Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

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20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines - Call for inputs on the realization of the Human Right to Adequate Food

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security (RTFG).

The right to food is a legally binding right, guaranteed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It is realized when everyone has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement, as established in General Comment 12, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).

The Right to Food Guidelines provide practical guidance for States on how to realize the right to adequate food through the development of strategies, programmes, policies and legislation. They were endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and adopted by FAO Council in November 2004, after two years of intergovernmental negotiations and multi-stakeholder participation.

Governments have legal obligations to ensure the right to food, while everyone is entitled to enjoy it as a universal right, without discrimination. Moreover, all of us, individuals or collectives, including government officials, lawmakers, local communities, non-governmental organizations, academics, consumer organizations, youth groups, Indigenous Peoples, small holders, women’s organizations, civil society organizations as well as the private sector are crucial actors in the realization of the right to adequate food.

The RTFG anticipated the urgency of today’s most pressing global challenges to achieving sustainable development, including conflicts, inequalities, diseases, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. In our complex world with ever-growing and changing challenges, the Guidelines prove as relevant as ever. They remind us of the importance of international cooperation and collaboration towards the collective public good of ending hunger, malnutrition in all its forms, poverty and inequality. Their full implementation contributes to our efforts towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), themselves grounded in human rights.

The last 5 years have been particularly challenging with the COVID-19 pandemic, increased hunger and malnutrition in all its forms, rising inequalities, and a cost-of-living crisis. Innovative responses have been implemented by governments and other actors globally. 20 years on, it is time to take stock of progress and consider key takeaways.

Have your say where it matters!

Looking towards the 20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines, the results of this call will help inform on efforts made to realize the right to adequate food at local, national, regional or global level, and provide an important stock taking opportunity for countries and their people.

The FAO Right to Food Team and the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) invite stakeholders to:

1.
Share your experiences and good practices on the realization of the right to food for everyone, always.
2.
Identify any gaps, constraints and challenges encountered in realizing the right to food or in implementing the Right to Food Guidelines.
3.
Share any lessons learned and suggest recommendations for improvement in realizing the right to adequate food.
4.
Next steps: are there any concrete plans to (further) use and apply the Guidelines?

 

How to take part in this Call for Submissions

Please share your experience(s) using the following template: Link to Template

Submissions can be made in any of the 6 UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). Please keep the length of submissions limited to 1,000 words. You can upload the completed form here or, alternatively, send it to [email protected].

The Call for Submissions is open until 8 January 2024.

We thank you very much for your valuable contributions and look forward to learning from your experiences.

Co-Facilitators:

  • Marie-Lara Hubert-Chartier, Right to Food Specialist
  • Claire Mason, Right to Food Adviser
  • Sarah Brand, Associate Professional Officer
  • Chiara Cirulli, Economist (Food Security and Nutrition Policy), the CFS Secretariat

References

Please read the article on more FAO publications on this topic here.

Topics

This activity is now closed. Please contact [email protected] for any further information.

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Dear FSN Network,

Please find our contribution as Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Suisse. We are also part of a contribution by the RAISE project (already submitted). Submitting our ideas as VSF-Suisse is important to us as a member of the VSF International Network, and several messages especially on Nexus are strengthened in the present contribution.

Thank you in advance for sharing/ posting our contribution.

Best regards,

Christian Wirz

Programme Manager

See the attachments:

Dear Madam, dear Sir,

As RAISE project (Rights-based Agroecological Initiatives for Sustainability and Equity in peasant communities) we share our contribution on your call for inputs on the realization of the Human Right to Adequate Food. The RAISE project is a network of networks, represented by peasant movements, civil society organizations, and academia, promoting the empowerment of peasants through the implementation of UNDROP and using the Right to Food Guidelines in our advocacy work.

Thanks for accepting our contribution.

Kind regards,

Christa Suter

Coordinator RAISE Project

RAISE – Rights-based Agroecological Initiatives for

Sustainability and Equity in Peasant Communities

See the attachments:

Ministerio de Educación de Ecuador

Ecuador

Estimados FAO,

Reciban un cordial saludo del Ministerio de Educación de Ecuador.

Por favor encuentre adjunto el Formulario sobre las “Directrices Voluntarias sobre el Derecho a la Alimentación Adecuada”, que ha sido realizada por esta Cartera de Estado. De igual manera, acompaño al referido cuestionario, documentos de apoyo a la información completada.

Saludos cordiales,

Katherine Paola Troya Esquivel

Analista de Cooperación y Asuntos Internacionales

Dirección Nacional de Cooperación y Asuntos Internacionales

See the attachments:

Hello there .

Kindly find submission by CSANET and Welthungerhilfe Malawi to  the Call for inputs on the realization of the Human Right to Adequate Food.     

 Looking forward to hearing back from you                                                                  Regards 

Tunsume Mwaibasa

See the attachments:

Dr. Koichi Ikegami

The Association of Western Japan Agroecology/Family Farm Platform Japan
Japan

The Association of Western Japan Agroecology is a non-profit organization that has been active since 2021 intending to establish agroecology in Japan.

  1. The conflicts, civil wars, coups d'etat, and military conflicts that have become more frequent in recent years pose the greatest threat to the right to food. However, the international community has not taken effective steps to address the food crisis created by these events. In the case of Gaza, this is manifested in the worst way. It has become crucial for the realization of the right to food to work toward an enforceable international agreement and framework that can be quickly activated in response to these food crises, without waiting for a Security Council agreement.
  2. Since the right to food is the most fundamental right to live, it should be enshrined in each country's constitution or equivalent legislation, and a mechanism should be introduced whereby a third-party international organization periodically checks the progress of the right and demands improvements from the government concerned.
  3. It is strongly recommended that agroecology be set as the foundation for the realization of the right to food and that societies should shift to production and consumption that are compatible with this right.
  4. The essential of a sustainable society lies in the principles of living systems. From this perspective, it is important to place the right to food as a permanent social guiding principle, not merely a matter of food security
  5. Improved statistics are essential for the inspection and evaluation of the status of the realization of the right to food. Accurate and comparable diachronic statistics need to be developed and strengthened.

