Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

1. General comments on the Draft of the Rome Declaration on Nutrition.

Welthungerhilfe welcomes the opportunity to comment on the second draft of the ICN2 Declaration on Nutrition.

We acknowledge that the second draft of the Rome Declaration is more concise and better structured and makes reference to some of the aspects we have indicated as missing in the first draft.

We appreciate the reference made to the Right to Food in the introductory paragraph of the document. However, we recommend that the document as a whole should make stronger reference to the existing human rights framework as part of binding international law and the deriving obligation of states to respect, protect and fulfil the Human Right to adequate Food.

Reference to gender based discrimination and the violation of women´s rights as key drivers of malnutrition and the crucial role of women in food and nutrition security is still lacking.

More attention should also be paid to the role of education as another key aspect to end malnutrition in all its forms.

The document makes only little reference to rural areas and does not mention at all the role of small scale food producers although they represent the majority of the nutrition insecure population and play a significant role as the main producers of food.

Finally, a commitment to clear targets and timeframes to end malnutrition in all its forms and for accountability mechanisms to monitor this process is still missing.

We would like to reiterate that the participation of civil society should go further than an invitation to participate in the e-consultation on the political outcome document. We deem of vital importance that the civil society constituencies, the people who are directly affected by malnutrition and global nutrition policies, are given the opportunity of meaningful participation in the preparation of the ICN2 conference, the conference itself and the follow-up process.

1. Specific comments on the paragraphs related to the multiple threats that malnutrition poses to sustainable development (paragraphs 4-10).

Para 5.

With regard to the “root causes of malnutrition” the analysis should also mention the lack of access and control over resources, gender based discrimination and poor education as causes.

1. Specific comments on the vision for global action to end all forms of malnutrition (paragraphs 11-12).

Para 11 a)

It should be mentioned, that the elimination of malnutrition in all its forms is not only an imperative for ethical, political, social and economic reasons, but a binding obligation of national governments as set out in the legal frameworks on the Human Right to Food and the Human Right to Health.

Para 11 b)

The empowerment of women is crucial to end malnutrition and should be included here.

Para 11 c)

The list of relevant sectors to ensure political coherence should include climate policies, too. Delaying international agreements and preventing stronger commitments to stop climate change leads to increasing nutrition insecurity and therefore implies a violation of the Right to Food.

Para 11 e)

We recommend referring more explicitly to the strengthening of the legislative and regulatory framework in terms of preventing the marketing of unhealthy non nutritious food (HFSS foods) as well as implementing the WHO recommendation on the marketing of breast-milk substitutes.

Para 12 h)

With regard to sustainability reference should be made not only to its ecological but also to its social dimension addressing the need to ensure social equity within food systems.

1. Specific comments in the appropriate fields relating to these commitments (paragraph 13):

Commitment a): eradicate hunger and all forms of malnutrition, particularly to eliminate stunting, wasting and overweight in children under 5 and anemia in women; eliminating undernourishment and reversing rising trends in obesity;

Commitment b): reshape food systems through coherent implementation of public policies and investment plans throughout food value chains to serve the health and nutrition needs of the growing world population by providing access to safe, nutritious and healthy foods in a sustainable and resilient way;

Public policies and investment should particularly provide support for small-scale food producers allowing them for a sustainable production, processing and marketing of diversified nutritious food.

Commitment c): take leadership to shape and manage food systems and improve nutrition by strengthening institutional capacity, ensuring adequate resourcing and coordinating effectively across sectors;

Commitment d): encourage and facilitate contributions by all stakeholders in society and promote collaboration within and across countries, including North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation;

Commitment e): enhance people’s nutrition, including people with special needs, through policies and initiatives for healthy diets throughout the life course, starting from the early stages of life, before and during pregnancy, promoting and supporting adequate breast feeding and appropriate complementary feeding, healthy eating by families, and at school during childhood;

Commitment f): adopt and implement a Framework for Action that should be used to monitor progress in achieving targets and fulfilling commitments;

The Framework for Action should include clear targets, timeframes as well as commitments on financial resources and define accountability mechanisms allowing for meaningful participation of civil society actors, particularly of the segments of the populations most affected by malnutrition.

Commitment g): integrate the objectives of the Framework for Action into the post-2015 development agenda including a possible global goal on food security and nutrition.