What is the CSM
The CSM is the largest international mechanism of civil society and indigenous peoples’
organizations (CSOs) working to eradicate food insecurity and malnutrition by promoting
effective agriculture, food security and nutrition policies, at the national, regional and global levels. The CSM gives particular priority to peoples’ organizations and social movements consisting of the people most affected by hunger and malnutrition.
The CSM was founded in 2010, as an essential and autonomous part of the reformed CFS. The purpose of the CSM is to facilitate civil society participation and articulation into the policy processes of the CFS. The CSM is an open and inclusive space and hence does not have formal members, but participating organizations. Every organization that belongs to civil society and works on food security and nutrition can join and participate. During the past years, several hundred national, regional or global organizations have participated in the CSM. All participating organizations in the CSM belong to one of the following 11 constituencies: smallholder farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, agricultural and food workers, landless, women, youth, consumers, urban food insecure and NGOs.
● The CSM gives priority to the organizations and movements of the people most affected by food insecurity and malnutrition, recognizing that they are the organizations of the rights-holders that are the subjects of their own development and also the most important contributors to food security and nutrition worldwide.
● The CSM respects pluralism, autonomy, diversity and self-organization and tries to ensure a balance of constituencies, gender, and regions.
● The CSM as a space does not represent the organizations that participate in it. They represent themselves and articulate positions together with others in the CSM. The participating organizations, particularly those who organize small-scale food producers and consumers, have more than 300 millions affiliated members from all continents.
The CSM Policy Working Groups
Policy working groups are thematic spaces established to articulate CSM common positions
towards CFS thematic workstreams and policy processes. They foster dialogue, exchange of
knowledge, experiences, perspectives and practices among all CSM constituencies and subregions. Policy working groups discussions and political positioning are shaped by the
struggles and collective demands coming from the realities on the ground towards the global food governance space of CFS. Policy working groups are a space of solidarity, policy elaboration and strategic thinking that enable the intersectionality of the struggles towards the achievement of the Right to Food and Food Sovereignty.
Policy Working Groups are open to all CSM participating organizations. Their creation is announced through the CSM Update and mailing lists. They are usually aligned with the CFS timeline established for each thematic policy process, can be continued after its conclusion, if requested, and can be reactivated for monitoring purposes.
What is the CFS
The Committee on Food Security is the foremost inclusive intergovernmental and international political platform on food security and nutrition with the explicit vision to foster the progressive realization of the right to adequate food for all.
The CFS was established in 1974 as an intergovernmental committee, hosted by FAO, to monitor the commitments made during the first World Food Conference in 1974, and later the World Food Summit in 1996.
In 2009, under the impression of the world food price crises 2007/2008, the CFS underwent
a profound reform and became the foremost inclusive platform with a particular openness to
the participation of civil society. The Committee reports to the UN General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and to FAO Conference.
The CFS Plenary Sessions
The Plenary session is held annually and is the central body for decision-taking, debate, coordination, lesson learning and convergence by all stakeholders at a global level on issues pertaining to food security and nutrition and on the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security. It should focus on relevant and specific issues related to
food security and nutrition in order to provide guidance and actionable recommendations to
assist all stakeholders in eradicating hunger.
