Civil society participation in FAO Governing Bodies meetings has increased in recent years. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) participate in in meetings such as the FAO Conference and the FAO Council, the Technical Committees on Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Commodity Problems, and World Food Security, and the Codex Alimentarius, where they make important contributions to the discussions and deliberations.

The criteria for invitation of CSOs to participate in FAO committee sessions are essentially twofold:

• the organization should be relevant and competent with regard to one or more of the agenda items of the session; and
• it should be international in its status (i.e. have members in more than two countries and board members from more than two countries).

It is, however, possible for a national CSO to attend as member of an international NGO network or umbrella organization to which it belongs or, alternatively, as a member of the national official delegation.