ECOSOC Management Segment meeting, Item 14; Report of the main decisions, outcomes and policy recommendations of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS)

ECOSOC Management Segment meeting, Item 14; Report of the main decisions, outcomes and policy recommendations of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS)

Chair of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), Ambassador Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile

10/06/2025

Your Excellency, Ambassador Bob Rae,

President of ECOSOC,

Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

I am honoured to introduce to you the Report of the Fifty-second Plenary Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) that took place in Rome, Italy, from 21 to 25 October 2024.

The Committee discussed in depth the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 report, which confirmed the persistence of the global food crisis. In 2023, 28.9 percent of the global population - were moderately or severely food insecure. These figures underline the urgent need to accelerate collective efforts to deliver on the realization of the right to adequate food and advance on Sustainable Development Goal 2, Zero Hunger, by 2030.

The Committee underscored the imperative of reliable, sustained, and unhindered access to essential goods and services-including food, water, medical supplies, and energy-for civilians throughout the Gaza Strip and in other conflict areas. It underscored the critical food security situations in other conflict areas, including Haiti, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, and further recalled the obligations under International Humanitarian Law, and in line with the CFS Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA), on the protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population and the prohibition to use starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.

In line with the recommendations in the Report, the Committee highlights the role of FAO, IFAD and WFP, in coordination with other UN agencies and relevant institutions, in assessing and addressing the impacts of this conflict on food security and agriculture, within their respective mandates.

Let me now highlight three additional key outcomes of the CFS Fifty-second Plenary Session.

First, the Committee endorsed the Policy Recommendations on Reducing Inequalities for Food Security and Nutrition. We respectfully invite ECOSOC and the General Assembly to promote their wide dissemination and implementation across the UN system.

Secondly, the Committee adopted the Action Plan to Strengthen the Uptake of CFS Policy Products, outlining concrete steps to promote their use at national, regional and global levels.

Third, CFS marked the 20th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food and reaffirmed their continued relevance and encouraged renewed efforts to promote their use in national legislation and policies.

We also welcomed a Forum on the uptake of the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women's and Girls' Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition, and recognized their strategic relevance to ongoing global processes, including the Beijing +30 review and the recently declared International Year of the Woman Farmer in 2026.

A more detailed account of our work is available in the full report submitted to this Council, which I encourage you to review.

Excellencies,

The 53rd Session of the Committee will take place from 20 to 24 October 2025 at FAO headquarters in Rome. I warmly invite all of you to participate actively in our discussions and contribute to shaping policy guidance that advances food security and nutrition for all.

In closing, I wish to sincerely thank the 139 CFS Member States and all participants-including FAO, IFAD, WFP, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, the private sector and philanthropic foundations, international financial institutions, and the CFS High-Level Panel of Experts-for their continued engagement and commitment.

Thank you for your attention