AFA participated in an international conference entitled “People’s Food Sovereignty Now: Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Forum Parallel to World Summit on Food Security 2009″ held on November 13-17, in Rome, Italy.
AFA was represented by Ms. Sudaporn Sittisathapornkul (Khun Paew), Chairperson, AFA, and Adviser, SKP; Mr. Pote Chumsri (Khun Pote), Secretary General, SKP and translator; Mr. Jonjon Sarmiento (Jon), Youth Leader Organizer, PAKISAMA; Ms. Luisita Esmao (Ka Cita), Chairperson, LAKAMBINI; and Ms. Ma. Estrella Penunia (Esther), Secretary General, AFA.
The purpose of the CSO forum was to facilitate the participation of women, small-scale farmers and peasants, Indigenous Peoples, artisanal fisherfolks, food and rural workers, youth, the urban poor, environmental organizations, human rights defenders, NGO and other CSO working for food sovereignty and to ensure that their voices are heard in the World Food Summit; and to seek the commitment of governments and UN agencies to the people’s food sovereignty agenda as key alternative to eradicate hunger.
Click here for the CSO forum program: https://asianfarmers.org/events/200911wfscsoforum/01csoforumprogram.pdf
The purpose of the FAO World Food Summit, on the other hand, was to agree on key actions to tackle this crisis. In the words of FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf, “The silent hunger crisis — affecting one sixth of all of humanity — poses a serious risk for world peace and security. We urgently need to forge a broad consensus on the total and rapid eradication of hunger in the world.”
Click here for the world food summit program: https://asianfarmers.org/events/200911wfscsoforum/02wfsprogram.doc
AFA was represented by Ms. Penunia to the Steering Committee which finalized the program for the CSO forum.
On November 14-15, Ms. Sittisathapornkul, Ms. Esmao and Ms. Penunia participated in the women’s caucus, while MR. Sarmiento participated in the youth caucus . As Steering Committee member, Ms. Penunia observed the processes of the women’s caucus. Ms. Sittisathapornkul and Ms. Esmao gave some interventions during the session. AFA participants also attended a side event on Agricultural Investment and Small Producers, organized by CIDSE, IATP and MIJARC. AFA also joined a small group from the Steering Committee members, who met with the US Ambassador to Rome. AFA was represented by Ms. Sittisathapornkul, with Mr. Chumsri as translator.
On November 16, Ms. Penunia made a press release about Mr. Sarmiento’s hunger strike in solidarity with hunger strikers, including farmers, indigenous peoples, women, and youth, from the island of Mindoro in the Philippines who are opposing the entry of large-scale foreign mining in the province. Mr. Sarmiento one of the panel speakers in the Thematic Working Group 2. He also launched a signature campaign.
Click here for Mr. Sarmiento’s intervention: https://asianfarmers.org/events/200911wfscsoforum/03jonwg2.pdf
Mr. Sarmiento and Ms. Esmao joined the media action at the Colloseo, timed during the first day of the FAO official summit. As a result of the media action, several international media companies interviewed Mr. Sarmiento regarding his hunger strike.
During this time also, a side event “agriculture in climate change negotiations” was held. AFA co-organized this side event, together with IATP, AsiaDHRRA, APNFS, Greenpeace International and two African regional farmers’ organizations ROPPA and EAFF. Ms. Penunia, presented the main results of AFA’s participatory gender study on the gender dimension of food security amidst climate change. About 20 people attended the side event.
Click here for the side event highlights: https://asianfarmers.org/events/200911wfscsoforum/04sideeventhighlights.doc
Ms. Penunia also co-facilitated Working Group 3.
On November 17, a draft declaration was discussed. AFA also co-organized a meeting with Dr. David Nabarro of UN’s High Level Task Force on Food Security (HLTF-FS), which was attended by Ms. Sittisathapornkul, Mr. Chumsri, Ms. Esmao, and Mr. Sarmiento.
Click here for the CSO forum final declaration: https://asianfarmers.org/events/200911wfscsoforum/05csofinaldeclaration.pdf
Ms. Sittisathapornkul and Ms. Penunia attended the last day of the official FAO summit. They met new CFS Chair Noel de Luna and Ms. Eve Crowley of the Gender Equity Division of FAO. They lend support to Sarita, a woman youth who read the final declaration in front of the delegates of the FAO official summit.
Click here for the World Food Summit final declaration: https://asianfarmers.org/events/200911wfscsoforum/06wfsfinaldeclaration.pdf
Comments are closed