A Primer to the Right to Adequate Food
The Right to Food Guidelines
Learner Notes
/
A Primer to the Right to Adequate Food
Lesson: The Right to Food Guidelines
Table of contents
Learning objectives
Introduction
Nature of the Right to Food Guidelines
Content
Using the Right to Food Guidelines
Different users of the Right to Food Guidelines
Challenges Ahead
Summary
If you want to know more
Annex I: Summaries of the 19 guidelines
Learning objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
• understand the relevance of the Right to Food Guidelines as a tool to support the progressive realization of the right to food; and
• understand what the Right to Food Guidelines mean for different users.
Introduction
The unanimous adoption by the FAO Council of the Right to Food Guidelines in November 2004 represents a major step in breaking new ground in the area of implementation of the right to food.
In the Declaration “International Alliance against Hunger”, adopted at the “WFS: five years later” in June 2002, the Heads of State and Government invited the FAO Council to establish an Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG)[1] to elaborate in a period of two years a set of voluntary guidelines to support the progressive realization of the right to food.
In November 2004, for the first time in history governments met, together with international agencies and relevant stakeholders, to discuss the implementation of the right to food at the national level. The successful adoption of the Right to Food Guidelines feeds into FAO’s mandate, which includes ensuring humanity’s freedom from hunger, recalled through specific time framed goals by the World Food Summit and the Millennium Development Goals.
Nature of the Right to Food Guidelines
The Right to Food Guidelines are voluntary and non-legally binding, although they build on international law and provide guidance on implementation of already existing obligations.
They are addressed to all States,developed and developing countries and countries that have ratified the ICESCR as well as those who have not. They are also an advocacy tool for all stakeholders wishing to encourage better implementation of the right to food at the national level.The Voluntary Guidelines stress human rights principles and seek to strengthen good governance and people’s capacity building.
The value of the Right to Food Guidelines is that they have moved to a more practical application of the Right to Food concept. In fact, they:
• cover all necessary elements of a sound food security strategy and processes;
• promote a framework for cross-sectoral coordination;
• translate human rights principles into concrete recommendations for action; and
• provide a basis for advocating for more equitable policies and programs.
Content
Let’s now have a look at the content. The Right to FoodGuidelines are structured into three main sections:
Section I: Preface and Introduction.
The text of major international legal instruments is recalled and definitions of food security, the right to food and human rights approaches are provided.
Section II - Enabling Environment, Assistance and Accountability[2].
It contains 19 provisions through which the Right to Food Guidelines provide practical guidance to States on using human rights for achieving food security.
Section III - International Measures, Actions and Commitments.
Section III reflects agreement on aspects of the international environment to be considered when addressing right to food at national level. The language stems from agreed text in other fora such as the Monterrey consensus on financing for development, the Doha Declaration on a new “development round” in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and resolutions of the General Assembly and FAO). It covers the following topics:
- International cooperation and unilateral measures
- Role of the international community
- Technical cooperation
- International trade
- External debt
- Official development assistance
- International food aid
- Partnerships with NGOs/CSOs/private sector
- Promotion and protection of the right to adequate food
- International reporting
The Right to Food Guidelines touch upon political and development issues, tracing possible strategies and priority fields of action to overcome hunger and malnutrition by implementing the right to food.
They apply the definition of the right to food to concrete areas of national policies which play a role in the achievement of food security (such as economic development, market systems, agriculture, nutrition, social policy, education and emergency measures in food crises).
Practical steps indicated by the Guidelines
Among practical steps indicated by the Guidelines, is the identification of reasons for hunger, malnutrition and vulnerable groups. According to their specific situation, states should then develop adequate strategies, policies and programs, which best fit their own institutional, financial and human possibilities.
States should also make a review of their existing national legislation in order to identify inefficient or redundant laws or programs and to identify where better coordination is needed.
The Right to FoodGuidelines stress that individuals have a right to an enabling environment in which they can provide for their own needs and those of their families, including food, in freedom and dignity.
Healthy and educated persons who enjoy economic freedom and access to jobs and resources have most of the ingredients for being able to enjoy the right to food. The availability and access to safe and nutritious food can be assured through the market.
Well-informed consumers can make the right choices for optimum nutrition.
The Right to FoodGuidelines advocate for effectively targeted assistance for the food insecure. The needs of vulnerable groups should be addressed to devise appropriate measures.
Safety nets should be accompanied by complementary measures in order to promote sustainable food security in the long run.
At the international level, food assistance should be provided taking into account dietary and cultural food consumption patterns and avoiding creation of dependency by having a clear exit strategy.
The Right to FoodGuidelines emphasize accountability by inviting states to include provisions in their domestic laws that facilitate the realization of the right to food.
Mechanism should be put in place to monitor and evaluate the realization of the right to food, especially with regard to vulnerable groups.
