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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FOOD CRISIS NOT YET OVER, WARNS TOP UN RIGHTS OFFICIAL

FOOD CRISIS NOT YET OVER, WARNS TOP UN RIGHTS OFFICIAL
New York, Mar 9 2009 5:00PM

Despite falling food prices worldwide, the global food crisis has not ended, the top United Nations human rights official cautioned today, emphasizing the need to view the issue through the very basic right to adequate food.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the Geneva-based Human Rights Council that it must target its work towards helping the most marginalized segments of society.

Last year, the number of the world's hungry surged from 854 million to 967 million due to the steep climb in prices of staple foods. In spite of dropping prices, they remain higher than they were in 2002, leaving the poor still unable to purchase food, she noted.

Further, lower food costs are actually discouraging agricultural investment, Ms. Pillay said, impeding efforts to step up food production, especially the capacity of small-hold farmers to sustain their livelihoods.

The Commissioner told the 47-member Council that steps to alleviate hunger and promote the right to food have yet to be translated into concrete action to help those most impacted by the crisis.

She voiced particular concern for the situation of the rural and urban poor, landless or small-scale farmers and households headed by women.

Ms. Pillay maintained that any successful strategy to defeat hunger should involve stronger institutions with better accountability, sustainable investments in agricultural production and research, and targeted support to small-scale farmers and the poor.

Last week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underscored the need to scale up efforts to combat hunger and realize the right to food, given that the number of hungry people around the world is surging amid the current global financial crisis and the effects of climate change.

"Food is not just a commodity, and agriculture is not just a business. Both are central to survival. Realizing every person's right to food is a moral and humanitarian imperative," Mr. Ban told students of the UN International School at a conference on the global food crisis.
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