CL 127/10 |
Hundred and Twenty-seventh Session |
Rome, 22-27 November 2004 |
REPORT OF THE 30TH SESSION OF THE
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II. ASSESSMENT OF THE WORLD FOOD SECURITY SITUATION
VI. INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE AGAINST HUNGER
APPENDIX B - MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY
APPENDIX C - COUNTRIES AND ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTED AT THE SESSION
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1. The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) held its Thirtieth Session from 20 to 23 September 2004 at FAO Headquarters in Rome. The Session was attended by delegates from 106 out of 118 Members of the Committee, by observers from 10 other Member Nations of FAO, the Holy See, by representatives from 6 United Nations Agencies and Programmes; and by observers from 8 intergovernmental and 29 international non-governmental organizations. The report contains the following annexes: Appendix A - Agenda of the session; Appendix B - Membership of the Committee; Appendix C - Countries and organizations represented at the session; Appendix D - List of documents. Council document CL 127/10 Sup.1 constitutes the Final Report of the Intergovernmental Working Group for the Elaboration of a Set of Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security. The full list of participants is available from the CFS Secretariat.
2. The Session was opened by Mr Adisak Sreesunpagit (Thailand), the outgoing Chairperson of the Committee, who highlighted the extremely close working relations between the CFS Bureau and the Secretariat. He thanked all the countries for their support during his tenure and suggested that the Committee concentrate on the format for the follow-up to the World Food Summit Plan of Action so as to enhance the quality of the Mid Term Review in 2006.
3. The Committee elected by acclamation Mr. Salif Diallo, Minister of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries of Burkina Faso as Chairperson and Mr Soren Skafte (Denmark), Mr Yahya Al Araimy (Oman), Mr Anton Kohler (Switzerland) and Mr Alvaro Aguilar Prado (Guatemala) as Vice Chairpersons for the 2004-2005 biennium. As Mr. Salif Diallo was unable to attend the current Session, Mr. Soren Skafte was appointed as the Acting Chairperson for the Session.
4. Mr David Harcharik, Deputy Director-General, delivered the opening statement on behalf of the Director-General. On behalf of His Excellency, Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, His Excellency Chaturon Chaisang, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand delivered the Keynote Address.
5. The Committee appointed a Drafting Committee composed of the delegations of Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Republic of Congo, Finland, Iran, Japan, Mauritania, The Netherlands, Romania, Sri Lanka, Sudan and the United States of America under the Chairmanship of Ms. Hedwig Wogerbauer (Austria).
6. The second FAO Distinguished Lecture on Food Security was delivered by Prof. Norman Borlaug, (USA), President, Sasakawa Africa Association and 1970 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. He highlighted the importance of agricultural research in ensuring food security both in the past, now and for the future in his comprehensive lecture on “The Green Revolution – An Unfinished Agenda”.
7. Particular attention was called for an immediate international response to the worsening locust crisis in Africa. The damage and loss of lives caused by Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti was also highlighted and an appeal made for urgent assistance from the international community, especially UN bodies.
8. The Committee noted the uneven progress in the fight against food insecurity amongst countries and regions and within countries themselves for a variety of reasons which threatens the attainment of the goals of the World Food Summit and the Millennium Declaration by their target date. In that sense, it reaffirmed that strategies aimed at poverty and hunger reduction have to be considered in the broader context of development.
9. The Committee welcomed the special coverage of trade in the document and the recent consensus reached in the WTO negotiations. It recognized that serious and timely work was now needed to give substance to this. It was noted that the least developed countries could benefit significantly from capacity building through investments in institutions and human resources that would enhance their ability to take full advantage of the multilateral trading system.
10. The Committee made the following recommendations:
For Governments:
For FAO:
For all concerned parties:
11. The Committee reviewed the progress in the implementation of the WFS Plan of Action on the basis of document CFS:2004/3. It noted that the document was based on information from reports of 33 countries, the European Union (EU) representing its 25 Member States, 3 UN agencies and 2 international organizations, using the Revised Reporting Format approved and recommended by the FAO Council, at its Hundred and Twenty-fifth Session. The committee underscored the need to improve the reporting rate to make the synthesis report more representative of all countries.
12. The Committee re-iterated its concern that the progress in reducing the number of the undernourished remained very slow at the global level. It recognized that the on-going efforts to fight hunger were important but insufficient. It also called for an adequate response to the challenges of poverty and hunger reduction and display of strong political will so as to ensure the achievement of the goals of the WFS and Millennium Declaration.
