HELPING WORLD’S HUNGRY ALSO PROMOTES PEACE AND STABILITY – BAN

By helping the world's hungry, who now number one billion, the international community can also secure a more peaceful and stable future for all, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations today in L'Aquila, Italy.

The annual G8 meeting, which wraps up today, has reportedly agreed to mobilize $20 billion over three years for a comprehensive strategy focusing on sustainable agriculture development to ensure global food security.

Addressing the summit's session of food security, Mr. Ban said that last year's major spike in food and energy prices affected hundreds of millions of people.

"It amplified suffering, hardship and political unrest. We lost ground in our race to reach the first Millennium Development Goal," he stated, referring to the globally agreed target of halving poverty by 2015.

Governments, regional agencies, civil society groups and international organizations responded by joining forces to feed the hungry and prepare for a better future, and while global food prices have come down, they are still high in many developing countries, he noted.

The Secretary-General added that the situation is only getting worse with today's volatile markets, breakdown in world trade, climate change effects and falling income from job losses.

"We need to do more, faster. The food crisis is permanently harming millions of children. They need our help. This is about even more than alleviating human suffering; it is about global peace and stability."

Mr. Ban outlined four areas in need of concrete action, beginning with need to combine new initiatives to maximize their impact and avoid duplication. He also cited the need to commit to a comprehensive approach that tackles both the immediate and long-term dimensions of the problem.

Also crucial is to support national food security strategies, working through regional institutions, as well as to ensure that countries have the financial support they need for immediate assistance and longer-term actions.

The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) welcomed the G8's food security initiative, which he said signals an "encouraging shift of policy" in favour of helping the poor and hungry to produce their own food.

Director-General Jacques Diouf voiced confidence that G8 leaders will translate their pledge into concrete action. "I am convinced that you will 'walk the talk' not only for natural ethical considerations but also for sound economic reasons and, last but not least, to ensure peace and security in the world," he told the summit.

Meanwhile, the independent UN expert on the right to food said head of State will have to do more if they want to help the billion people now suffering from hunger.

While welcoming the pledges announced today, Special Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter highlighted a number of issues that need to be tackled, including food price volatility, social protection, and protection of the rights of agricultural workers.

"Only then will real progress be made to ensure greater enjoyment of the right to food now denied to so many," said the expert, who reports to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.

Mr. De Schutter called for a global action plan on food security, firmly based on human rights, focusing on five areas: reducing volatility in global agricultural markets; encouraging States to build social protection schemes; channelling resources to scale up sustainable agriculture systems; protecting agricultural worker rights; and reforming global governance for food and agriculture.
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STEPS TO BOOST FOOD SECURITY SHOULD BENEFIT BENIN’S MOST VULNERABLE – UN EXPERT

An independent United Nations human rights expert has welcomed Benin's efforts to boost food security, while stressing that they should not only increase production but also improve the lives of the country's most vulnerable.

Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, focused his 11 to 20 March visit on the situation of three vulnerable groups: small farmers, the urban poor and detainees. Small farmers, the largest of the three in terms of size, deserved particular attention, according to a news release issued at the end of his visit.

His visit took place as strategies are being devised to revitalize the country's agriculture as well as for rural land reform. In addition, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is entering the final phase of negotiation of an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union.

Mr. De Schutter welcomed the "significant" efforts by the Government to strengthen food security, particularly in anticipation and reaction to the increase in food prices in early 2008.

He also welcomed the plans to revitalize agriculture, and hailed the decision to place agriculture at the centre of the country's development.

"The Special Rapporteur highlights that the agricultural revitalization should achieve not only an increase in total production thus allowing the country to be less dependent on imports due to a diversification gained from food crops, but in particular it should lead to an improvement in the enjoyment of the right to food of the most vulnerable," according to a news release.

In addition to the plight of small farmers, the urban poor and detainees, Mr. De Schutter said that the situation of women and their access to productive resources should be a priority, adding that proposed land reform measures will have an important impact on these groups.

He noted that their situation should also be taken into account when evaluating Benin's entry into regional and international markets.

Over the course of his 10-day visit, the Special Rapporteur met with Government officials, the judiciary, officials dealing with the issue of food security, UN agencies and aid organizations. He also talked with farmers and their families, researchers and members of civil society to better understand the food situation in the West African country.

Mr. De Schutter, who, like all Special Rapporteurs, carries out his work in an unpaid capacity, will submit a full report on his visit to Benin to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.
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