The latest major international development concerning the right to food took place in FAO in November 2004 when its Council unanimously adopted the Voluntary Guidelines on the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security. This was an important event for several reasons. It was the fi rst time that human rights had been discussed in substance within FAO. It was also the fi rst time that countries negotiated on what should be done to implement and realize a recognized economic, social and cultural right. FAO welcomed the Voluntary Guidelines as a tool for the achievement of the hunger reduction target of the fi rst Millennium Development Goal and eventual achievement of food security in the world. The negotiations took two years. They were facilitated by the FAO Secretariat. Uncertainties and controversies about the right to food and its implications, as well as concerns about the legal implication of the Voluntary Guidelines emerged. The FAO Secretariat thus produced a number of information papers on different subjects to facilitate the negotiations on contentious areas.