3 August 2021, Rome- “The Pre-Summit has shown me that we can deliver on the right to food, while securing the future of our planet”, said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed during her closing remarks at the Pre-Summit of the UN Food Systems Summit.

From 26-28 July, different stakeholders came together to exchange ideas on how to transform the way food is produced, consumed and marketed so that countries can better meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The importance of using a human rights framework for food systems transformation was reiterated during the three-day event. In this respect, Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, highlighted “it provides normative and policy guidance to design resilient and people-centred food systems, prioritizing the most vulnerable and marginalized groups”.

Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, underlined some of the issues needing special attention in order to fulfil people´s right to food, such as designated national budgets, corporate accountability and agency, especially for the most vulnerable. He also advocated for a true multilateralism that must integrate all constituencies, including Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples' Mechanisms (CSM).

The Pre-Summit heard from representatives of the private sector, local and national governments, consumer organizations, Indigenous Peoples, youth advocates and small-scale farmers, among others. Discussions addressed multisectoral issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, malnutrition in all its forms and poverty.

A diversity of concerns and proposals took the stage through a hybrid of virtual and in-person meetings. These aimed to raise awareness of the many existing and divergent standpoints towards building sustainable food systems, and to facilitate a gateway to strengthen coalitions, change mind-sets and build better policies. At the same time, it demonstrated that further efforts are needed for an inclusive and productive UN Food Systems Summit later this year.

The Pre-Summit took stock of the progress made after months of preparation, including thousands of participants coming together around the world in dialogues, laying the groundwork for the Summit. States and actors will focus in the coming weeks on how to operationalize the ideas and calls for action announced at July’s Pre-Summit.

A renewed commitment for urgent action

The Pre-Summit is the continuation of a long process. Since 1974, several international alliances to foster political will and to step up actions in the fight against hunger have emerged. The World Food Summit in 1996 and the World Food Summit: five years later are examples.  

The respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights feature prominently in the development agenda. The adoption of the Right to Food Guidelines in 2004 were the first attempt by governments to interpret an economic, social and cultural right, while providing recommendations to be undertaken for its realization. Other key documents for its implementation are the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the Vienna+20 Declaration.

Bringing together diverse actors and setting agreements is not an easy task. However, collaboration and commitments are key on the pathway towards a better world.

About the Pre-Summit of the UN Food Systems Summit

Under the leadership of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the Pre-Summit was declared a People’s Summit that gathered delegates from more than 100 countries.

Held in Rome, the meeting reaffirmed the relevance of human rights in ensuring the most marginalised groups have an opportunity to contribute to and benefit from the Summit process.

“The SDGs are nothing more than our generation’s attempt to honour the Universal Declaration of Human rights”, said Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, during the Pre-Summit.

Hunger and poverty are on the rise, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Summit aims to get countries back on track to achieve the 17 SDGs, which are grounded in human rights and depend very much on food systems.

Since last year, the Summit has hosted regular online meetings, public forums and surveys organized around the Summit’s five action tracks to ensure a broad range of perspectives and ideas to develop food systems that cater to all.