05 Mar The task at hand

In October, the CFS made a decision as to the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. There are 50 paragraphs to negotiate (about 30% of the document).
We are starting with paragraph 8.2 with a Friends of the Chair report. The FOC for this paragraph is Belgium.
So, just to remind ourselves of the task at hand, as agreed to at the last session of the CFS (from CFS 2011:Final Report)
IIII. VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES FOR THE RESPONSIBLE GOVERNANCE OF TENURE OF LAND, FISHERIES AND FORESTS IN THE CONTEXT OF NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY

The Committee:
10. Acknowledged the outstanding efforts that have been made by all stakeholders regarding the negotiations of the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VG LT).
11. Recognized that additional time will be required to complete the process and endorsed its continuation and finalization.
12. Acknowledged the substantial progress gained so far and recommended building on the solid base which has been achieved, while concentrating on remaining paragraphs and respecting and maintaining the spirit of understanding reached during the July and October negotiations.
13. Appreciated the commitment of Member States to the completion of the VG LT.
14. Recalled that the ultimate authority for approval of the VG LT rests with the Member States.
15. Mandated the CFS-Bureau, in consultation with the Advisory Group and the Secretariat, to call for an additional negotiation session with the intent of finalising the VG LT as soon as possible, taking into consideration the Committee’s overall work programme and available resources.
16. Requested the CFS Secretariat to ensure that during the upcoming negotiations, translation in all FAO languages is provided and that the current negotiated text is available in the foresaid languages.