Civil Society Mechanism welcomes decision on water at CFS 42
As one of the main prerequisites to ensure the realization of the human right to adequate food and nutrition, water was on the table at the Committee on World Food Security 42
For the first time, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) looked into the issue of water, and particularly the link between the right to food and the right to water. In its decision box, adopted on Wednesday, the CFS emphasizes the value of water as a common public wealth and its centrality for ecosystems. In a statement delivered at the CFS plenary, the Water Working Group of the Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) welcomed the steps taken by CFS and called upon States to build on the recommendations in order to achieve the realization of the right to food.
Welcoming the report of the CFS´ High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) on the issue of ‘Water for Food Security and Nutrition’, the Water Working Group underlines that “the report adopts a human rights approach, prioritizing the rights and needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations, including special emphasis on small-scale food producers and workers.”
By the same token, FIAN International, together with the other members of the Water Working Group, is pleased that the decision box puts forward the human right to water as a core aspect of the realization of the human right to adequate food, recognizing the multiple dimensions and uses of water. Similarly, the Working Group is glad to see that “there is a clear prioritization of vulnerable and marginalized populations, with specific recommendations for protecting women and girls, as well as access to drinking water in the workplace”.
Conversely however, the Water Working Group stresses a lack of “institutional memory in CFS policy-making”, as civil society has had to continually remind governments of their human rights obligations and commitments already made in the CFS and other policy-making spaces. This was particularly true for rights of women and the rights of indigenous peoples which have been recognized within the UN system, and reaffirmed in countless CFS policy documents. “We have spent significant time and resources negotiating and agreeing on language, which we now use as a basis for derogation rather than a basis to build stronger, more coherent policy towards food security and nutrition,” the statement reads.
Read the statement here
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Committee on World Food Security serves as a forum in the United Nations System for review and follow-up of policies concerning world food security, including food production and physical and economic access to food.
The purpose of the CSM is to facilitate civil society participation in agriculture, food security and nutrition policy development at national, regional and global levels in the context of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
For more information, please visit http://www.csm4cfs.org/