WOCAN, theWomen’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and theWomen’s UN Report Network (WUNRN) jointly organized a side event on Women-Food Security- Peace & Conflict at the 41st Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) on 14 October in Rome, Italy.
Staffan De Mistura, UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to Syria, through a video message, stated that the topic is welcome especially in the cases of Syria where women are the most exposed and are put under great pressure to look for the food to feed their family. The session was moderated by Jomo Sundaram, Assistant Director General, Coordinator of Economic and Social Development Department of FAO and the panelist were Hilal Elver, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Ilaria Bottigliero, Director of International Development Law Organization (IDLO), Stanlake Samkange of Director of Policy, Programme, & Innovation Division of WFP, Marta Benavides from El Salvador of the Women’s Major Group, Lois Herman from WILPF. The Panelists focused their discussion overt and covert, short and long term food needs of the displaced women and children and how to address the needs gaps.
The panelists identified the needs such as security, legal protection, access to justice mechanisms and food sovereignty during and after crisis. They discussed that in order to address these needs it is important to recognize the intersectionality of violence, women’s rights, rights to food and health.
The session concluded with the emphasis on the need for local, national and international policies that will not only provide food security but also empower, protect and provide justice and need to create opportunities, such as events, media exposures, exhibitions that will sensitize the public on the needs of women in the most difficult situations.
Watch the full video of the session: