The Right to Food around the Globe

  Tanzania

The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania has directive principles that contribute to the realization of the right to adequate food. 

The United Republic of Tanzania has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1976 by way of accession.

CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITIONS OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD

Directive principles of state policy

Article 8(1): “The United Republic of Tanzania is a state which adheres to the principles of democracy and social justice and accordingly –
(b) the primary objective of the Government shall be the welfare of the people.”

Article 9: “The object of this Constitution is to facilitate the building of the United Republic as a nation of equal and free individuals enjoying freedom, justice, fraternity and concord, through the pursuit of the policy of Socialism and Self Reliance which emphasizes the application of socialist principles while taking into account the conditions prevailing in the United Republic. Therefore, the state authority and all its agencies are obliged to direct their policies and programmes towards ensuring – 
(a) that human dignity and other human rights are respected and cherished;
(f) that human dignity is preserved and upheld in accordance with the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
(i) that the use of national wealth places emphasis on the development of the people and in particular is geared towards the eradication of poverty, ignorance and disease.”

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – 1948

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 (1985)

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – 1989

Status: Ratification (1991)

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – 2006

Status: Ratification (2009)

Legislation and policies recognizing the right to adequate food

Guidance on how to progressively realise the human right to adequate food in contexts of national food security has been provided by the Right to Food Guidelines, adopted by the FAO Council and endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security.

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).

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