During 2021, members to UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) Action Track leadership groups, representatives of academia, non-governmental organisations, and colleagues based in international agencies convened under the auspices of an "Ad Hoc Committee on UN Food System Summit Governance", out of concern that the UNFSS had not implemented adequate transparency and accountability principles in line with best practice followed in other UN processes.

This Ad Hoc UNFSS Governance group prepared a letter signed by 18 members of the Ad Hoc Committee and over 85 further signatories representing leading experts in nutrition and public health, agricultural research, and food policy. The letter offers positive suggestions to strengthen the governance of the UNFSS and thus ensure the Summit’s legitimacy. The reforms and more transparent communication suggested are particularly important if the UNFSS is expected to become a model for the inclusivity of future UN Summits. With the July 2021 Pre-Summit in Rome already illustrating some of the issues raised in the letter relating to inadequate management of conflicts of interest, and as Coalitions around solutions form ahead of the Summit in September it is especially pertinent to establish stronger principles of engagement now, and with great urgency.  

For any queries, please contact Nicholas Nisbett at nicknisbett@gmail.com.