13. The Committee was informed by the Brazilian delegation that Representatives from several countries, including Head of States and Government, and International Organizations were meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 20 September 2004,at the invitation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil in a “Summit of World Leaders for the Action Against Hunger and Poverty”. The Committee was also informed by the Brazilian Ambassador that the purpose of the meeting was to mobilize international attention and political will to the challenges of combating hunger and poverty and searching for innovative financing mechanisms for development.
14. The Committee expressed concern that the performance of countries in tackling poverty and hunger and their progress towards internationally agreed targets was uneven. It noted with satisfaction that most countries with sound policies and well developed institutional and physical infrastructure have succeeded to attain economic growth and reduce poverty and food insecurity. The Committee regretted that there has been no progress towards the goals in some countries, and that in others poverty and hunger were even deteriorating. In this context, the Committee re-emphasised the overriding importance of an enabling political, social, economic and sustainable natural resource environment, conducive for economic growth and poverty reduction.
15. The Committee stressed that the success in improving food security is contingent upon improved economic conditions in general and agricultural growth in particular, and agreed that to be successful the fight against hunger needs to follow a broad based approach involving all stakeholders. In this connection, the Committee stressed the importance of a holistic approach in implementing the seven commitments in the WFS Plan of Action. The Committee stressed that the primary responsibility for the fight against hunger rests with national governments. The Committee pointed out that good governance and a conducive policy environment at national level are essential for accelerated development and reduction of poverty and hunger. It also noted that progress in these areas should be supported by a conducive international environment. The need for enhancing ODA, reducing export subsidies, and trade distorting domestic support to agriculture and reducing the debt burden of developing countries was also underscored. The Committee underlined the importance of food aid particularly under emergency situations, but stressed that hunger cannot be sustainably eradicated by food aid alone. The Committee also emphasised the importance of strengthening co-operation at sub-regional and regional levels in the struggle against hunger. The Committee stressed the need for renewed attention to strengthen south-south co-operation.
16. Pointing out that the Heads of State and Government at the World Food Summit (WFS) and the Word Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) have identified rural development as essential to sustainable development and poverty eradication, several delegates stressed that sustainable agriculture in itself is not sufficient to tackle all the underlying causes of rural poverty, hunger and environmental degradation. They expressed concern that food security and rural development issues were not adequately reflected in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers of many countries, and that there was a lack of interface between policies and programmes for agriculture with those of water management and biodiversity. In this connection, the Committee emphasised that monitoring should not only focus on the progress of hunger reduction but also on the impact of policies and of a wide range of development efforts in the form of projects and programmes at country level.
17. The Committee made the following recommendations:
For follow-up by FAO:
For follow-up by countries:
For the follow-up by donors and international organizations
18. The Committee considered the revised reporting format for follow-up of the implementation of the World Food Summit Follow-up, based on the recommendation by the Council, at the Hundred and Twenty-fifth Session, held in November 2003. A number of delegations expressed concern that the reporting format puts an additional burden of reporting on developing countries. The Committee noted in particular that completing the list of indicators was difficult for many countries and therefore the quantity and quality of the reports were insufficient. It also noted that many of the indicators were available in databases of other organizations such as the UNDP, World Bank, WHO and FAO.
19. Delegates put forward a number of proposals to improve the format, including reducing the frequency of reporting, avoiding duplication of information on indicators by using the above-mentioned databases and formulate a set of key indicators, the need to focus on priority issues and to include indicators on water and other natural resources. The Committee took note of these proposals and agreed that the Secretariat should convene a regionally balanced working group of experts to review various options. Following such review, the Secretariat should prepare a revised format for consideration by the Bureau.
20. Delegates recommended that FIVIMS work should contribute to the development of an appropriate analytical methodology and selection of food security indicators for the WFS reporting process. Also, the CFS Secretariat should work more closely with the FIVIMS Secretariat in that regard.
21. The Committee on World Food Security decided:
22. Criteria for inviting civil society organizations:
23. The Chair of the IGWG-RTFG, Mr Mohammad Saeid Noori-Naeeni (Iran), introduced the Reports of the Third and Fourth Sessions of the IGWG-RTFG held 5-10 July 2004 (CFS 2004/5) and on 23 September 2004 (IGWG RTFG 5/1) at FAO Headquarters. He recalled that the IGWG-RTFG had been established as a subsidiary body of the CFS by the 123rd Session of Council, and that the WFS:fyl and Council had mandated the IGWG-RTFG to finish its work in a period of two years.
