Access to diverse, nutritious, and affordable food is increasingly under threat, with 733 million people globally facing hunger and malnutrition. In 2022, approximately 23 percent of the Asia-Pacific population faced food insecurity, which, along with high rates of malnutrition, adversely impacts proper growth in children.This year’s World Food Day theme, “Right to Foods” for a Better Life and a Better Future, underscores the importance of the accessibility and affordability of a healthy diet as well as the long-term environmental health that sustains food production. The rising rates of malnutrition are affecting all socio-economic groups, with global obesity rates projected to increase from 14 percent in 2020 to 24 percent by 2035.The Asia-Pacific region plays a vital role in global agrifood systems, employing 793 million of the 1.2 billion people employed in the agricultural sector globally, and significantly contributing to feeding a global population of 8 billion. Despite this, more than one-third of the global population, approximately 2.8 billion cannot afford a healthy diet, with 1.66 billion facing this challenge in Asia alone.The note of caution was emphasized during the regional observance, convened today in Bangkok, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).World Food Day observance: honoring young leadersHer Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, FAO Goodwill Ambassador for Asia and the Pacific, presided over the regional World Food Day ceremony. Her Royal Highness emphasized that “food must be produced sustainably to ensure communities have access to nutritious food, even in times of crisis. Ultimately, the nutritious and diverse food needs to reach people’s plate; thus, we must ensure that it is available at affordable prices."The event celebrated innovation, recognizing five remarkable young leaders from Thailand, Indonesia, Samoa, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea for their contributions to strengthening agrifood systems and sustainability in the region. Her Royal Highness presented them with awards to acknowledge their innovative initiatives. While acknowledging the contributions of the young innovators, Jong-Jin Kim the Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific stated, “Technology and Innovation provide us with new solutions to the complex problems that we face today in our agrifood systems”.Certificates were also awarded to winners of the regional photo contest on food security and nutrition from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and Mongolia, part of FAO's "Four Betters" initiative—better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life – leaving no one behind.Collective action: a unified approach to food security FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu has highlighted that “The right to foods will not in itself fill stomachs or put more diverse diets on plates. But it does help frame our collective aspirations for the kind of just and equitable world we want to live in. It creates concrete obligations for governments and key partners to fulfil, and it should encourage all of us to do our part to ensure it is realized.”FAO plays a key role in addressing the complex challenge of strengthening agrifood systems. Its State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, produced with UN agencies, provides crucial updates on food security, nutrition, and the affordability of healthy diets. In addition, FAO has partnered with Member Countries to develop dietary guidelines that inform policies on food, health, and agriculture, and to promote nutrition education.FAO’s Kim emphasized that "the gap between the right to food and reality can only be bridged by action. We must act now to strengthen the right to foods across the Asia-Pacific."Governments are urged to incentivize the production and sale of nutritious foods, ensuring access to healthy diets for all, especially the most vulnerable. Consumer organizations must also advocate for the rights of consumers in negotiations with the food industry and governments.“The cost of neglecting the right to food is immense," said Kim. "If we are committed to leaving no one behind, action cannot wait. We must transform our agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, while respecting traditional food cultures and personal preferences."The actions and investments of today will shape our future, and the discussions and partnerships will continue as FAO approaches its International Soil and Water Forum 2024, co-organized with the Royal Thai Government in December. This forum will sustain the momentum of global and regional efforts, driving forward urgent actions needed to protect our natural resources and secure a more resilient agrifood system for future generations.More on this topicWorld Food Day 2024

New York, 22 September 2024 – World leaders today adopted a Pact for the Future that includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations. This Pact is the culmination of an inclusive, years-long process to adapt international cooperation to the realities of today and the challenges of tomorrow. The most wide-ranging international agreement in many years, covering entirely new areas as well as issues on which agreement has not been possible in decades, the Pact aims above all to ensure that international institutions can deliver in the face of a world that has changed dramatically since they were created. As the Secretary-General has said, “we cannot create a future fit for our grandchildren with a system built by our grandparents.”
 
Overall, the agreement of the Pact is a strong statement of countries’ commitment to the United Nations, the international system and international law.  Leaders set out a clear vision of an international system that can deliver on its promises, is more representative of today’s world and draws on the energy and expertise of governments, civil society and other key partners.
 
“The Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations open the door to new opportunities and untapped possibilities,” said the Secretary-General during his remarks at the opening of the Summit of the Future. The President of the General Assembly noted that the Pact would “lay the foundations for a sustainable, just, and peaceful global order – for all peoples and nations.”
 
The Pact covers a broad range of issues including peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and the transformation of global governance. Key deliverables in the Pact include:
 
