Our Office

The Food and Agriculture Organization Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York (FAOLON) was established on 16 March 1956, replacing the Sub-Office of the North American Regional Office.

Located in the heart of the United Nations (UN), our office has alead responsibility in developing and implementingpolicies that enhance FAO's cooperation with the UN system at large, capitalizing on synergies between our work and that of other UN bodies, agencies, funds and programs, and of Member States. These efforts play a pivotal role in showcasing FAO's vision, priorities, initiatives and actions from across the world, serving as a bridge connecting UN entities, Member States and other partners in New York.

As a liaison office, it also offers a platform through which to facilitate engagements with FAO, as well as for the Organization to contribute to a wide array of UN activities and priority lines of action. We also foster outreach and advocacy channels to make FAO's technical insights known and the voices of those we support heard, in turn helping their knowhow and visions shape FAO's efforts in working towards Zero Hunger. In doing so, we support decision-making processes carried out at FAO headquarters in relation to developments in the UN system, mainly by representing FAO at working and coordination meetings, liaising with representatives of permanent delegations to the UN in New York, and establishing partnerships with relevant institutions in the New York area.

In this respect, the FAO Liaison Office with the UN in New York:

Represents FAO at intergovernmental meetings, notably the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC);

Represents FAO in UN committees, functional commissions and subsidiary bodies, including the United Nations Development Group (UNDG);

Maintains fruitful working relations with all UN organizations and entities in New York and Geneva, as well as their secretariats, including on FAO's work on emergency response, livelihood rehabilitation and resilience.

Ensures a liaison with intergovernmental, non-governmental and private institutions, including foundations;

Responds to local public information requests; and

Provides briefing services to visiting officers.

Our work covers a wide repertoire of actions, anchored in FAO's Strategic Framework and its pursuit of an efficient, resilient, sustainable and inclusive agri-food systems transformation, to ensure better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind. Our work, and that of the Organization at large, responds to the multidimensional nature of sustainable development imperatives, with FAO's key areas of work as diverse and multi-faceted as the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs themselves. We therefore work to facilitate a proactive exchange with the rest of the UN system and with New York-based research, academic and civil society organizations, in addition to media outlets.

With this aim in mind, the FAO Liaison Office with the UN in New York positions and facilitates the Organization's work with partners, from a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach, with our work oftentimes at the crossroads of sustainable development, livelihood rehabilitation and emergency response. These strategic engagements help make FAO's expertise visible and applicable, showcasing FAO as a trusted development partner.