ADDRESS TO INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON "POLICIES AGAINST HUNGER"

Berlin, 22 May 2002

Your Excellency, Madam Künast,
Honourable Ministers of the Co-Organizing countries,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am greatly honoured for this opportunity to join you all at this important workshop whose theme is so central to FAO's mandate. I would like to thank our host, the Government of Germany, for having organized this event to further the Right to Adequate Food which is a basic human right. It is especially indicative of the German Government's true commitment to, and leadership in, our collective fight against hunger in a world of historically unparalleled global wealth. This event is well placed and timed as it was only a year ago that Germany so generously hosted the Third International Consultation on the Right to Food in Bonn, and likewise in less than a month's time we will be meeting in Rome at the World Food Summit of Heads of State and Government.

Relevance of the Right to Food to the World Food Summit: five years later

The World Food Summit will consider the two major issues related to reducing hunger and alleviating poverty. Many are wondering why so little has been done. Although all agree that hunger is morally unacceptable and imposes such large costs on societies, can anybody really question that there is enough food for all in the world? I accept that the main underlying reason for the persistence of hunger is due to the lack of political will, and as a result of this the resources to fight hunger have not been mobilised to the extent required. A number of misperceptions exist: that hunger reduction involves a simple welfare transfer or is associated only with emergencies and calamities, and that the abundance of food in the world is a sign that everyone is properly fed. Lack of knowledge is, however, not an acceptable reason.

The World Food Summit goal of reducing the number of hungry people to less than 400 million by 2015 can be met if the developing countries and their development partners have the political will to do so.

The World Food Summit: five years later must also address the issue of resources necessary for achieving the Summit's target. The trends have, for too long, gone in the wrong direction. Most developing countries are devoting insufficient resources to the rural areas where 70 percent of the hungry live. The concessional assistance given by OECD countries to agriculture in the developing countries has fallen in real terms between 1990 and 1999 by 49 percent, and the share of the portfolio of World Bank and Regional Development Banks, excluding the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, by 54 percent.

Given the moral as well as economic imperative for eradicating hunger in the midst of plenty, the adequate allocation of resources to enable the achievement of the World Food Summit goal, in the first instance, should be a global priority. It is FAO's firm conviction that reaffirmation of political commitments and transformation of these into concrete action are the next essential steps toward the realisation of food for all, and the human right of everyone to be free from hunger.

The concept of the right to food and translating it into practice are most relevant to the forthcoming Summit.

FAO's Mission and the Right to Food

As stipulated in the Constitution, "ensuring humanity's freedom from hunger" is FAO's central mission. The Strategic Framework 2000-2015, approved by the FAO Conference in November 1999, articulates the main mission of the Organization as "Helping to build a food-secure world for present and future generations." In carrying out this mission, the Organization is expected to take into full account "progress made in further developing a rights-based approach to food security." Therefore this workshop is of critical importance to us in furthering food security in the world.

(Rights Based approaches in the UN system)

Human rights have finally acquired a global legitimacy, following the Secretary-General's call in 1997 for their integration into all areas of work of the United Nations System, as part of UN reform. Since then, all the UN agencies have, in one way or another, adopted policies on integrating human rights into their work. A human rights approach should have an impact on our vision of development. It aims at translating people's basic needs into fundamental rights. It further identifies the duties and obligations of all stakeholders to ensure that the basic needs are met. The value of a human rights-based approach lies particularly in its potential to alleviate injustice, inequality and poverty, and to empower the poor themselves.

Hunger is a concrete manifestation of the persistent and widespread disparities in power in the world. Weaker people have weaker entitlements and thus have a disproportionately smaller share of the earth's abundant produce. The inequities in the world today are epitomised by the fact that while some will enjoy meals costing hundreds of dollars, others will squat before nearly empty rice bowls. Even in democratic societies national governments are not always responsive to weaker segments of their populations. The promotion of the right to food, accompanied by distinct mechanisms of accountability will contribute to counterbalancing this bias in social systems. It should lead to good governance, inclusion of and increased equality amongst citizens.

In the process of implementing an empowering approach to development that views poor people as partners in poverty reduction, the first step to be taken is to ensure their right to food.

