Representing the West Asian region at the 41st session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and the International Food Security & Nutrition Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) held in Rome, APN organized, in cooperation with other international NGOs, a mass event on innovative monitoring mechanisms within the Committee on World Food Security  on 16 October 2014.

APN Executive Manager Mariam Al Jaajaa, President of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Francisco Cali, representative from the Office of the High Commission on Human Rights Robert Vaugan, and Director of International Trade Relations at the Ministry for Agrarian Development in Brazil Caio Galvao de Franca were panelists for the session.

Prior to this side event, the Coordinating Committee of the CSM held a preparatory meeting on 9 & 10 October 2014. APN Executive Manager presented a report on the activities that have taken place in the West Asia region and focused on APN’s role in managing the work of the CSM Working Group on Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crisis; APN previously participated in the series of negotiation sessions that resulted in the creation of the Agenda for Action for Addressing Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crisis that will be endorsed by governments in October 2015.

A Jaajaa also proposed that a permanent seat be given to Communities Affected by War & Occupation within the CSM constituencies. She succeeded in adding this topic as a priority item to the yearly agenda.

Later APN participated in the CSM General Assembly held on 11 -12 October 2014 along with over 250 NGO representatives. Participants agreed on key topics to be addressed at the 41st CFS including responsible agricultural investments, food security in protracted crisis, and food loss & waste in the context of sustainable food systems. The CSM agreed to organize a global forum for civil society organizations in preparation for the final negotiations on Protracted Crisis scheduled for May 2015 in Rome. APN Executive Manger chaired the roundtable discussion for the Working Group on Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crisis which includes wars, occupations and natural disasters. APN reported the conclusions from the Working Group to the plenary.

The 41st session of the CFS convened 13-18 October 2014 and was attended by representatives from governments as well as several international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food  Programme (WFP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)  and private sector institutions. APN supervised interventions from world CSOs in the discussion on Food Insecurity in Protracted Crisis.

The CFS meets annually to develop and assess policies combating global food insecurity and reviews the effectiveness of these actions and goals year round. The annual public CFS meeting is supplemented by work from other sessions convened throughout the year and across the world. The Committee on World Food Security submits an annual report to the UN Economic and Social Council.