CFS Policy Convergence Products Database

States should put in place adequate and functioning mechanisms of early warning to prevent or mitigate the effects of natural or human-made disasters. Early warning systems should be based on international standards and cooperation, on reliable, disaggregated data and should be constantly monitored. States should take appropriate emergency preparedness measures, such as keeping food stocks for the acquisition of food, and take steps to put in place adequate systems for distribution

States are invited to consider establishing mechanisms to assess nutritional impact and to gain understanding of the coping strategies of affected households in the event of natural or human-made disasters. This should inform the targeting, design, implementation and evaluation of relief, rehabilitation and resilience building programmes.

States should make every effort to ensure that refugees and internally displaced persons have access at all times to adequate food. In this respect, States and other relevant stakeholders should be encouraged to make use of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement when dealing with situations of internal displacement.

In the case of natural or human-made disasters, States should provide food assistance to those in need, may request international assistance if their own resources do not suffice, and should facilitate safe and unimpeded access for international assistance in accordance with international law and universally recognized humanitarian principles, bearing in mind local circumstances, dietary traditions and cultures

States may wish to establish mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the implementation of these guidelines towards the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security, in accordance with their capacity and by building on existing information systems and addressing information gaps

States reaffirm the obligations they have assumed regarding the protection, safety and security of humanitarian personnel

Food should never be used as a means of political and economic pressure.

Food supply chains play a crucial role in human health, and resilience and economic, social and environmental sustainability of food systems, including ecosystem restoration. Food supply chains - from production, storage and post-harvest handling, processing and packaging, distribution to the point of consumption, and marketing - operate at multiple and assorted scales, structures, and levels, from simple to highly complex, from local to global, involving many food system actors. The decisions made by the actors at any stage have implications on the availability, affordability, [...]