Two half-days of intense discussions started yesterday aiming to present and receive feedback on the draft Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women's and Girls' Empowerment in the context of food security and nutrition. More than 20 countries of Europe and Central Asia joined the virtual regional consultation, organized by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) with the support of the Rome-based agencies FAO, IFAD, and WFP.

The regional consultation gathers participants from governments, civil society organizations, the private sector, agricultural research organizations, UN bodies, and international financial institutions to receive inputs, comments, and suggestions on how to best align the Guidelines with regional and national priorities and needs.

As the Guidelines note, gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment is essential to the realization of human rights, including the right to adequate food, achieving all Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as ensuring food systems that are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. Therefore, the document was developed to help governments, development partners, and other actors realize these objectives.