Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Message from the facilitator

Dear participants and FSN Forum members,

As promised, here I am to report some of the outputs of the regional consultation for Asia and the Pacific.

We are very satisfied with the active participation during the regional consultation for Asia and the Pacific and we really appreciated the presence of the following keynote speakers: the CFS Chairperson, Mr. Gabriel Ferrero de Loma-Osorio; H.E Lenny N. Rosalin, Deputy Minister for Gender Equality, Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection of Indonesia, and Chair of the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW); Dr. Lok Nath Paudel, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development of Nepal; and Mr. John Aylieff, Regional Director, World Food Programme (WFP), Asia and the Pacific.

As in previous consultations, the second plenary discussion on Day 2, intended to discuss Part 3 of the Zero Draft, started with the three themes/sections identified by participants as priority at the time of registration: Section 3.1 Women’s participation, voice and leadership in policy and decision-making at all levels; Section 3.3 Access to education, capacity building, training, knowledge and information services; and Section 3.4 Women’s economic empowerment in the context of sustainable food systems.

I mention here only some of the many comments received to possibly further stimulate the discussion on the FSN Forum, while I invite you to read the full report on our webpage to learn more.

There was a caution that while promoting women’s economic empowerment is very positive, this should not be at the expense of instrumentalizing women by placing the sole responsibility for food security on their shoulders. A truly transformative approach needs to address systemic inequalities and ensure that women’s triple burden of work is not compounded. What in your experience would help to enable this transformative approach? And who should lead it?

Furthermore, there were calls to include the issue of male out-migration in the draft, and to document and respond to its impacts on the women who are left behind: in particular, we need to understand the challenges and needs of female-headed households. What policies and actions could be of help in addressing them?

On intersectionality and multi-dimensional approaches, there were calls to move beyond a gender binary approach and to reflect the specific needs of LGBTI people and others facing discrimination. These issues were raised several times during the regional consultations. However, there were some debates on this among the participants and a call to use only internationally agreed terms. I appreciated a useful clarification from a participant that we need to ensure non-discrimination to ensure no-one is left behind on the grounds of race, gender identity, religion and other differences.

Finally, I have very good news. At the request of some participants, we have been able to extend the deadline for this e-consultation to November 30th.

So, I warmly invite you to post your comments, if not already done, or in the hope that my questions have stimulated further reflection.

Thank you and see you soon!

Marina