FAO must abandon plans to formalize partnership with CropLife
A new letter urges 260 permanent representatives at FAO and UN missions in Geneva to take action during this week’s FAO Council meeting.
Last week over 350 civil society organizations from more than 60 countries submitted a letter to FAO opposing the partnership agreement between FAO and CropLife International, a global trade association representing the interests of companies that produce and promote pesticides, including those highly hazardous. A separate letter from some 300 concerned scientists and academics followed soon after and the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC), a global platform of organizations representing millions of small-scale food producers, also sent a letter to the FAO Director General expressing their concerns about the partnership.
Ahead of this week’s FAO Council meeting to review the new Private Sector Engagement Strategy (PSES), FIAN International, Society for International Development and Urgenci International Network are urging 260 permanent representatives at UN FAO and UN missions in Geneva to demand the UN FAO Director General to abandon his plans to formalize the partnership .
“The new Private Sector Engagement Strategy shall not increase the opportunities for corporate interference at the cost of the respect and protection of human rights and the public interest but preserve the public nature of the organization and its duty to improve the situation of rural populations,” reads the letter.
