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A Primer to the Right to Adequate Food
Rights and Obligations
Exercises
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A Primer to the Right to Adequate Food -Rights and Obligations.
Exercises

Summary

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Exercise 6

Solutions

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A Primer to the Right to Adequate Food -Rights and Obligations.
Exercises

Exercise 1

A State must ensure that every person, woman, man, girl and boy, is able to freely exercise her right to food. What does it mean, in your opinion?
  1. Every person has the right to receive free food from a State.
  2. The right to food refers only to those persons who are not able to feed themselves.
  3. Individuals have the right to access adequate food or means for its procurement.

Tick the correct option
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Exercise 2

Individuals are the right-holders of the right to food. Who are the duty-bearers under international human rights treaties?
  1. All States in the world.
  2. Only States Parties to the relevant treaties.
  3. States, enterprises, associations and international organizations.

Tick the correct option
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Exercise 3

Under the terms of Articles 2 and 11 of the ICESCR, there are general State obligations with respect to the right to food . One of them is the obligation to take steps to the maximum of available resources to progressively realize the right to food.
In your opinion, which of the following statements is correct?
  1. States have to use all their available resources to ensure full realization of the right to food for their population.
  2. A State can use all its available resources for other priorities.
  3. States must ensure that resources that can be invested in food are not diverted into other fields.

Tick the correct option
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Exercise 4

In your opinion, which of the following statements is correct?
1.When faced with resource constraints, a State should appeal for international support to prevent starvation.
2.In case of an armed conflict, a State is free not to comply with its obligations with respect to the right to food.
Tick the correct option
  • 1
  • 2

Exercise 5

Consider this scenario:
The economy of the Oak community is mainly natural resource-based. Majority of the population within a local community derives its subsistence directly from forestry and fisheries. In accordance with a licence obtained by the government, Tree Ltd timber company started logging in the area traditionally used by the Oak community. The logging concession covers areas of land that include critical parts of the natural environment upon which the Oak community depends for subsistence. The area has vulnerable soils, primary forest growth and important watersheds. The logging activities have affected essential water supplies, disrupted plant and animal life, and, accordingly, affected Oak community hunting, fishing and gathering practices that are essential to their cultural and physical survival.
The licence also allows clear-cutting for later conversion of the forest to commercial agricultural lands in accordance with existing Government plans.
In this scenario, the State authorised and promoted economic activities on the lands traditionally used by the Oak community without consulting the Oak community or taking its livelihoods into consideration.By doing so, what levels of obligation has the State violated?
  1. Obligation to respect
  2. Obligation to protect
  3. Obligation to fulfill

Tick the correct options
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Exercise 6

Going back to the same scenario described in Exercise 5, imagine that:
A.A report by Clean Forest Association, commissioned by the local council of the Oak community, noted that the threat of future and greater damage is intensified by the alleged inability and unwillingness of the State to adequately monitor the logging activities and enforce environmental standards required by national legislation.
B.In an effort to defend their rights to land and natural resources, the Oak community Association instituted administrative and court proceedings asking for order to cancel or suspend logging concessions, which, however, remained fruitless due to undue prolongations and delay.
Which levels of obligation has the State violated by acting as described above?
  1. Obligation to protect
  2. Obligation to fulfill

Tick the correct options
  • 1A, 2B
  • 1B, 2A

Solutions

Exercise 1

Options / Correct answer / Comment
1 / This is not correct. Only when a person is not able, for reasons beyond her or his control, to provide for herself, does she have such a rights.
2 / This is incorrect. While only those persons who are not able to feed themselves have the right to receive direct assistance from the State, every person has the right to access to adequate food or means for its procurement.
3 / X / Correct. Individuals have the right to access adequate food or means for its procurement, and the responsibility to provide feed themselves. Only when a person is not able, for reasons beyond her or his control, to provide for herself, does she have such a rights.

Exercise 2

Options / Correct answer / Comment
1 / Incorrect. Only States Parties to a treaty have to comply with its provisions.
2 / X / Correct. States Parties to a treaty have to comply with its provisions.
3 / Incorrect. Only States have international legal obligations.

Exercise 3

Options / Correct answer / Comment
1 / The statement is not correct, as “to the maximum of their available resources” means that States are not expected to use all their available resources on satisfying the right to food.
2 / The statement is not correct. While a State is only obliged to spend the maximum of available resources, not devoting any to food would constitute a violation of its obligations under the ICESCR.
3 / x / Correct. States are not expected to use all their available resources or to spend resources they do not have on satisfying the right to food. On the other hand, they can and must ensure that resources that can be invested in food are not diverted into other fields.

Exercise 4

Options / Correct answer / Comment
1 / X / Correct. When faced with resource constraints, a State must seek international support. A State claiming that it is unable to ensure the right to food for reasons beyond its control, has the burden of proving that this is effectively the case and that it has unsuccessfully sought to obtain international aid.
2 / Incorrect. International obligations under the right to food (notably, the obligation to ensure the right to be free from hunger) apply under any circumstances, even in case of an armed conflict.

Exercise 5

Options / Correct answer / Comment
1, 2 / X / Correct. The State has limited access of members of the Oak community to resources necessary for their subsistence and has thus violated the obligation to respect their human right to food. As the State also authorized third party interference, it failed to protect the community as well.
1,3
2,3 / Incorrect. The State has limited access of members of the Oak community to resources necessary for their subsistence and has thus violated the obligation to respect their human right to food. As the State also authorized third party interference, it failed to protect the community as well.

Exercise 6

Options / Correct answer / Comment
1A, 2B / X / Correct. By granting the concession without ordering prior monitoring and impact studies, and by not adequately supervising logging activities within the concerned forest areas, the government has left private company to destroy food sources and therefore it has violated its obligation to protect the right to food of the Oak community. On the other hand, by failing to ensure adequate means of protection against violations of human rights through the domestic legal system, the State has violated the obligation to facilitate the realisation of the human right to food of the members of the Oak community.
1B, 2A / Incorrect. By granting the concession without ordering prior monitoring and impact studies, and by not adequately supervising logging activities within the concerned forest areas, the government has left private company to destroy food sources and therefore it has violated its obligation to protect the right to food of the Oak community. On the other hand, by failing to ensure adequate means of protection against violations of human rights through the domestic legal system, the State has violated the obligation to facilitate the realisation of the human right to food of the members of the Oak community.

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