At the same time national human rights institutions should be set up as independent and autonomous bodies including the right to food in their mandate.
Moreover, administrative, quasi-judicial and judicial mechanism should be envisaged to provide adequate, effective and prompt remedies.
Using the Right to Food Guidelines
The Right to FoodGuidelines can be used as a reference when elaborating national strategies and policy programmes, as well as for monitoring state performance an
They provide practical indications for different stages of the realization of the right to food, in particular in the areas of:
Democracy and the rule of law (related guidelines: 1, 4, 6, 7, 19)
States should:
• promote democracy, the rule of law, sustainable development and good governance;
• empower individuals and civil society to make demands on their governments; and
• ensure governments transparency in implementing policies that address specific needs.
Policies and strategies (related guidelines: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 17)
States need to create an enabling environment for individuals to realize their right to food.
The Right to Food Guidelines suggest that this can be done by adopting a national human-rights-based strategy and propose a variety of measures.
The legal framework (related guidelines: 5, 7, 8, 11, 17, 18)
•Access to adequate food is a universal human right. Individuals should be able to claim this right and States are accountable for the elaboration and implementation of policies for the immediate and progressive realization of the right to food.
•The guidelines indicate how this process can be achieved, through measures ranging from education and awareness raising to the establishment of an appropriate legal system.
Adequate food (related guidelines: 5, 9, 10)
Today, some 854 million people are undernourished and many more lack the vitamins and minerals needed for healthy growth, sound development and the ability to remain in good health. The right to food includes the right to be free from hunger and the right to adequate food. States should ensure that all foods available on the market are wholesome, nutritious and fit for human consumption.
Vulnerable populations(related guidelines: 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16)
The right to food commits States to initiatives to facilitate economic and physical access to adequate food.
States have an obligation to provide food or the means to access food to individuals who are unable, for reasons beyond their control, to provide for themselves and their families. Marginalized and vulnerable populations, who cannot provide for themselves, therefore, require special attention.
Emergencies(related guidelines: 15, 16)
Realization of the right to food in periods of crisis is particularly difficult.
The Right to Food Guidelines provide recommendations on measures needed in natural and human-made disasters, and in the framework of international food aid.
Different users of the Right to Food Guidelines
1.Governments (related guidelines: 5,7,17,18)
The Right to FoodGuidelines can help Governments design appropriate policies, strategies and legislation.The guidelines are a voluntary instrument by their very nature, but can nevertheless become a forceful practical guide to influence state policies. Guidelines 5, 7, 17 and 18 offer states practical guidance for developing effective institutional and legal frameworks to provide the right to adequate food and for establishing independent monitoring mechanisms to implement these frameworks.
In 2002 many people in the State of Rajasthan were starving although food stocks from the Food Corporation of India were available.
In response to this situation, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, a domestic human rights non-governmental organization (NGO), appealed to the Supreme Court.
This NGO argued that the constitutional right to life and, thus, to food, was being denied. In a number of interim orders the Supreme Court ruled that all individuals in India have the right to food and that this right should be fulfilled by the state.
The Court then directed all state governments of India to implement numerous assistance programmes quickly to help enforce the right to food.
Today, a national right to food campaign led by domestic human rights NGOs is working to inform the most vulnerable groups, as well as the general public, about their rights and entitlements to adequate food.
In January 2002 the Brazilian Government adopted a national food security policy (the Food and Nutritional Policy) and established a national food security programme (the Zero Hunger Programme) recognizing the state’s responsibility to ensure access to adequate food for the entire Brazilian population.
The National Council for Food and Nutritional Security (CONSEA) was created as an advisory body to the presidency.
It plays a vital role in coordinating the policy-making agenda of several government institutions in conjunction with the participatory efforts of civil society and observers.
2. Civil Society (Related guidelines: 1,3,7,11)
The Right to Food Guidelines can also provide civil society with a powerful tool to demand changes in policies. Civil society can use the guidelines to challenge governments that are inactive or that are implementing inadequate policies.A successful use of the guidelines is that civil society will start using them for scrutinizing government policies and for demanding specific government responses.
Guidelines 1, 3, 7 and 11 offer NGOs practical guidance on assisting individuals to make demands to their government. NGOs play a role in strengthening individuals’ awareness about their rights and enhancing their legal capacity to demand such rights.
In India in 2001 a number of civil society organizations successfully campaigned for the introduction of nutritious school meals for all schoolchildren in the country using public awareness and legal action.
A 2001 court order issued by the Supreme Court obliged all state governments to introduce free, hot, cooked mid-day meals at least 200 days per year.
Today these meals are served to 50 million children and have been shown to protect children from hunger, boost school attendance and help break caste prejudices, thereby fostering greater social equity.
