Read-out of the bilateral meeting between FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and George Okoth-Obbo, Assistant Secretary-General, Head of the Secretariat of the United Nations Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement

9 July 2021, Rome – The FAO Director General today, QU Dongyu met with George Okoth-Obbo , Assistant Secretary-General, Head of the Secretariat of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement.

The Assistant Secretary-General updated the Director-General on the status of work and the mandate of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Internal displacement. He noted that the Panel was currently drawing out its conclusions and its recommendations to be included in its final report, which is expected to be submitted to the United Nations Secretary General by the end of September 2021. Okoth-Obbo expressed his appreciation to FAO for the valuable contribution and key points included in the FAO Submission to the Panel.

The Director-General congratulated the High-Level Panel on its hard work and dedication to finding better, more durable solutions to internal displacement.

The Director-General referred to the critical role that FAO plays in forced displacement contexts. He encouraged the Panel to include the particular situation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in rural areas in its report, as well as the root causes and symptoms of conflict and internal displacement. The Director-General emphasized the need for more appropriate and predictable financing structures to address the challenges of internal displacement.

The Director-General and the Assistant Secretary-General agreed to continue their dialogue towards the finalization of the panel report and its submission in September 2021.