The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger and achieve food security for people worldwide. It supports the setting of international standards, develops guidelines, and works to ensure regular access to high-quality, safe food for all.
As the organization’s second-highest governing body, the FAO Council plays a vital role in advancing the mission of the FAO to improve global food security. Those standing for membership on the Council must share a clear and consistent commitment to respecting human rights. They must also allow and facilitate access of life-saving humanitarian assistance to their citizens to achieve a world free from hunger and extreme poverty.
The United States is deeply concerned that certain states nominated to serve on the Council do not share these values and are the subject of credible allegations of human rights violations and abuses, disregard for international commercial aviation safety, and violations of international humanitarian law against their own people.
The United States calls on all FAO Council candidate member nations to respect these principles as fundamental to building sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems and serving all those we represent around the world.