Secondly, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) provides the only inclusive multilateral platform for food systems governance. Its reform in 2009 emphasized the progressive realization of the right to food as its core mandate and enabled the structured participation of those groups whose right to food is frequently violated, such as smallholder farmers, Indigenous Peoples and agricultural workers, in the decision-making processes on global food issues.
Strengthening the CFS entails upholding the right to food as a core normative principle, using this platform for coordinating policy decisions on preventing and responding to food crises, establishing effective monitoring and follow-up mechanisms for state implementation, safeguarding meaningful participation of civil society, small scale producers, vulnerable groups and Indigenous Peoples through the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSIPM), and managing private-sector engagement to prevent conflicts of interest. Furthermore, member States and other CFS stakeholders should incorporate CFS policy recommendations into other relevant international policy processes, such as the Rio Conventions or G20 initiatives, and utilize them in these contexts.