Undernutrition is integrally linked to other conditions that restrict human potential, such as poor sanitation and hygiene, illiteracy, lack of education facilities, and lack of access to health care. There is value added when the realisation of several rights are taken together, as they affect each other in a reinforcing manner. Ensuring a meal for children attending school, preferably in a sustainable way through the production of school gardens, improves the rate of school attendance, and therefore the right to education. It also enhances the level of nutrition of the children, and therefore the right to health. Thus fulfilling the right to food also facilitates the fulfilment of other rights.

Progress Since the World Food Summit

The World Food Summit in 1996 reaffirmed the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger. Its pragmatic and realisable goal of halving hunger by 2015 was subsequently integrated into and duly reflected in the Millennium Declaration.

But as the number of undernourished people is being reduced only by 6 million a year instead of the 22 million necessary, immediate corrective action is required, otherwise the Summit goal will only be attained in 60 years time instead of by 2015. It is for this very reason that FAO is organizing a World Food Summit at the level of Heads of State and Government in June. It should rally the political will and necessary resources to ensure that the Summit goal will be met. The concept of the right to food could be a useful tool to set the right course and maintain it.

In response to a Summit recommendation, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have clarified the content of the Right to Food, in particular, as contained in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. General Comment No.12 of this Committee, which was issued in May 1999, sets out the content of the right to adequate food and the obligations of State Parties to the Covenant to respect, protect and fulfil these rights. The three Expert Consultations of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the right to food that laid the groundwork for General Comment No 12, examined the roles of international agencies in realising the right to food and discussed ways and means of translating that right into reality at the national level. What is required now is to translate the principles into practice at the national level.

Rights-based approaches at the national level

FAO strongly supports the process being pioneered in some countries, which have held or are organizing national seminars to seek ways to operationalise the right to food at the national level. Some are held by national human rights institutions, NGOs or universities, others by the governments themselves. FAO believes that such national dialogues are essential as a first step towards effective implementation of the right to food, which could lead to meaningful policy and legal reforms. The lessons learned through these processes will be crucial for further progress in mainstreaming the right to food.

Code of Conduct

Non-Governmental Organizations developed in 1997 a Draft Code of Conduct on the Right to Adequate Food, which has been endorsed by hundreds of civil society organizations. NGOs are now calling on governments to start negotiations for a non-legally binding Code of Conduct, as one of their lobbying goals for the World Food Summit: five years later. I would like to pay tribute to their significant contributions to our common fight against hunger. As set out in our policy on partnerships with civil society organizations and the private sector, FAO looks forward to forging stronger links to ensure success in the reduction of hunger throughout the world.

As stated in Objective 7.4 of the Plan of Action, the possibility of drafting voluntary guidelines on food security for all should be taken into account. Now, in preparation for the World Food Summit in June, a number of governments wish to start work on a Code of Conduct for the Implementation of the Right to Food as an intergovernmental process.

I welcome any action towards fulfilment of FAO's core mandate of food security. A Code of Conduct would have the potential for empowering the poor and the hungry and helping to keep governments and other actors accountable. At the same time I realise that there are at present FAO and UN members who question the usefulness of such a drafting process.

Madam Chairperson,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As a Secretariat, FAO naturally will follow the guidance of its governing bodies on the desirability of launching intergovernmental negotiations for a Code of Conduct of the Right to Food or for guidelines for Food Security based on this right. But I wish to state that the Organization is ready to provide all the support necessary should its members request it to do so.

Whatever decision, if any, is made by members of FAO or the UN, the FAO Secretariat will continue working closely with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on these issues.

Madam Chairperson,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Millennium Development Goals adopted at the Millennium Summit can be seen as being directly associated with the attainment of various inter-related human rights, in particular the rights to food, education, health and environment. The year 2015 is a benchmark set for achieving a number of targets and is consistent with the concept of the progressive realisation of the various economic and social rights. These must be addressed both jointly and separately, but always in a co-ordinated manner.

I am convinced that the integration of the right to food into national and international food security strategies will ensure much greater attention to the need to move faster towards the realisation of the goal of food for all.

In this context, FAO looks forward to enhanced partnerships with bilateral, multilateral and civil society organizations within a framework of an International Alliance against Hunger, called for by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, His Excellency Mr Johannes Rau, on the occasion of World Food Day, last October- an alliance which we need if we want to make progress toward everyone having the right to food.

Thank you for your kind attention.

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