International Food Security and Nutrition Civil Society
The Zero Draft of the FAO Committee for Food Security principles for responsible agricultural investment (RAI) is now available in English. The principles are accompanied by a background document, providing guidance and more detail for each of the 12 principles.
The RAI Open-ended Working Group (OEWG ), which includes civil society, will have a chance to provide feedback and inputs into the Zero Draft during the next meeting to be held from 16–17 May, 2013 in Rome. For more information on the OEWG meeting, please refer to the concept note.
The CSM Agricultural Investment working group is currently working on the analysis of the CFS Zero Draft and on producing a CSO Zero Draft.
2013 CSM Regional Consultations
Coordination Committee members of the Civil Society Mechanism are at various stages in organizing regional/sub-regional consultations throughout 2013. Although the agenda of the meetings will vary from region to region, the purpose of these meetings, among other things will be to:
- consult on RAI as a top priority
- consult on other issues on the agenda of the CFS in 2013 (biofuels, protracted crises, monitoring, etc.)
- consult on priority issues of social movements and other COSs
- promote the implementation and monitoring of CFS decisions (VGs, GSF...)
- commence a process for selecting new CC members
As of now we have been informed that the following meetings are envisaged/confirmed:
- Southeast Asia (23–25 May, 2013)
- South Asia (date tbc)
- Latin America (date tbc)
- Africa (date tbc)
- West Asia and North Africa (date tbc)
- Europe and Central Asia (date tbc)
Once more concrete information becomes available from the sub-regions/regions on the specific dates/whereabouts of the meetings, it will be uploaded automatically onto the page dedicated to 2013 regional consultations, as well as contact details of the Organizing Committee members.
Biofuels
It has been decided that a working group on Biofuels will be formed, in order to interface with the CFS preparations for the 40th Session Policy Roundtable on Biofuels and Food Security. Preparations will include working within a Task Team amongst other stakeholders of the CFS to draft the decision box and background paper for the discussion.
If you are interested in joining the group, please send your contact details to the CSM Secretariat at cso4cfs@gmail.com
Monitoring
The Technical Task Team for the OEWG on monitoring met earlier this month to further discuss methods to monitor CFS decisions and recommendations and review the preliminary mapping exercise of existing systems. It is envisioned that the results of the technical support work will be shared with the wider membership of the OEWG during the meeting on 6 May, and the workshop (tentatively scheduled for 11 June).
To view the CSO comments on the CFS Monitoring matrix and the CSM notes from the meeting, please refer to the monitoring page.
Protracted Crises
After a bit of a hiatus, the CSM working group on Protracted Crises is ready to get a kick-start with the CFS propelling forward to develop an Agenda for Action for Food Security in Countries in Protracted Crises.
The working group Coordinator has provided an update for working group members on the CFS process and timeline up until October 2014 (when it is envisioned that the Agenda for Action will be endorsed), as well as the proposed oversight and implementation mechanisms. We will be in touch again next week regarding the CSM process.
Also, the first of four e-consultations facilitated by the FSN Forum is now open for contributions until 7 May on addressing food insecurity in protracted crises: adequate and appropriate funding mechanisms. For more information and to make your contribution, visit the FSN Forum directly.
CFS 40
Planning for the 40th Session of the CFS is currently underway, and has been the on the agenda of recent Bureau/Advisory Group meetings. Civil society members of the Advisory Group, with the input from the Coordination Committee and other civil society working closely on the process, are working hard to ensure that their concerns and inputs are taken into serious consideration by the Bureau members. Recently, some concerns have been raised in relation to the preparation process for Policy roundtables. Civil society have been adamant that the process should provide adequate time for the meaningful participation of social movements, and that decision boxes presented to plenary should include bracketed text for contentious/non-consensus issues. A document meant to guide the process is still under discussion. This year, the two policy roundtables will be on:
- Investing in smallholder agriculture for food security and nutrition; and
- Biofuels and food security
Both roundtables will use the following two background documents to prepare for the discussion:
- The High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) report on the two respective topics; and
- A draft set of policy recommendations including a decision box that will be prepared by a multistakeholder team.
Other relevant food, agriculture and nutrition issues to be discussed during CFS 40 will be an update on developing principles for RAI, addressing food security in protracted crises and an Agenda for Action, global and regional linkages with the CFS and monitoring CFS decisions. For the most up-to-date draft timetable, please refer to the CFS 40 section on the website.
Side events
This year, the CSM has been allotted four slots for side-events during CFS 40 week. As in years past, the CSM will be responsible for facilitating civil society participation in these events to ensure that as many CSOs as possible are given the chance to be involved in their organization, as well as to ensure that they are organised in accordance with the organising principles and ways of working in the CSM. For those who are interested, please submit your proposals with the following questions to the CSM Secretariat by 14 June to cso4cfs@gmail.com:
- What is the title of your side event?
- Provide a brief abstract of your side event
Annual CSM Forum
Just prior to the 40th Session of the CFS, the CSM will be organizing the annual CSM Forum, to further develop and endorse common civil society positions and strategies in relation to the CFS agenda. The exact dates and venue have yet to be confirmed, but please continue to check the website for updated information and details on how to register!
Upcoming Events
06 May: Monitoring OEWG meeting
15 May: Joint Bureau/Advisory Group meeting
16–17 May: RAI OEWG meeting
27 May: Programme of Work and Priorities Open-ended Working Group meeting
12 June: Joint Bureau/Advisory Group Meeting
14 June: Workshop on Monitoring
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