WAMIP is delighted to announce the appointment of Benjamin Mutambukah (WAMIP’s regional lead for Eastern and Southern Africa) and Monica Yator (WAMIP member) as WAMIP representatives to the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSIPM) for relations with the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
The CSIPM, established in 2010, is the largest international space of civil society organizations working to eradicate food insecurity and malnutrition. It facilitates civil society participation in the policy processes of the CFS, ensuring that voices from various constituencies, including smallholder farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk and indigenous peoples, are heard in global food security discussions.
In October 2024, Benjamin and Monica represented WAMIP at the CSIPM meeting in Rome, Italy, and gave an interview on the right to food and pastoralist perspective to the Special Rapporteur on Food Security, Michael Fakhri.
The meeting brought together diverse groups and regions to discuss pressing issues in food security and nutrition, such as:
- Advocating for the right to food as a basic human right
- Gender equality in food security policies
- Food systems transformation through agroecology, reducing food import dependency, and implementing food sovereignty to diminish corporate influence
- Land and resource rights for indigenous peoples and pastoralists, and addressing challenges posed by land grabbing and displacement
- Democratic water governance and the inclusion of indigenous voices in upcoming global forums
These discussions cannot advance without the critical role of civil society and indigenous peoples in shaping global food security policies.
WAMIP remains committed to advocating for the rights and interests of pastoralists worldwide. We are confident that with Benjamin and Monica’s leadership, the pastoralist voices are effectively represented in global food security dialogues.