We, the members of the Human Security Network, gathered in Bamako, Mali, on the occasion of the 6th Human Security Network Ministerial Meeting;

Recalling the Millennium Development Goals' call to reduce the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day to half by 2015, as well as the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, and reiterating their commitment to the full realization of these goals;

Particularly concerned by the slow progress with respect to addressing the continuing prevailing high degree of hunger in many countries, in particular in developing countries;

Guided by the universal principles enshrined in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Recalling that Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulates that "everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family, including food, (...)";

Recalling also that Article 11 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stipulates that "the states parties to this Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living, (...) including adequate food and commit themselves to take all the necessary steps to achieve the realization of this right";

Considering that the right to adequate food is an integral part of human rights and is an indispensable element of human security;

The Network declares that food security constitutes a priority challenge for human security, that the right to food is inseparable from other human rights, and that it is a vital element in the building of human security, as discussed at the technical conference on food security held in Bamako, Mali on 26-27 April 2004;

Accordingly, the Network commits itself to intensifying dialogue with the appropriate international organizations, the main ones being the agencies of the UN system, as well as regional and subregional institutions in charge of food security, NGOs, civil society, and the private sector to look into ways and means of relying on a rightsbased approach to enable the world community to meet its commitments towards peoples, within the framework of the Millennium Goals and the World Food Summits;

In this context, the Network will look at how to strengthen the implementation of relevant existing international instruments and mechanisms to implement the right to adequate food and enhance food security;

The Network also expressed its support for the work of the "Intergovernmental Working Group" established by the FAO in view of the elaboration, by the end of 2004, of a set of voluntary guidelines to support the progressive realisation of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security;

The Network also stressed the importance of human rights education in getting all countries of the international community to reaffirm 'the right to food' as a human right, and the effective implementation of this right at the national and international level for the benefit of all members of society;

The Network commends Mali for making this important issue a focus of attention at the 6th Ministerial of the Network and for sharing its special document on the subject with the members of the Network.