Udenrigsudvalget 2014-15 (1. samling)
URU Alm.del Bilag 18
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Parliamentary Meeting on the occasion of the Second International Conference
on Nutrition (ICN2), organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union with the kind
sponsorship of the Italian Parliament
Parliaments for better nutrition
Concept Note
BACKGROUND
A high-level inter-governmental meeting, the Second International Conference on
Nutrition (ICN2), jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), will be held in
Rome from 19 to 21 November 2014. Centred on the theme
Better nutrition for
better lives,
the Conference will bring together senior national policymakers from
food, agriculture, health and other relevant ministries and agencies, government
officials, parliamentarians, senior representatives of the United Nations, other
intergovernmental organizations, researchers, private sector and civil society
representatives in order to motivate, mobilize and commit to policy priorities on how
national and global food, health and related systems and reforms can improve
nutritional outcomes.
The recent
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2014
found that, while the
number of people experiencing hunger was reduced by 100 million over the past
decade, today, 805 million people remain chronically hungry, 161 million children
are still stunted, acute malnutrition (wasting) affects 51 million children, 42 million
children are overweight, and over 500 million adults are obese. Overall, throughout
the planet, two billion people continue to suffer from various micronutrient
deficiencies.
Through the
Rome Declaration on Nutrition
and its companion
Framework for Action,
expected to be adopted on 19 November 2014, senior policy makers assembled at the
Second International Conference on Nutrition will collectively commit to eliminating
global hunger and preventing all forms of malnutrition worldwide. They will also
recommend to the United Nations General Assembly to endorse both the
Rome
Declaration
and the
Framework for Action,
and to consider declaring a
Decade of
Action on Nutrition
from 2016 to 2025, taking into account the post-2015 development
agenda process. The
Rome Declaration
and the
Framework for Action
are available on
the ICN2 website at:
www.fao.org/about/meetings/icn2/documents/en/.
The political commitments set forth in the
Rome Declaration
will entail decisive and
urgent action, including the development of national laws, policies, strategies, plans
and programmes to enhance food systems, improve nutrition and ensure healthy diets.
Greater efforts will also be needed to strengthen human and institutional capacities to
address hunger and malnutrition, as well as to increase investments for effective
interventions. Relevant UN bodies and other organizations, especially FAO and WHO,
will be called upon to support governments in their national initiatives to eliminate
hunger and combat malnutrition.
Strong engagement of parliaments will be crucial in ensuring that the necessary
legislative tools on food security and nutrition are put in place. Thus, it is important that
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they be actively involved in the global policy debate on food security and nutrition to
secure their timely contributions, through their respective legislative bodies, in carrying
out – at country level – the political commitments in the
Rome Declaration.
IPU is tackling the issue of nutrition with its ongoing work with parliaments on maternal,
newborn and child health (MNCH) as well as child rights. Particular attention is paid to
law-making, oversight, and representation powers parliamentarians can deploy to help
reduce malnutrition rates and thereby improve the health and development outcomes.
It is IPU’s practice to organize parliamentary meetings in connection with major UN
conferences and it would represent a continuum with the parliamentary meeting that
was held on the occasion of the FAO World Summit on Food in November 2009. Also
this year, on the occasion of ICN2, a Parliamentary Meeting will be organized on 18
November 2014, under the title:
Parliaments for better nutrition
– echoing the main
theme of the Conference. Organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union with the kind
sponsorship of the Italian Parliament, this pre-ICN2 event will be hosted by the
Municipality of Rome, in the Sala Protomoteca.
OBJECTIVE
Provide information about the ICN2 and its expected outcome
Articulate a parliamentary perspective on the key nutrition challenges and
opportunities
Identify parliamentary actions to support implementation of the ICN2 commitments
Promote exchanges among parliamentarians on good parliamentary practice.
OUTCOME
Sensitize participants to the importance of the national legal climate as an
essential contributor to better nutrition
Encourage participants to promote national dialogue, legislate, and conduct
effective government oversight to advance the progress under the ICN2
commitments.
The outcome of the Parliamentary Meeting will be reported in a statement to the ICN2
on 21 November, and will be included in the final report of the Conference.
PARTICIPANTS
The Parliamentary Meeting is intended for members of parliaments worldwide.
Invitations addressed to the Speakers of national parliaments are intended to inform of
the Meeting all parliamentarians who will attend the ICN2 as part of their national
delegation and facilitate their participation in the Meeting.
AGENDA
A Provisional programme for the Parliamentary Meeting is attached herewith.
LANGUAGES
The languages of the Parliamentary Meeting are English, French, Italian and Spanish.
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