In the area of peace and securityThe most progressive and concrete commitment to Security Council reform since the 1960s, with plans to improve the effectiveness and representativeness of the Council, including by redressing the historical under-representation of Africa as a priority.The first multilateral recommitment to nuclear disarmament in more than a decade, with a clear commitment to the goal of totally eliminating nuclear weapons.Agreement to strengthen international frameworks that govern outer space, including a clear commitment to prevent an arms race in outer space and the need to ensure all countries can benefit from the safe and sustainable exploration of outer space.Steps to avoid the weaponization and misuse of new technologies, such as lethal autonomous weapons, and affirmation that the laws of war should apply to many of these new technologies.  
On sustainable development, climate and financing for developmentThe entire Pact is designed to turbo-charge implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.The most detailed agreement ever at the United Nations on the need for reform of the international financial architecture so that it better represents and serves developing countries, including:Giving developing countries a greater say in how decisions are taken at international financial institutions;Mobilizing more financing from multilateral development banks to help developing countries meet their development needs;Reviewing the sovereign debt architecture to ensure that developing countries can borrow sustainably to invest in their future, with the IMF, UN, G20 and other key players working together;Strengthening the global financial safety net to protect the poorest in the event of financial and economic shocks, through concrete actions by the IMF and Member States;and accelerating measures to address the challenge of climate change, including through delivering more finance to help countries adapt to climate change and invest in renewable energy.    Improving how we measure human progress, going beyond GDP to capturing human and planetary wellbeing and sustainability.A commitment to consider ways to introduce a global minimum level of taxation on high-net-worth individuals.On climate change, confirmation of the need to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. 
On digital cooperationThe Global Digital Compact, annexed to the Pact, is the first comprehensive global framework for digital cooperation and AI governance.At the heart of the Compact is a commitment to design, use and govern technology for the benefit of all. This includes commitments by world leaders to:Connect all people, schools and hospitals to the Internet;Anchor digital cooperation in human rights and international law;Make the online space safe for all, especially children, through actions by governments, tech companies and social media;Govern Artificial Intelligence, with a roadmap that includes an International Scientific Panel and a Global Policy Dialogue on AI;Make data more open and accessible, with agreements on open-source data, models, and standards;This is also the first global commitment to data governance, placing it on the UN agenda and requiring countries to take concrete actions by 2030. 
Youth and future generationsThe first ever Declaration on Future Generations, with concrete steps to take account of future generations in our decision-making, including a possible envoy for future generations.A commitment to more meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in the decisions that shape their lives, especially at the global level. 
Human rights and genderA strengthening of our work on human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women.A clear call on the need to protect human rights defenders.Strong signals on the importance of engagement of other stakeholders in global governance, including local and regional governments, civil society, private sector and others. 
There are provisions across the Pact and its annexes for follow-up action, to ensure that the commitments made are implemented.
 
Summit Process
The Summit process and the Pact have been deeply enriched by the contributions of millions of voices and thousands of stakeholders from around the world.

The Summit brought together over 4000 individuals from Heads of State and Government, observers, IGOs, UN System, civil society and non-governmental organizations. In a broader push to increase the engagement of diverse actors, the formal Summit was preceded by the Action Days from 20-21 September, which attracted more than 7,000 individuals representing all segments of society. The Action Days featured strong commitments to action by all stakeholders, as well as pledges of USD 1.05 billion to advance digital inclusion.###

For more information:  https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future
Media contacts:
Francyne Harrigan, United Nations Department of Global Communications | harriganf@un.org
Stefania Piffanelli, Executive Office of the Secretary-General, United Nations | piffanelli@un.org
Jackquelyn Kay Topacio, Executive Office of the Secretary-General, United Nations | jackquelyn.topacio@un.org
 

“Thailand’s decision to withdraw its reservation to this article is a significant, positive step towards aligning the country’s laws and policies with international human rights and refugee law standards to protect the rights of all children on the move no matter who they are or where they are from,” said Cynthia Veliko, Representative of the UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia.The decision of the Thai Cabinet to withdraw Thailand’s reservation to Article 22 came into effect on 30 August 2024. Article 22 of the CRC establishes the rights of refugee and asylum-seeking children to protection, humanitarian assistance, and access to support and other services equal to that of children who are nationals, as set out in the Convention and other international human rights instruments to which Thailand is a State Party.The withdrawal of the reservation on the CRC can further enable the Government of Thailand to ensure that all children are protected under the recently introduced National Screening Mechanism (NSM), effective on 22 September 2023, which grants the status of “protected person” to those who enter or stay in Thailand but are unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin for fear of persecution for valid reasons.However, children without legal status in Thailand can still be subjected to immigration detention, despite the Government’s issuance of a Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of Measures and Approaches for Alternatives to the Detention of Children in Immigration Detention Centres (MOU-ATD) in 2019.In its expert guidance, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated unequivocally that every child, at all times, has a fundamental right to liberty and freedom from immigration detention.“I urge the Government of Thailand to now focus on ending child immigration detention and implementing human rights-based alternatives to detention. Children on the move are children first and foremost and detention because of their or their parents’ migration status is never in their best interests. As a consequence, human rights-based alternatives to detention should be provided to all children without discrimination as to their national origin, mode of travel or port of entry or any other considerations,” Veliko said.The UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia is available to support and collaborate with the Government of Thailand and other stakeholders to further develop and implement alternatives to immigration detention to ensure that every child on the move receives the protection and care they need.For more information and media requests, please contact:Wannaporn Samutassadong – +66 65 986 0810 / wannaporn.samutassadong[@]un.org

The ratification comes one year after the entry into force of the Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance which represents a critical milestone in Thailand’s domestic law criminalizing torture and enforced disappearances.“By ratifying the ICPPED, Thailand reaffirms its commitments made during its last Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and during the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  to protect all persons from enforced disappearances and to eliminate such heinous crimes that violate a wide range of human rights and inflict indelible and long-lasting trauma on the lives of families and communities,” said Cynthia Veliko, Regional Representative of the UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia.As of August 2023, Thailand has 77 cases of enforced disappearances pending with the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance, which are yet to be resolved.“Their families and communities have been forced to live with unbearable uncertainty, some for decades. They are entitled to know the truth and must receive redress,” Veliko said.In this context, Article 24 of the Convention recognizes that each victim has the right to know the truth regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance, the progress and results of the investigation into the fate of the disappeared person as well as the right to obtain reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation.“All branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial) are bound by the obligations articulated in the Convention. It will be critical that the Government ensures justice and the resolution of past cases, as well as the timely and comprehensive integration of the provisions of the ICPPED into national laws, policies and practices for purposes of full compliance and accountability,” Veliko said.For more information and media requests, please contact: Wannaporn Samutassadong wannaporn.samutassadong@un.org)