Monaco participates in the 52nd Committee on World Food Security

From October 21 to 25, Monaco took part in the 52nd session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome, celebrating its 50th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Guidelines on the Right to Adequate Food within the context of national food security, which serve as a framework for member states’ actions.

Introduced at the start of the session, the latest annual report on “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” (SOFI 2024) estimates that between 713 and 757 million people suffered from hunger in 2023, equating to 1 in 11 people globally and 1 in 5 in Africa. While moderate or severe food insecurity remained stable globally with improvements in Latin America, projections still estimate that 582 million people (down from 600 million last year) will suffer from chronic undernourishment by 2030, over half of them in Africa. The discussions also highlighted the extremely concerning humanitarian situation in Gaza and Sudan.

This session also saw the adoption of general policy recommendations aimed at reducing inequalities to ensure food security and adequate nutrition for all. During its intervention, the Monegasque delegation praised the outcome of this process and reiterated Monaco’s active commitment to fighting inequalities and all exclusionary factors through projects supported under its international cooperation agreements.

The CFS also presented an initial assessment of the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in the context of food security and nutrition adopted last year, and approved the forthcoming launch of a process to develop recommendations on urban food systems, which Monaco will participate in alongside other stakeholders.

On the sidelines of this session, the Monegasque delegation held bilateral meetings with the FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience to explore new partnership opportunities in the Sahel region and the Middle East, as well as with the Minister of Agriculture of the Kingdom of Lesotho.

The Monegasque delegation was led by H.E. Anne EASTWOOD, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Monaco to the FAO, and included Gilles COLLARD, food security officer at the Directorate for International Cooperation, and Christelle REVEL, Second Secretary at the Embassy of Monaco in Italy.