APN Joins Numerous High-Level Meetings at FAO Headquarters in Rome | The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature
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العربية في سلسلة اجتماعات رفيعة المستوى في مقر منظمة الأغذية والزراعة في روما

APN attended three formal meetings for the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome, and three preparatory meetings for the International Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) in addition to several bilateral meetings with government representatives, the private sector and the World Farmers Organization.

Meetings were held between the 23–28 March 2019 and they included the introductory consultation of the Technical Task Team formed for the monitoring and implementation of the Framework for Action for Addressing Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (FFA). APN manager Mariam Al jaajaa had been selected to join the Task team meeting on behalf of civil society.

The FFA focuses on ensuring food security and nutrition in times of crises, conflict and occupation. APN had coordinated the civil society’s delegation in the FFA’s 3-year formation and negotiation process. Additionally, APN participated in the CFS Advisory Group Meeting where it thanked the CFS and its Chair for responding to its call to act vis-à-vis the Yemen Crises by publishing an urgent appeal.

Al jaajaa requested that the appeal is shared with the UN Secretary General; the Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffith; the President of the UN General Assembly; the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; the UN Security Council, and the concerned parties involved in the conflict.

Al jaajaa also pointed out that recently wheat silos at the Red Sea Mills  in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah have been destroyed by a fire caused by artillery fire. The silos holds 51,000 tonnes of wheat provided by the World Food Programme— enough to feed 3.7 million people for a month in the war-torn country.In the discussion on the CFS Priorities for the Years 2019-2023 CSM supported the introduction of 5 new topics: Inequality, Water, Youth, Gender, and Migration. APN insisted that the strategy of the CFS for the next four years should not only bring new topics to the table but it ought to include the implementation of policy documents that were previously endorsed by governments.

APN and the rest of the CSM delegation met also with several government representatives including the Dominican Republic- which is the CFS Chair, Costa Rica, Sudan, Germany, Italy, France, South Africa and Indonesia. The purpose of all these bilateral meetings were to transmit and discuss the civil society positions on the different matters under discussion.