24. The Chair summarized the conduct and process of negotiations of the Voluntary Guidelines and presented the text of the Voluntary Guidelines as adopted by the IGWG.
25. The CFS commended the work of the Chair, the IGWG Bureau and the Members, which had negotiated in a constructive manner. The CFS took particular note of the important role that other stakeholders had been able to play in the development of the Voluntary Guidelines. The CFS also expressed its appreciation for the work of the Secretariat.
26. The CFS endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines as submitted and decided to transmit them to Council for final adoption. The Final Report of the Chair is appended to this Report as document CL 127/10-Sup.1.
27. The Committee noted and welcomed the progress report regarding the International Alliance Against Hunger (IAAH). It was informed that some eighty countries had developed or expressed their interest in developing a national alliance. The Committee acknowledged the involvement of the Secretariats of the Rome-based agencies (FAO, IFAD, IPGRI and WFP) and the NGOs; the appropriate use of information technology; and noted that a strategy paper for the alliance was also nearing finalization.
28. The Committee called on governments, and on all others concerned with combating hunger, to continue to use all means possible, including National Alliances in their countries, to fight hunger but cautioned against duplication of efforts and proliferation of meetings. The Committee recalled that CFS is a forum of the UN system which deals with world food security, with clear rules of procedure for its work, which will need to be followed in consonance with general and evolving relationship between UN agencies and all other stakeholders. The CFS is a forum of the UN system dealing with world food security; the IAAH complements the activities of and reports to the CFS. Many countries stated that CFS should be the main forum for the International Alliance Against Hunger.
29. The Committee found the interactive website and register of IAAH member activities to be efficient ways to make connections and share information among food security stakeholders.
30. The Committee agreed on the voluntary nature of the Alliance and favoured a cost-effective operation.
31. Some delegates requested more information on the cost of the proposed IAAH annual meeting.
32. The Committee agreed to hold its Thirty-first Session at FAO Headquarters in Rome at a time to be determined by the Director-General in consultation with the Chairman.
33. The Committee welcomed the presentation of a brief report on the IAAH side event: “A High-Level Dialogue with Civil Society Leaders and Member Countries’ National Alliance Leaders on the development of The International Alliance Against Hunger as a Leading Global, Political and Moral Force to End Hunger”. A panel discussion on the G8 commitments to Africa with a special focus on increasing agricultural productivity through capacity building was organized by the US delegation. A seminar on Actions and Initiatives for Food Security was held as an Informal Panel event, with no official records of the proceedings as in the past Sessions.
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1 The civil society representatives are to be encouraged to adopt arrangements for coordination and interaction in providing inputs to the session.
2 For the work of the CFS, the term NGO is understood to cover all forms of civil society or private sector organizations.
I. ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS
II. ASSESSMENT OF THE WORLD FOOD SECURITY SITUATION
III. FOLLOW-UP TO THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT: REPORT ON THE PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN OF ACTION
IV. FUTURE REPORTING FORMAT AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR A SPECIAL FORUM
V. REPORT ON THE IGWG FOR THE ELABORATION OF A SET OF VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES TO SUPPORT THE PROGRESSIVE REALIZATION OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD IN THE CONTEXT OF NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY
VI. INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE AGAINST HUNGER
VII. OTHER MATTERS
Afghanistan Algeria Angola Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bangladesh Belgium Bolivia Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Canada Chile China Colombia Congo, Republic of Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Denmark Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia European Community Finland France Gabon Germany Ghana |
Greece Guatemala Haiti Honduras Hungary India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kenya Korea, Rep. of Kuwait Latvia Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Lithuania Madagascar Malaysia Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Oman |
Pakistan Palau Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone Slovenia Slovak Republic South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Thailand The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Tunisia Turkey Uganda United Kingdom United Republic of Tanzania United States of America Uruguay Venezuela Yemen Zimbabwe |
