A/HRC/4/30 page 5 he has also submitted requests to the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Philippines, and the Sudan. So far, whilst he is in constructive dialogue with these Governments, he has not yet received any official positive response. The Special Rapporteur was invited in September 2006 by the Government of Lebanon to undertake a mission there in the aftermath of the Israeli-Lebanon conflict, on which he reported to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/2/8). 7. As part of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur is also required to receive and respond to information on the right to food submitted by governmental and non-governmental organizations. In 2006, the Special Rapporteur sent out 46 communications to Governments, asking them further information on specific allegations of violations of the right to food. A report on these communications is provided as an addendum to this report. 8. The Special Rapporteur has also continued to work closely with Governments and parliaments for the promotion of the right to food. On 14 July 2006, he attended an international conference in Rome, “Food insecurity and the right to food”, hosted by Walter Veltroni, the Mayor of Rome, and organized in collaboration with the University of Florence and the Unidea-Unicredit Foundation. In May 2006, the Special Rapporteur spoke in Berlin before the Committee for International Cooperation and Development of the Bundestag and attended a symposium organized by the Green Party of Germany. 9. The Special Rapporteur has also continued to work closely with United Nations agencies, particularly the World Food Programme (WFP) and FAO. In 2006, the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, he initiated special collaboration with the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, on which he reported in his last report to the General Assembly. He also participated in an important international conference on “Desertification, hunger and poverty” held in Geneva in April 2006. In May 2006, he walked with WFP in its Worldwide March Against Hunger held in 400 cities in 116 different countries around the world. In Switzerland, over 1,650 marchers participated, each contributing enough to provide lunch for 60 schoolchildren. In November 2006, the team of the Special Rapporteur participated in a seminar on the creation of a new Global Right to Food Network, to be coordinated by the Right to Food Unit of FAO. 10. In order to protect children’s right to food, the Special Rapporteur has followed the implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. On 17 July 2006 he wrote to the European Commission regarding his concerns in relation to the draft European Commission directive on infant formula. Following the reply from the European Commission of 20 September 2006 affirming its commitment to uphold the right to adequate, safe and good quality food, the Special Rapporteur reiterated his concerns that the revision of this directive was not in full conformity with the advice of the Scientific Committee on Food, particularly in relation to the recommendation to use nutrition labelling rather than claims. In addition, the Special Rapporteur fears that the lowering of standards in the European Union directive may set a precedent for other regional and national institutions. The Special Rapporteur also wrote to the Government of the Philippines on