UNSC resolution 2417 and local food systems in the humanitarian-development nexus

On September 12, 2018, the Food & Business Knowledge Platform (F&BKP) and the Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law (KPSRL) jointly organized a workshop focusing on United Nations Security Council Resolution 2417 – on hunger and conflict. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to follow up on the resolution through programming on the nexus of humanitarian & development aid. The meeting provided an opportunity for exchange and learning to harvest experiences from practice and hear what support practitioners need from each other, and from policymakers and donors.

A group of representatives from development and humanitarian organizations, policy and research discussed implications of the resolution, current best practices and ways forward for practice. Participants worked together to formulate concrete recommendations for practice and policy.

Key points of the recommendations for practice can be summed up as:

1. Working from the bottom-up by connecting with, and building on, local communities, governance and stakeholders and their knowledge;
2. Putting a greater focus on cross-sector or cross-cutting thinking;
3. Supporting flexible ways of working so that programming can adapt to changing circumstances.

While the recommendations for the Netherlands as a donor and as a government can be summed up as:

1. As a donor, ensure better local monitoring and learning practices to facilitate flexible and adaptive programming;
2. As a donor, strengthen links between different types of programmes (development, humanitarian, advocacy) and promote joint working;
3. As a government, function as an ambassador for the resolution on the international stage by building coalitions, using it to engage other governments, and promoting accountability for violations of international (humanitarian) law.

Background information

This activity is part of the F&BKP knowledge trajectory on the nexus between food security and stability. The F&BKP recently launched a new Knowledge Portal topic on this theme  “Food security and stability” where you can find recent key publications that provide insight on this relationship.

Past activities for this knowledge trajectory include:

• A discussion paper on the relationship between food security and conflict.
• A report and practical tool on conflict sensitivity in the practice of food security programming at embassy level.
• A session on conflict sensitivity and food security at the “Two Peas in a Pod” conference.