The General Assembly,

Reaffirming the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition,(1)

Conscious that, despite the progress that has been made in ensuring global food availability, eight hundred million people remain chronically undernourished and about two hundred million children under age five suffer from protein and energy deficiencies,

Convinced of the urgent need, at the highest political level, to marshal the global consensus and commitment required for the eradication of hunger and malnutrition and the achievement of food security for all, through the adoption of concerted policies and a plan of action for implementation by Governments, international institutions and all sectors of civil society,

Recalling the contributions to international consensus achieved by the World Food Conference(2) in 1974, the World Summit for Children(3) in 1990, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development(4) and the International Conference on Nutrition(5) in 1992, the International Conference on Population and Development(6) in 1994, and the World Summit for Social Development(7) and the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, as well as the agreements made at other international conferences and summits in recent years,

Recognizing that activities to ensure food security at all levels should be carried out within the framework of sustainable development, as defined in Agenda 21(9), and that the World Food Summit will give due attention to the multifaceted nature of food security,

Taking note of the proposal of the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that the Summit should not call for new funding mechanisms or institutions,

1. Welcomes the decision of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations at its twenty-eighth session to convene the World Food Summit in Rome from 13 to 17 November 1996 at the level of heads of State or Government;
2. Invites Governments to participate actively in Summit preparations and to be represented at the level of heads of State or Government;
3. Invites all relevant United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations, including international and regional financial institutions, as well as non-governmental organizations and the private sector, to cooperate actively with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in preparing for the Summit;
4. Invites the international community to make contributions on a voluntary basis to the special trust fund established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in order to facilitate the preparations for and the holding of the Summit as well as to facilitate the preparations for effective participation of representatives of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, both at the sessions of the Committee on World Food Security of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to be held in January and September 1996 as preparatory meetings and at the Summit itself;
5. Invites the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to submit to the General Assembly, at its fifty-second session, through the Economic and Social Council, a report on the outcome of the Summit, including actions to be taken to follow up the outcome of the Summit at all appropriate levels.

   ---

   Footnotes:

   (1)	Report of the World Food Conference, Rome, 5-16 November 1974 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.75.II.A.3), chap. I.
   (2)	See Report of the World Food Conference, Rome, 5-16 November 1974 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.75.II.A.3).
   (3)	See First Call for Children (New York, United Nations Children's Fund, 1990).
   (4)	See Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigenda).
   (5)	See International Conference on Nutrition, Rome, December 1992, Final Report of the Conference and World Declaration and Plan of Action for Nutrition (Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1992).
   (6)	See Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 5-13 September 1994 (United Nations Publication, Sales No. E.95.XIII.18).
   (7)	See Report of the World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, 6-12 March 1995 (A/CONF.166/9).
   (8)	See Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4-15 September 1995 (A/CONF.177/20).
   (9)	Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations Publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigenda), resolution 1, annex II.

   ---