Egypt
The Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt explicitly guarantees the right to adequate food.
The Arab Republic of Egypt has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1982 by way of ratification.
CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITIONS OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD
Explicit protection of the right to adequate food
Article 79: “Each citizen has the right to healthy and sufficient food and clean water. The State shall ensure food resources to all citizens. The State shall also ensure sustainable food sovereignty and maintain agricultural biological diversity and types of local plants in order to safeguard the rights of future generations.”
Implicit protection of the right to adequate food
Article 83: “The State shall guarantee the health, economic, social, cultural and entertainment rights of the elderly people, provide them with appropriate pensions which ensure a decent life for them, and enable them to participate in public life.”
National status of international obligations
Article 93: “The State shall be bound by the international human rights agreements, covenants and conventions ratified by Egypt, and which shall have the force of law after publication in accordance with the prescribed conditions".
Other pertinent provisions for the realization of the right to adequate food
Article 8: “The State shall achieve social justice and provide the means to achieve social interdependence, in order to ensure a decent life for all citizens, as regulated by Law”
Article 17: “The State shall ensure that social insurance services are provided. All citizens who do not benefit from the social insurance system have the right to social security, in a manner that ensures a decent life in the event of being incapable to provide for themselves and their families, as well as in cases of incapacity to work, old age or unemployment.”
Article 27: “From a social perspective, the economic system shall ensure equal opportunities and fair distribution of development returns, reduce the differences among incomes and adhere to a minimum wage and pension ensuring a decent life, as well as a maximum one in State agencies for every salaried employee according to the Law.”
Article 29: “Agriculture is a basic component of the economy. The State shall protect and expand agricultural land, and shall criminalize encroachments thereon. It shall develop rural areas; raise the standard of living of their population and protect them from environmental risks; and shall strive to on develop agricultural and animal production and encourage industries based thereon. The State shall provide agricultural and animal production requirements, and shall buy basic agricultural crops at suitable prices generating profit margins for farmers in agreement with agricultural unions, syndicates and associations. The State shall also allocate a percentage of reclaimed lands to small farmers and youth graduates, and protect farmers and agricultural workers against exploitation. All the foregoing shall be as regulated by Law.”
Article 81: “The State shall guarantee the health, economic, social, cultural, entertainment, sporting and educational rights of persons with disabilities and dwarves, strive to provide them with job opportunities, allocate a percentage of job opportunities to them, and adapt public facilities and their surrounding environment to their special needs.”
INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) – 1966
Status: Ratification (1982)
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – 1979
Status: Ratification (1981)
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).