Guterres urges confidence building mechanism for maritime chokepoints
UN Secretary General António Guterres on Monday called for engagement and cooperation among the relevant parties to establish a confidence building mechanism aimed at ensuring the smooth flow of essential goods through maritime chokepoints.
Maritime straits are the arteries of the global economy, carrying tonnes of food, fertilisers and fuel every day. When these routes are blocked by geopolitical conflicts, millions of people thousands of kilometres away from the combat zones suffer. Guterres, proposing a confidence building mechanism, reminds us that even amid war, practical solutions can be found to get humanitarian cargoes to those in need. His initiative is not an attempt to replace political settlement, but a first step towards reducing risks and restoring predictability amid international confrontation.
Guterres said the task force on the Strait of Hormuz crisis, which he established in March, had been working on a "practical and time limited confidence building mechanism, initially focused on fertilisers and related raw materials, but with the possibility of extending to other products." "The rights and freedoms of navigation are not abstract principles; they are international law. These rights and freedoms are vital to international peace and security and to the flow of food, energy and essential goods on which billions of lives depend.
The mechanism will not authorise passage through the state of Hormuz, nor will it change the rights or obligations of any member state under international law. Sovereign decisions remain exclusively for the participating member states. The United Nations will act as a neutral facilitator, and the goal is simple: to reduce immediate risks, support more orderly and predictable transit, and help rebuild the trust needed for diplomacy and de escalation," he said at a press conference.
The mechanism can be implemented quickly, as international support for these efforts is encouraging, especially from vulnerable countries that understand what is at stake when sea lanes are disrupted, he said. "Cooperation and political will on all sides are now needed. I call on all interested parties to engage seriously and constructively." Guterres cautioned that this mechanism is not a substitute for full restoration of navigation rights and freedoms or the political decisions needed to end these conflicts. But it is a practical first step — proof that even in conflict, it is possible to reduce risks, protect civilians and ensure the smooth flow of essential goods, he said. "The alternative is continued disruption, deepening mistrust and growing hardship for people far beyond the directly affected regions," he warned.
Guterres called for full respect for international law, including the law of the sea and international humanitarian law; protection of civilian shipping, infrastructure and civilian seafarers; observance of navigation rights and freedoms; an immediate end to attacks on commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the Black Sea; full restoration and respect for navigation rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz; and an end to attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and around the Bab el Mandeb Strait. "Maritime chokepoints must never become instruments of coercion. And global food supplies must never become collateral damage of conflict," Guterres said.
The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz escalated in early 2026 following the intensification of the conflict between the United States and Iran. The strait is a critical route for oil exports from the Persian Gulf, as well as for supplies of food and fertilisers to regions dependent on imports. The blockade and military action have seriously disrupted shipping, causing energy price spikes and threatening food security in developing countries. Guterres has repeatedly called for de escalation, and his new initiative offers a concrete mechanism to reduce tensions, starting with vital goods.
As CCTV+ reports, Guterres' proposal for a confidence building mechanism for maritime chokepoints is an attempt to find a pragmatic way out of an impasse where military logic blocks humanitarian flows. The success of this initiative will depend on the parties' willingness to sit down at the negotiating table and recognise that maritime security is a shared responsibility, not a bargaining chip. If the conflict continues, the consequences will hit the most vulnerable hardest, turning maritime straits into instruments of hunger and instability.