3. Intergovernmental Organizations(Related guidelines 3,14,15,19).
Relevant intergovernmental organizations[3] should use the Right to FoodGuidelines systematically. The UN Committeeon Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has already announced that it will use the Guidelines as a tool when examining state parties performance on the right to adequate food.
Guidelines 3, 14, 15 and 19 provide some examples of the role international organizations can play in cooperating with governments to devise appropriate strategies that integrate a human rights perspective in poverty reduction programmes. International organizations have a role to play in investment and advise in food security policies and programmes and also one in the area of delivery of food assistance.
Delivery of food assistance – indications for humanitarian intervention to be human rights conform.
In the design of food aid programmes, humanitarian assistance organizations should aim at schemes that minimize harmful effects on local food production and thus:
• Provide aid on the basis of a sound assessment of needs and only “when is the most effective and appropriate means of assistance” (Food Aid Convention, Article VIII).
• Consider the best options for the provision of aid, including the distribution of foodstuffs, cash transfers to households and combinations of both. Cash transfers have bee tried in a variety of settings, including recent relief operations in Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Somalia (Harvey, Slater and Farrington, 2005). In Mozambique, a United States Agency for International Development relief programme for flood victims involved the distribution of cash to women heads of household through a local commercial bank; the programme is reported to have been a cost-effective mechanism to enable households to buy food, livestock and seeds (Hanlon, 2004).
• Where food aid is provided in kind, consider purchasing foodstuffs in a developing country rather than in the North (triangular purchase) or in one part of the affected country for supply in a deficit area of the same country (local purchase).
• Design a clear exit strategy and terminate aid programmes when appropriate.
In Brazil in May 2002, civil society, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and UNDP, launched an honorary, non-remunerated position for a National Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Food, Water and RuralLand.
FAO initiated a project to support the work of the National Rapporteur and established adequate follow-up mechanisms. In particular, the setting up of a right to food monitoring system was foreseen.
This system will support rights-based policies and programmes, strengthen participation of civil society in right to food fora and committees and establish a national network of civil society and government representatives which may promote the right to food in future.
Challenges Ahead
The Right to Food Guidelines are relatively comprehensive and detailed. Yet, there are still some areas that need further expansion and guidance such as those of:
•strategies, in terms of methods to be chosen and adapted to different countries and strategy formulation;
•legal framework, in terms of the need to clearly spell out entitlements and responsibilities; and
•monitoring, indicators and benchmarks, in terms of assessment, data collection and participatory methodologies.
Overall, the challenge remains implementation and the incorporation of right to food-conform principles into national legislations, policies and programs.
Summary
The Right to Food Guidelines marked an important step in standard setting for the right to food. They were approved by the FAO Council in November 2004.
The value of the Right to FoodGuidelines is that they have moved beyond the normative content of the right to food to a more practical application of the concept of the right to food.
The Right to FoodGuidelines apply the definition of the right to food to concrete areas of national policies which play a role in the achievement of food security. The guidelines stress the need for an enabling environment, assistance for the food insecure and state accountability.
The Right to FoodGuidelines can be used as a reference by different users:
• by Governments, to design appropriate policies, strategies and legislation;
• by the civil society, as a powerful tool to demand and monitor changes in policies; and
• by relevant intergovernmental organizations, to advise governments in food security policies and programmes.
If you want to know more
Additional Reading
- FIAN, The FAO Voluntary Guidelines for the Right to Food: Lasting Solutions against Hunger, in Voluntary Guidelines for the Right to Food, Fact Sheet No.1, 2005.
- FIAN, Voluntary Guidelines and the Right to Adequate Food from Negotiations to Implementation, in FIAN Documents, g47e, 2006.
- Oshaug, Arne, Developing Voluntary Guidelines for implementing the right to adequate food: anatomy of an intergovernmental process, in Eide & Kracht (eds.), "Food and Human Rights in Development, Vol. I, Legal and Institutional Dimensions and Selected Issues", Antwerpen-Oxford, 2005.
- Rae Isabella, Thomas Julian, Vidar Margret, History and Implications for FAO of the Guidelines on the Right to Adequate Food, in Eide & Kracht (eds.) "Food and Human Rights in Development, Vol. II, Evolving Issues and Emerging Applications", Antwerpen-Oxford, 2007.
- Rae Isabella, Thomas Julian, Vidar Margret, The Right to Food as a Fundamental Human Right: The FAO's Experience, in Acharya, Davis and Guha-Khasnobis (eds.) "Food Insecurity, Vulnerability and Human Rights Failure", Hampshire, 2007.
- SCN, Closing the Gap on the Right to Adequate Food: The Voluntary Guidelines, in SCN News Developments in International Nutrition, Number 30, Mid 2005, ISSN 1564 - 3743.
- SCN, Closing the Gap on the Right to Adequate Food: The Voluntary Guidelines, in SCN News Developments in International Nutrition, Number 30, Mid 2005, ISSN 1564 – 3743