Afghanistan Algeria Angola Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bangladesh Belgium Bolivia Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Chile China Colombia Congo, Republic of Congo, Dem. Rep. of Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic People's Republic of Korea Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Eritrea Ethiopia European Community (Member Organization) Finland France Gabon Germany |
Ghana Greece Guatemala Haiti Honduras Hungary India Indonesia Iran (Islamic Republic of) Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kenya Korea (Republic of) Kuwait Latvia Lesotho Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Lithuania Madagascar Malaysia Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Morocco Mozambique Namibia Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Peru Philippines |
Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sweden Switzerland Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States of America Uruguay Venezuela Yemen Zimbabwe Holy See |
ACTIONAID INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATED COUNTRY WOMEN OF THE WORLD
CARITAS INTERNATIONALIS
CONSUMERS INTERNATIONAL
FOOD FIRST INFORMATION AND ACTION NETWORK
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION IUS PRIMI VIRI
INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC RURAL ASSOCIATION
INTERNATIONAL COALITION OF FISHERIES ASSOCIATIONS
INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE ALLIANCE
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR HOME ECONOMICS
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE MOVEMENTS
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF WOMEN IN LEGAL CAREERS
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
INTERNATIONAL JURIDICAL ORGANISATION FOR ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
INTERNATIONAL PLANNING COMMITTEE
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF LATIN NOTARIES
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
RÉSEAU DES ORGANISATIONS PAYSANNES ET DES PRODUCTEURS DE L’AFRIQUE DE L’OUEST
SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL
VIA CAMPESINA
WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM
WORLD CONFEDERATION OF LABOUR
WORLD FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS
WORLD ORGANIZATION OF THE SCOUT MOVEMENT
WORLD UNION OF CATHOLIC WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS
Document No. |
Title |
CFS:2004/1 Rev.1 |
Provisional Agenda and Agenda Notes |
CFS:2004/2 Corr.1 |
Assessment of the World Food Security Situation – Corrigendum |
CFS:2004/2 Rev.1 |
Assessment of the World Food Security Situation – Revision |
CFS:2004/3 Rev.1 |
Follow-up to the World Food Summit: Report on the Progress in the Implementation of the Plan of Action - Revision |
CFS:2004/4 |
Extracts related to the Follow-up to the World Food Summit from the Reports of the FAO Regional Conferences |
CFS:2004/4 Sup.1 |
Extracts related to the Follow-up to the World Food Summit from the Report of the Twenty-Third FAO Regional Conference for Africa (9-13 February 2004) |
CFS:2004/4 Sup.2 |
Extracts related to the Follow-up to the World Food Summit from the Report of the Twenty-Seventh FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (15-19 March 2004) |
CFS:2004/4 Sup.3 |
Extracts related to the Follow-up to the World Food Summit from the Report of the Twenty-Eighth FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (27-30 April 2004) |
CFS:2004/4 Sup.4 |
Extracts related to the Follow-up to the World Food Summit from the Report of the Twenty-Seventh FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (17-21 May 2004) |
CFS:2004/4 Sup.5 |
Extracts related to the Follow-up to the World Food Summit from the Report of the Twenty-Fourth FAO Regional Conference for Europe (5-7 May 2004) |
CFS:2004/5 |
Revised Reporting Format for the Follow-up of the Implementation of the World Food Summit Plan of Action |
CFS:2004/5 Sup.1 Rev.1 |
Proposal for a New Item to be inserted in the Agenda of the 30th Session of the CFS – GRULAC Proposal |
CFS:2004/5 Sup.2 |
Proposal for a New Item to be inserted in the Agenda of the 30th Session of the CFS – G-77 Proposal |
CFS:2004/6 |
Report of the Chairman of the IGWG for the elaboration of a set of voluntary guidelines to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security |
CFS:2004/7 |
International Alliance Against Hunger |
CFS:2004/Inf.1 |
Proposed Timetable |
CFS:2004/Inf.2 |
List of Documents |
CFS:2004/Inf.3 |
Membership of the Committee on World Food Security |
CFS:2004/Inf.4 |
Provisional List of Delegates |
CFS:2004/Inf.5 |
European Community – Declaration of Competence |
CFS:2004/Inf.6 |
Keynote Address by the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand |
CFS:2004/Inf.7 |
Report on the Development of FIVIMS |
CFS:2004/Inf.8 |
Report on FAO Initiatives against Hunger |
CFS:2004/Inf.9 |
Arrangements for the Mid-Term Review 2006 |
CFS:2004/Inf.10 |
Statement by the Director-General or his Representative |
CFS:2004/Inf.11 |
CFS Distinguished Lecture: “The Green Revolution: An Unfinished Agenda” by Dr. Norman Borlaug |