels or in ports in the Gulf, as we have heard about from Madam Andrees today. We demand that they be allowed to return to their loved ones in safety. Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz is unacceptable and it is unlawful.
Denmark is ready to participate in the UK-French-led, independent and strictly defensive, multinational military mission in support of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow. Denmark also contributes to the EU maritime operation, ASPIDES, in the Red Sea to defend freedom of navigation.
Chair,
In closing, maritime security is a prerequisite for global peace, stability and prosperity. UNCLOS and the freedom of navigation must be upheld. Denmark will continue to work with partners to keep maritime routes open, to safeguard the flow of food and energy, and ensure no country can use critical waterways as instruments of coercion. We believe the Security Council has a vital role to play in this.
I thank you.
