CFS:2003/1  |
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CFS:2003/1 |
COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY |
Twenty-ninth Session |
Rome, 12-16 May 2003 |
PROVISIONAL AGENDA |
I. ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS
a. Adoption of Agenda and Timetable
b. Statement by the Director-General or his Representative
c. Membership of the Committee
II. FAO DISTINGUISHED LECTURE ON FOOD SECURITY
III. ASSESSMENT OF THE WORLD FOOD SECURITY SITUATION
IV. REPORT ON THE FIRST SESSION OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL WORKING GROUP (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
V. RECENT FAO INITIATIVES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER
a. Anti-Hunger Programme
b. International Alliance Against Hunger (IAAH)
VI. STANDING ITEM ON NUTRITION:
THE ROLE OF AQUACULTURE IN IMPROVING FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL - A REVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE CASES
VII. THEMATIC ISSUE: THE IMPACT OF DISASTERS ON LONG-TERM FOOD SECURITY AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION - POLICY IMPLICATIONS
VIII. OTHER MATTERS
a. Arrangements for the Thirtieth Session
b. Any Other Business
c. Report of the Session
1. The Twenty-ninth Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) will open at 10.00 hours on Monday 12 May 2003 at FAO Headquarters. Provision has been made for the Session to continue until Friday 16 May 2003.
(a) Adoption of Agenda and Timetable
2. The Provisional Agenda for the Twenty-ninth Session has been prepared in consultation with the Chairperson, taking into account the Committee's Terms of Reference, the Committee's recommendations at the previous Sessions and the views of member countries.
(b) Statement by the Director-General or his Representative
3. The Session will be addressed by the Director-General or his Representative.
(d) Membership of the Committee
4. The Committee is open to all Member Nations of the Organization and all states which are members of the United Nations. It is composed of those states which notify the Director-General in writing of their desire to become members of the Committee and of their intention to participate in its work. Membership is for the biennium. The Secretariat will circulate a list of members of the Committee for the biennium 2002-2003 at the opening of the Session.
5 A distinguished personality, with a proven record of outstanding thinking in the field of food security, will deliver the lecture - the first in a series that will be continued in future Sessions of the Committee on World Food Security. The Director-General will introduce the speaker and participate in the discussions.
6. Under this item the Committee will consider the current world food security situation, including trends and prospects. The performance of countries and regions with regard to the World Food Summit (WFS) objective of reducing hunger will be assessed along with a discussion of access, stability and food safety issues. Updated information on the various indicators of food security will be presented and special issues highlighted.
7. At the Hundred and Twenty-third Session of FAO Council held in Rome from 28 October to 2 November 2003, it was decided that the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Right to Food would report to the CFS at the regular sessions in May 2003 and September 2004 (CL 123/REP/13 para. 10). Accordingly the Committee will consider the Report of the First Session of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Elaboration of Voluntary Guidelines for the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security.
(a) Anti-Hunger Programme
8. The Secretariat has prepared a document entitled “Anti-Hunger Programme” which has been discussed at a side event during the World Food Summit: five years later. A Second Draft of the same document was presented at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg. The Committee is invited to comment on the contents of the document so that it may become a guide for all stakeholders concerned with the achievement of the WFS goal and other Millennium Development Goals.
(b) International Alliance Against Hunger (IAAH)
9. The Declaration of the World Food Summit: five years later entitled “International Alliance Against Hunger” recognized “the urgent need to reinforce the efforts of all concerned partners as an international alliance against hunger, for the fulfilment of the objectives of the 1996 Summit”. Under this agenda item, the Committee will consider a Secretariat Note on actions taken and actions proposed with regard to the International Alliance against Hunger, as well as activities at the national level.
10. In line with the decision taken at its Twenty-eighth Session, the Committee, at this Session, will consider: "The role of aquaculture in improving food security and nutrition at the community level - a review of sustainable cases" as the Standing item on Nutrition. The Standing Item on Nutrition was transferred from the Committee on Agriculture (COAG) to the CFS by the FAO Conference in 1995, and the CFS, at its Twenty-fourth Session, agreed that a nutrition-related theme, related to implementation of Commitment II of the WFS Plan of Action should be taken up at its next session, with the precise topic to be determined under the guidance of the Bureau. Since then it has been decided that a Standing Item on Nutrition would be included on the CFS agenda every other year, alternating with a review of the progress in the Implementation of the WFS Plan of Action.
11. It will be recalled that the Committee at its Twenty-seventh Session confirmed that the thematic issue for consideration at its Twenty-eighth Session should be "The impact of disasters on long-term food security and poverty alleviation - policy implications". However, the Committee could not take up this topic at its Twenty-eighth Session owing to the fact that a significant part of the Committee’s agenda was devoted to matters relating to the preparation of the World Food Summit: five years later. In line with its decision at the Twenty-eighth Session, the Committee will consider this thematic issue at its Twenty-ninth Session.
12. The Committee will consider this subject on the basis of a background paper which will assess the incidence of disasters and their impact on long-term food security and poverty reduction. The paper will outline the policy implications of disasters on the issues in question and will put forward for the Committee’s consideration appropriate and urgent policy recommendations for implementation at national and international levels.
(a) Arrangements for the Thirtieth Session
13. Under this item, the Committee will consider any matters that may require decision regarding the date and agenda for its next Session, bearing in mind that it had decided to monitor the WFS Plan of Action in even years of each biennium and hold its meetings in these years after all Regional Conference Sessions finished their work, so that contributions from regional debates could be incorporated in the CFS monitoring process. Document CFS:2003/6 - Proposal for Thematic Issues to be considered at the Thirtieth Session of CFS, will be taken up under this agenda item. According to its Terms of Reference, the Committee should normally hold two Sessions during each biennium, and if required may hold additional Sessions during the biennium on the call of the Director-General in consultation with its Chairman, or on requests submitted in writing to the Director-General by the majority of the members of the Committee.
(b) Any Other Business
(c) Report of the Session
14. The Committee, in line with its Terms of Reference, will submit a Report, including its recommendations, to the Council.
The Council, at its One Hundred and Twenty-third Session (Rome, 28 October – 2 November 2002), endorsed the Committee's proposal that the topic for the next informal panel be "The impact of access to land on improving food security and alleviating rural poverty - a review of successful cases of land reform in selected countries". The presentations by keynote speakers will be followed by open discussion, during which all participants will be given the opportunity to speak on an equal footing. As was the practice at the Twenty-seventh Session of the CFS, no official record will be kept of the proceedings. Significant NGO/CSO participation is encouraged and expected.