LA VIA CAMPESINA DENOUNCES UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE UN FOOD SYSTEMS
SUMMIT FOR DIMINISHING PEASANTS AND THEIR RIGHTS
In December 2019, it was officially announced that the UN Headquarters
in New York will host a Food Systems Summit in 2021. The Summit aims to
maximize the benefits of a food systems approach across the entire 2030
Agenda, meet the challenges of climate change, make food systems
inclusive, and support sustainable peace.
Since the announcement, many peasant organizations, civil society
organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have expressed
concern on the lack of transparency in the process leading to the
Summit, including the appointment of Ms. Agnes Kalibata, the current
President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), as UN
Special Envoy for the Summit. It is further apparent that the process is
following through without the involvement of all concerned UN member
states.
After meeting Ms. Kalibata during the IFAD Farmers' Forum (FAFO 2020),
we remain deeply concerned regarding the legitimacy and process of the
2021 Food Systems Summit and about the approach of the UN Special Envoy.
Although we recognize and appreciate the UN Special Envoy's presence in
the FAFO to hear the concerns of small-scale food producers, we regret
to report that several red flags were raised in the session.
First of all, we were shocked by her lack of awareness of the political
mandate and significance of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants
and Other People working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) that was promoted by
LVC and small-scale producers' organizations and negotiated by LVC and
small-scale producers' organizations over the course of nearly two
decades and adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018.
La Via Campesina delegate Jordan Treakle from the National Family Farm
Coalition, representing North America, asked Ms. Kalibata "How will the
World Food System Summit assure that UNDROP, and its political mandate
promoting a rights-based approach, be integral to the Summit's focus and
outcomes?" Ms. Kalibata's response was "it's an interesting question…
Peasant? What is a peasant? What is peasant rights? Because I don't
understand what that means to be honest with you."
The UN Special Envoy doubled down on this statement later in the
discussion, affirming that she does not recognize "peasants" as a
constituency, despite the many decades of LVC and allies advocating for
the rights of food producers (farmers, fisherfolks, pastoralists, and
food workers) under this banner.
"I completely appreciate what you do and I'm going to make sure that
gets heard. I just wanted to underscore (…) what I said earlier: the
word that was used is not how I look at farmers ( …) Farmers are
farmers, it's a business for us, we don't want charity, we don't want to
be pitied, we don't want anything like that. We see ourselves as
business people. So I'm sorry if the word means something else to you,
to me it means something that I grew up not appreciating (…)"- said she.
Ms Kalibata also affirmed she "is not working for the UN", raising
further our concerns about her impartiality, and willingness to separate
her agribusiness background from this UN Special Envoy role.
Several participants reacted to Ms Kalibata's discourse. Elizabeth
Mpofu, General Coordinator of La Via Campesina, said "We are urgently
requesting for a strong commitment to transparency by those involved in
the Summit planning. And most critically, we call on Rome-based
Agencies, member states, and the Special Envoy, to ensure that Civil
Society Organizations and peasants have the possibility to be fully and
equally involved in all stages of the organization of the Summit and
have their voice heard."
The role of the UN Special Envoy requires a neutral and unbiased
approach to the United Nations system, and existing UN processes such as
the Committee on World Food Security, that will work to build bridges
and consensus across a range of food system constituencies to ensure
that the voices of food producers are heard and respected. The UN
Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and FAO should be leading the
process towards the Food Systems Summit due to their mandate of ending
hunger and malnutrition.
Although the Special Envoy expressed several times during the meeting
promises of inclusiveness and underlined that she has just started her
mission, the process of organizing the Summit and the fact that right
holders and constituencies will have a seat at the table, remains
unclear.
Therefore, we reiterate our call to ensure that the civil society and,
in particular, the peasants have a clear, equal and influential role in
shaping all phases of the Food Systems Summit.
As Via Campesina, we urge a Food Systems Summit which is focused on
peasants and other small-scale food producers and to their local and
territorial markets that provide the 80% of the food production in the
world. Instead of representing the interests of the corporate sector
which is aggravating the food systems crisis. Given the fact that Mrs
Kalibata is clearly representing corporate sector interests, we demand
the UN to revoke Mrs. Kalibata's appointment and appoint a special envoy
who indeed represents the needs and rights of peasants and other small
scale food producers and those who are most affected by hunger.
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