APN | CSIPM–CFS

February 2023

The Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Mechanism (CSIPM), affiliated with the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), issued a Statement in which it expressed complete solidarity with all the people of Turkey and Syria exposed to harm as a result of the latest destructive earthquake.

The Arab Network for Food Sovereignty (including APN) which is a member of the Committee, succeeded in including in the Statement a reference to the efforts exerted to address the effects of the natural disasters which had been hindered due to the sanctions and restrictions imposed on Syria, and this led to a delay in the arrival of aid and rescue teams and equipment, and hence an increase in the loss of life which could have been avoided had the assistance reached the affected areas immediately.

Moreover, the CSIPM Statement urged the exertion of the necessary efforts to assure rights in the areas harmed by the natural disaster, particularly the human right to adequate nutrition, and it underscored guaranteeing that the humanitarian aid reaches the residents without obstacles, in Turkey and Syria without discrimination including food assistance, medicines, medical supplies and equipment, fuel, constructions materials, in addition to allowing unhindered financial flows to support the aid.

Actually, the Committee called upon the members of CFS to respect and implement the action framework of CFS (CFA-FFA) concerning food and nutrition security in protracted crises, which recommends refraining from adopting individual measures which expose food security and nutrition to risks and which are not consistent with international law, including the UN Charter in the manner stated in the Rome Declaration on World Food Security of 1996, and avoiding the utilization of food as a tool of political or economic pressure.