Our Work at the Regional Level

In 2020, the IPC Working Group on Fisheries established three Regional Advisory Groups (RAGs) representing the Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean regions. The Regional Advisory Group are the regional extension of the Advisory Group for the Global Strategic Framework in support of the implementation of the SSF Guidelines (SSF-GSF), whose establishment was endorsed by COFI in 2016 to boost the implementation of the SSF Guidelines. These regional platforms were established following the system used by the Civil Society Mechanism (CSM4CFS), as it represents the organizational will of CSOs  and mirrored the FAO regional division, thus facilitating the interaction with the FAO regional officers and, consequently, the participation of the Regional AGs in the FAO Regional Conferences, the most important regional policy processes concerning food and nutrition.

These RAGs are key to implementing the SSF Guidelines, engaging SSF communities and Indigenous Peoples, and amplifying rightholders’ voices in regional dialogues.

The Regional Advisory Groups consist of representatives from global and regional civil society networks that include small-scale fisheries organizations across the continent. To ensure adequate representation of all relevant constituencies, it is composed of one delegate from the Indigenous Peoples’ constituency, one delegate from each food producers’ network, and one representative from the SSF networks for each sub-region. Its purpose is to support the implementation of the SSF Guidelines at the regional level, ensuring coherence in policies, strategies, and actions, while also informing and assisting the AG SSF-GSF in its global efforts.

The RAG plays a key role in raising awareness of the SSF Guidelines and advocating for a human rights-based approach and food sovereignty principles in regional processes. It also supports the monitoring of SSF Guidelines implementation through participatory processes, following the relevant guidelines (paragraphs 13.4 and 13.5) and the recommendations of the AG SSF-GSF. Additionally, it facilitates information and experience-sharing mechanisms to strengthen the work of the AG SSF-GSF and works towards mobilizing resources to further these efforts.