• INTRODUCTION
• ANNEX
• QUOTE
• PROPOSAL OF THE GLOBAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLEFOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY FOR ENHANCEDCIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION IN THE CFS
  • 1. CRITERIA FOR NGO PARTICIPATION
  • 2. HOW AND WHEN NGOS PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETINGS
  • 3. OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPATION BEFORE AND AROUND MEETINGS
  • 4. REGIONAL CONFERENCES
• END QUOTE

INTRODUCTION

1. In discussing institutional arrangements for monitoring the implementation of the World Food Summit Plan of Action, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) at its Twenty-third Session in April 1997, recognised the important role played by civil society organisations in the preparation process of the World Food Summit and encouraged them to continue to participate in the work of the CFS. It requested the Secretariat to take interim measures to broaden NGO participation at the next session, at which time the Committee would examine the matter in more detail.

2. The following actions have been taken in response to this request:

• The list of NGOs invited to the Twenty-fourth session of the CFS in June 1998 has been broadened to include those NGOs with a record of activity relevant to food security and which had participated in the work of the Inter-Sessional Working Group of the CFS created to oversee the process of preparation of the World Food Summit.
• In order facilitate access by civil society organisations to information about preparations for the CFS, all pre-sessional documents for the Twenty-fourth session will be made available by end of April 1998 on the FAO Website (www.fao.org).

3. A proposal for enhancing civil society participation in the CFS was drafted by a group of NGOs on the basis of their discussions at the Twenty-third session of the CFS. The proposal was endorsed in August 1997 by the inaugural meeting of the Global Forum on Sustainable Food and Nutritional Security, which groups a number of civil society networks and organisations in the different regions. The NGO document is not an official proposal, but is circulated herewith for information at the request of the Bureau.

4. The proposal was forwarded to FAO for consideration in October 1997, and was subsequently commended by the Expert Meeting on Civil Society Involvement in Follow-up to the World Food Summit, which was convened by the Director-General in Rome on 27 to 28 January 1998. The report of this Expert Meeting is available under cover of document CFS:98/Inf.9.

5. Member governments are encouraged to enter into informal consultations in their own countries and amongst themselves about possible measures to widen the participation of NGOs and others actors of civil society at CFS meetings.

ANNEX

QUOTE

PROPOSAL OF THE GLOBAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE
FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY FOR ENHANCED
CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION IN THE CFS

1. CRITERIA FOR NGO PARTICIPATION

6. The Food and Agriculture Organization gained much experience during the World Food Summit in accrediting a mixture of international and national NGOs, and officials are already aware of the extended criteria which might form the future basis of NGO participation in the CFS. These include:

• relevance and competence (some NGOs are confused by this ECOSOC formulation and would prefer it to be stated that FAO will examine NGOs’ record of activity in food security);
• national and international NGOs and NGO networks;
• balanced regional representation, in particular to ensure that there is a better participation of developing-country NGOs;
• gender-balanced representation, recognising the fundamental role of women world-wide, especially in sustainable food and nutrition security. (This criterion might equally be considered by the CFS, for example, in the election of its chair and vice-chairs.);
• encouragement to governments to invite their national NGO coordinations to nominate one or two representatives to join their national delegations. (NGOs support this in principle because it offers benefits like access to information and capacity-building but they also recognise the risks: the possibility of favouritism by the government, and the fact that NGOs granted this status do not speak except with the permission of their delegation leader.);
• availability of trust funds to facilitate the participation of developing country NGOs.

2. HOW AND WHEN NGOS PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETINGS

7. Non-governmental Organisations attending the CFS and other FAO meetings, while grateful for the chance to speak, have felt disappointed that the only opportunity is to make prepared statements after government delegates have spoken. The question of whether NGOs might participate in a more interactive way is related to the wider question of how to ensure genuine debate in the Committee. This need has also been voiced by governments, one of which at the April 1997 meeting called for the "reconfiguration of the CFS as an enabling forum for Summit follow-up for all actors". Non-governmental Organizations are only one of the parties interested in the evolution of the working methods of the Committee, but the CFS again had a good experience of adapting its methods to the negotiation mode during the WFS process; working groups might be part of the solution. To overcome time constraints, NGOs accept that more opportunity for debate may mean that they have to caucus and appoint spokespersons in advance. Non-governmental Organizations, if they are to make the effort of participation, also need to be assured of a say in decision-making. They need to know that NGO positions can be reflected in the Committee report. Could two NGO representatives therefore be included in the Drafting Committee?

3. OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPATION
BEFORE AND AROUND MEETINGS

8. The limits to participation during meetings have encouraged thinking about the wider context of the CFS, including:

• NGO collaboration with the Secretariat in the drafting of papers, and receipt of papers more in advance of the meetings;
• a separate civil society meeting just prior to future meetings of the CFS;
• NGO discussion with the Bureau the day before the CFS to identify NGO concerns;
• joint briefings between regional groups of delegates and NGOs;
• workshops of participative design at appropriate times during the CFS (e.g. on the right to food, hunger mapping.);
• exhibitions or illustrations providing maximum visibility to examples of NGO projects and public policies that work well;
• space and facilities provided by FAO for NGO relations with the media;
• NGO representation in the open-ended working group proposed to be held immediately before the 1998 session to examine the future standard reporting format.

4. REGIONAL CONFERENCES

9. Non-governmental Organizations appreciated the opportunities afforded by the two-day NGO consultations before the 1996 regional conferences and hope that these can be repeated in 1998 and beyond. FAO might find it useful to consult regional NGO fora in advance about the agenda. The regional conferences may also be a good vehicle for consideration of the first year of implementation of the Plan of Action. A regional conference and related NGO consultation might be considered for North America. What is said above about the need for NGOs to know that they can have a say in decision-making may apply equally to the regional conferences.

END QUOTE