APN Manager Mariam Al Jaajaa, and on behalf of civil society from West Asia attended the Coordination Committee (CC) meeting of the Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) between May10-12th 2016.
The CSM is affiliated with the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), which is the foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental platform that works to ensure food security and nutrition for all.
The purpose of the meeting was two-fold: to address the serious concerns raised by the majority of CC members from Asia and the Arab Region including Al Jaajaa on the internal functioning of the CSM, and to discuss the CSM working groups, work plan and budget for the coming year.
Earlier this year, a group of CC members wrote open letters to protest the lack of regional balance and the conscious exclusion of the entire continent of Asia and the Arab Region in the Advisory Group (AG) of the CSM. They also exposed the CSM failure to protect consensus and the implications of this, such as the immediate blocking of the multiple proposals for adding a seat in the CC for peoples suffering from crises, conflict and occupation. Other concerns included safeguarding the neutrality of the CSM Secretariat and the recent formal exclusion of national and grassroots organizations in CSM sectoral constituencies. Al Jaajaa volunteered in the planning committee of the meeting, to ensure that these concerns are discussed.
During the meeting the same dominant forces offered little effort to resolve these issues. Nonetheless, recognition was given to the importance of reviewing the decision making processes of the CSM to understand, protect and build consensus, and the need to correct the AG selection process so as to ensure geographical balance. It was agreed that the proposal for adding a consistency for those living in crises, in conflict and under occupation is given space to be examined and developed. Working groups were formed with the duty of preparing proposals to be presented and approved by the Coordinating Committee meeting in October 2016.