Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo explicitly guarantees the right to adequate food.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1976 by way of accession. It has signed the Optional Protocol (OP-ICESCR) in 2010, but has not ratified it yet.
CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITIONS OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD
Explicit protection of the right to adequate food
Article 47 : "The right to health and to [a] secure food supply is guaranteed. The law specifies the fundamental principles and the rules of organization for public health and [a] secure food supply."
National status of international obligations
Article 215 : "The international treaties and agreements, regularly concluded, have, on their publication, an authority superior to that of the laws, under reserve for each treaty and agreement, of its the application by the other party."
Other pertinent provisions for the realization of the right to adequate food
Article 36.2 : "The State guarantees the right to work, protection against unemployment and an equitable and satisfactory remuneration, assuring the worker as well as his family of an existence in accordance with human dignity, together with all the other means of social protection, notably retirement pension[s] and life annuities."
Article 58 : "All Congolese have the right to enjoy the national wealth. The State has the duty to redistribute it equitably and to guarantee the right to development."
INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) – 1966
Status: Accession (1976)
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – 1979
Status: Ratification (1986)
Legislation and policies recognizing the right to adequate food
Considering that the human right to adequate food can be implemented through a variety of legal and policy actions, we invite you to visit the FAOLEX Country Profile database for a wide-ranging collection of measures that have been taken at national level. Some of the documents you may find are legislation and policies that touch on a number of relevant Guidelines, such as those on Access to resources and assets (Guideline 8), Food safety and consumer protection (Guideline 9), Support for vulnerable groups (Guideline 13) and Natural and human-made disasters (Guideline 16).