 

1.  Experiences & Good Practices

The Vegan Society’s International Rights Network (https://www.vegansociety.com/get-involved/international-rights-network) is the leading authority on veganism & law. Based on our work with lawyers, academics, & our supporting vegans, we know that the dietary needs & rights of vegans are not well understood by businesses, governments & the general public.

As a Registered Charity, The Vegan Society promotes a Catering for Everyone (https://www.vegansociety.com/get-involved/campaigns/catering-everyone) campaign.  In some places, up to one quarter of people avoid certain things taken from animals for medical, health, religious, philosophical or other reasons, including vegans. Therefore, to help States deliver the right to food, we call for good plant-based, vegan-suitable options on every public sector menu.



The Vegan Society has also produced guidelines setting out some relevant legal obligations:

Vegans have a right to food that accords with their beliefs

Veganism is a philosophical belief that falls within the scope of human rights law (see for example W v UK https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22fulltext%22:[%2218187/91%22],%22itemid%22:[%22001-1503%22]} ), & the right to manifest a belief includes the observance of dietary rules, including avoiding animal-derived products (Jakobski v Poland https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22002-688%22]} ).

In addition to the general right to freedom of belief, it is clear from the wording & spirit of legislation & guidance that the RTF also applies to vegans. For example, General Comment 12 (GC12: https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4538838c11.pdf) on the RTF states that the core content of the RTF includes the availability of food which is “acceptable within a given culture”. Cultural acceptability, defined in paragraph 9, takes into account “perceived non-nutrient-based values attached to food & food consumption”.

Is the RTF being met in relation to vegans?

The dietary needs of vegans frequently not met. This is particularly concerning in relation to public institutions, and people in vulnerable situations (such as children, older adults, people in prison, in care settings, refugees, and food bank users).

Examples include:

3.  Lessons & recommendations

There are two issues: (i) whether the RTFGs accurately represent the legal protections, & (ii) whether the RTFGs are being followed. We believe the RTFGs need to better reflect the established legal protections for vegans. Individual States should address the widespread non-adherence to the RTF & RTFGs regarding vegans. So, we focus on (i).

General improvements needed are:

  • Advisory language (such as “may”, “are encouraged” & “are reminded”) to be strengthened, e.g. to “must”, where appropriate. E.g. in Guideline 16.5: “States must recognise their legal obligations to ensure that refugees & internally displaced persons have access at all times to adequate food”.
  • We recommend a clearer definition of “adequate food”, including an explicit definition of food that is “acceptable within a given culture”. In accordance with GC12, this includes non-nutrient-based values attached to food.
  • Given the breadth & depth of failings relating to vegans, we would like to see explicit reference to veganism in the RTFGs. Clarify that the RTF is not the right to ‘any’ food, but appropriate food, e.g. without discrimination on the grounds of philosophical or religious belief.

We recommend changes to specific guidelines:

•    Guideline 1.2 provides that States should promote various freedoms to enhance the progressive realisation of the right to adequate food. The freedom of religion & belief, an important freedom in relation to dietary choices, is not referenced.  The freedom of religion & belief as it applies to food acceptable within the culture of that belief, should be explicitly included in this Guideline.

•    Guidelines 2 & 13 consider poverty & vulnerable groups. These should include explicit reference to respect for dietary needs in relation to freedom of belief.

•    Guideline 5 considers public institutions. Clarify that the obligations of public institutions include providing food not only in sufficient quantity, & nutritional value, but also which is suitable for the individual in accordance with their beliefs.

•    Guideline 7 invites States to consider whether to include the RTF in domestic legislation. The UK has failed to do this, & it is also failing to ensure the spirit of the RTF in relation to vegans. We recommend stronger wording than the current “invitation”, for States to enact the RTF in domestic law.

•    Guideline 10 asks States to recognise food as a vital part of an individual’s “culture” & States are encouraged to take into account individuals’ practices, customs & traditions relating to food. We would like to see explicit reference to the observance of philosophical beliefs in this guideline.



With thanks, on behalf of Claire Ogley (Head of Campaigns, Policy & Research at The Vegan Society).

This article delves into the potential of honeybee products in

promoting food security, empowering communities, and driving

sustainable development. This highlights the importance of honeybees

as producers of honey and other valuable products, as well as their

critical role as pollinators in the realm of agriculture and food

production. Furthermore, the article explores the various methods by

which sustainable beekeeping practices can ensure the sustenance of

communities, enhance agricultural productivity, and preserve

biodiversity.



Furthermore, particularly in rural and underprivileged areas, the

article suggests that honeybee products could potentially serve as a

solution to address issues related to food insecurity and poverty.

This highlights the significance of implementing policy support,

education, and training initiatives to fully leverage the benefits

provided by honeybee products. The article aligns with the principles

delineated in the Right to Food Guidelines, which emphasize the

importance of ensuring food security through sustainable agricultural

practices and promoting economic accessibility to food.



The article promotes the idea of enhancing investment, research, and

policy support for the utilization of honeybees as a viable solution

to address issues related to hunger and poverty. This platform offers

stakeholders in the fields of agriculture, food security, and

sustainable development with highly valuable insights.



Cukurova University, Faculty of Agriculture, Animal Science Department

Turkey.

See the attachments: