EuroLat: Parliamentarians crucial in the fight to eradicate poverty and malnutrition

The Committee on Sustainable Development, Environment, Energy Policy, Research, Innovation and Technology of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) was briefed by programme officer for support to Latin American and Caribbean Parliaments, Luis Lobo.

As a multilateral parliamentary assembly, EuroLat provides a forum for several different parliaments to come together and advance on policy areas of collaboration. It is composed of 150 members, half of whom come from Latin American regional parliaments, and half from the European Parliament. The EuroLat Assembly adopts and submits resolutions and recommendations.

In his address to the Assembly, Lobo shared updates on the recent activities and achievements of the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean; these included the drafting and adoption of laws on the right to food, as well as efforts to strengthen the role of parliamentarians in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

Despite significant progress of this kind, however, Lobo noted that the world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2, and that hunger has been increasing in recent years. “Latin Americans are suffering from hunger and malnutrition while the continent is one of the greatest food producers in the world,” he pointed out.

Experience has shown that parliamentarians across the globe are critical actors in the fight to eradicate poverty and malnutrition, given their legislative, budgetary and policy oversight roles. They also represent important stakeholders in the development process. Thus, parliamentarians play a significant role in establishing an enabling political and legislative environment to achieve food and nutrition security.

On the European level, the European Parliamentary Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition brings together Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to consolidate the political commitment to sustainably transform agri-food systems and fight hunger and malnutrition.

FAO works with parliamentarians around the world to facilitate policy dialogue and debate, and to put the transformation of agrifood systems, food security and nutrition at the top of the policy agenda.