I am delighted to be able to join you all once again at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, to celebrate this year's World Food Day. The theme The right to food is most appropriate for our times and deserves the support from each and everyone of us from all walks of life.
Though we live in a world of historically unparalleled wealth and in a region that has led the globe in terms of economic progress and poverty reduction, we are far from fulfilling the goal of food for all, which was the main aim for the creation of FAO some sixty-two years ago. According to FAO's State of Food Insecurity (SOFI 2006) report, the Asia-Pacific region still accounts for more than 60 percent of the world's undernourished.
The right to food concept is important not only to human beings but living beings as a whole since food is the basis of life. Because food pervades and influences all aspects of life, the issue of the right to food is complex and multi-dimensional. It should not therefore be limited to the right to have and to gain access to food. Nor should it be stressed just on providing food to the needed in difficult times. It should be constructive and proactive not only to those who provide but also to those who need food. We should strive to enable them to produce food for themselves and thereby become self-reliant and self-sufficient. Only on these terms that we can achieve food security and eliminate hunger. In Thailand His Majesty the King's philosophy of the "Sufficiency Economy", which aims at building small reliable economy units self-sufficient in terms of food and other basic needs, serves as a good example.
In this context the Voluntary guidelines to support the progressive realization of the right to food are a welcome additional tool for countries in the region wishing to use it to enhance their food security situation. The implementation of the guidelines will directly benefit the most marginalized and vulnerable sections of society since they cover the full range of actions to be considered by governments at the national level in order to build an enabling environment for people to feed themselves in dignity and to establish appropriate safety nets for those who are unable to do so. They can be used to strengthen and improve current development frameworks, particularly with regard to social and human dimensions, putting the entitlements of people more firmly at the centre of development. I am optimistic that the theme, the right to food and the tool will help us immensely in reducing hunger in the immediate future.
I join you all in congratulating FAO on this auspicious day and wish to convey the solidarity and support of the Thai citizens for swift implementation of this year's World Food Day theme – The right to food.
Thank you.
