Background
The CFS has established the following Open Ended Working Groups (OEWGs) and Task Teams (TTs) to take forward work on a number of key policy issues:
- OEWG on the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries (VGs)
- OEWG on Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investments
- Task Team on How to Increase Food Security and Small-holder Sensitive Investment in Agriculture
- Task Team on Food Price Volatility
- Task Team on Gender, Food Security and Nutrition
- Task Team on the Global Strategic Framework
- Task Team on the Mapping of Food Security and Nutrition Actions and Country Level
During the first meeting of the CSM Coordination Meeting in Cordoba, 30 May – 1 June 2011, it was decided that to better coordinate civil society efforts in relation to the OEWGs and Task Teams, CSM Working Groups would be created or existing working groups would be expanded to facilitate civil society participation.
WG 1. Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries (VGs)- please note that there will not be a Round Table on the VGs, the working group will facilitate participation in the CFS-led OEWG processes.
WG 2. Agricultural Investment (to facilitate participation in both the CFS OEWG and Task Team on the issue)
WG 3. Gender, Food Security and Nutrition
WG 4. Food Price Volatility (FPV)
WG 5. Global Strategic Framework (GSF) – please note that there will not be a Round Table on the GSF. However, its status will be discussed in Plenary.
N.B. As of yet, no CSM Working Group has been established on the Mapping of Food Security and Nutrition Actions at country Level but information can be found here.
The CSM is an experimental process conducted under severe resource constraints. Currently, the CSM does not have any long term commitment of funding and Secretariat capacity to facilitate the work of the Mechanism is extremely limited. In any case, the Coordination Committee does not envision a large Secretariat for the CSM and its success will depend upon the active participation of its members, resource people and particularly Coordination Committee members. Below we describe the way in which we are currently trying to organise ourselves, within resource constraints. However, we need to remain flexible, “learn by doing” and adapt our approach accordingly as the CSM develops.
Role of the CSM Working Groups
- To enhance circulation of relevant documentation and information on the issue and on the related process in the CFS
- To provide a space for dialogue and the exchange of views amongst CSOs on the issues under consideration by the CFS OEWG/TT
- To provide a space for CSOs to develop strong and well-articulated civil society positions
- To provide inputs to the civil society members of the CFS OEWG and TTs
- To identify civil society participants in CFS OEWGs and Task Teams and in Round Table panels.
Participation in CSM Working Groups
The CSM working groups are open to ALL members of the Civil Society Mechanism. Membership of the CSM is open to all CSOs working on food security and nutrition. For further information please see the official CSM document. CSOs interested in participating in a CSM working group should contact the relevant CSM facilitator (see below). Members of the CSM WGs must be prepared to participate actively and not just be recipients of information!
Facilitators of CSM Working Groups
Each of the CSM WGs require a facilitator who is dedicated to enabling broad civil society participation and engagement leading up to the 37th Session. These facilitators are acting on a volunteer basis and perform facilitation rather than political roles. The selection of the facilitator should be proposed by the members of the working group and agreed by the members of the CSM Coordination Committee
As much as possible the role of the facilitators, with the assistance of the 4 civil society Advisory Group members and the Secretariat (once they are on the job), is to:
- Facilitate the participation of a wide range of CSOs in the CSM working groups, and in particular, encourage participation by IPs and organisations representing small-scale food producers
- Share information on the CFS processes and content amongst all members of the CSM
- Facilitate civil society input into the CFS processes
The facilitators of CSM working groups need not necessarily be members of CFS OEWGs and TTs. It is not essential for facilitators to be based in Rome , since it is possible to be in contact with the secretariat via email and telephone. There will be very few meetings of CFS OEWGs and Task Teams taking place – most of the work will be electronic.
The names and contact details of the current facilitators of the CSM working groups are provided in the relevant section for each working group.
Civil Society input into, and participation in, CFS OEWGs and Task Teams
The CSO participants in the OEWGs and TTs should have considerable experience in the issue and be able to communicate the different views within the CSM WGs. , participants do not need to be always the same people. The participants can vary according to availability, the specific issues under discussion at particular time etc. Participation does not have to be in person – for many CFS Task Team meetings it is possible to participate via tele-conference.
In communicating CSO positions to the CFS it should be emphasised that the positions with the greatest legitimacy are those which reflect the views of a diverse range of CSOs, especially peoples’ organisations and social movements and have ensured input from CSOs at sub-regional and country levels.
You can find information on the ways of working and outputs of the different CSM working groups by clicking on the appropriate link above or in the drop down menu.
To keep up to date on the agenda/timetable of the 37th Session of the CFS, please refer to the CFS 37 page.
