Rio+20 was not a fiasco
Play
Re: "Rio fiasco puts food security back in the spotlight" (Opinion, July 5)
I wonder why the very informative article by Martin Khor originally entitled “Food issues in the spotlight” was published under a new title which suggests that the recent Rio+20 Conference – the largest multilateral meeting in the history of diplomacy – was a fiasco.
The Italian word fiasco, which means an absolute, complete, ignominious, abject or utterly humiliating failure, cannot be used to qualify the results of this very significant event of multilateral diplomacy.
Only the attentive reading and analysis of the outcome document, “The Future We Want”, adopted by consensus by 193 members of the United Nations (53 pages), and the future responsible assessment of the implementation process of recommendations contained in it can allow a balanced judgement about the actual role of this important conference.
In fact, it contributed to strengthening the idea that the current world badly needs a multilateralism based on and inspired by universal solidarity without which global problems, including food security, cannot be genuinely solved.
Ioan Voicu
Bangkok
