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Right to Food
Background
FAO Constitution
Rome Declaration on World Food Security
World Food Summit Plan of Action
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights
General Comment of the CESCR
on the Right to Adequate Food
FAO Constitution
The Preamble to the FAO Consitution sets
"ensuring humanity's freedom from hunger" as one of its basic purposes.
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Rome Declaration on World Food Security
The Heads of State and Government,
gathered at the World Food Summit at the invitation of FAO:
- considered it intolerable that more than 800 million people
throughout the world, and particularly in developing countries,
do not have enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs.
This situation is unacceptable;
- pledged their political will and their common and national commitment
to achieving food security for all and to an ongoing effort to
eradicate hunger in all countries, with an immediate view to reducing
the number of undernourished people to half their present level
no later than 2015;
- 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.
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World Food Summit Plan of
Action Objective 7.4 sets out to:
- clarify the content of the right to adequate food and the fundamental
right of everyone to be free from hunger;
- give particular attention to the implementation and the full
and progressive realization of this right as a means of achieving
food security for all.
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
"Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the well-being
of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical
care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the
event of unemployment, sickness disability, widowhood, old age or
other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control."
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International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights
Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights states:
"1. The States Parties to the present Convenant recognize the right
of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his
family, including adequate food....
The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization
of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance
of international cooperation based on free consent.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the
fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take,
individually and through international cooperation, the measures,
including specific programmes, which are needed:
(a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution
of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge,
by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by
devleoping or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve
the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources;
(b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and
food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distirbution of
world food supplies in relation to need."
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