Accra, 24 February 2014 – The ECOWAS Zero Hunger Initiative has started its activities during its inception workshop in Accra, Ghana. The Initiative is a commitment of ECOWAS and its government and non-government partners in working towards a Hunger-free West Africa, by building on existing policies and programmes, increasing stakeholder engagement and amplifying the current political commitment in the region.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has launched a Zero Hunger Initiative to promote the eradication of hunger until 2025. This bold political commitment was stimulated by the UN Secretary General’s Zero Hunger Challenge that proclaims that “hunger can be eliminated in our lifetimes” and the subsequent declaration by African Union Heads of States and Governments, with the assistance of FAO and the Lula Institute. FAO’s regional office in Africa and the Right to Food Team in FAO HQ support ECOWAS to move from this bold political statement to tangible action on the ground.

The first Train-the-Trainers workshop that took place in Guatemala from the 30 September to 4 October 2013, aimed to leave installed a training capacity in Central America for continued right-to-food training activities among different actors by the central americans themselves.

During the XXV Meeting of Mexican Ambassadors and Counselors held on 6-10 January 2014, Mrs. Rosario Robles Berlanga, Mexico’s Social Development Secretary (SEDESOL), announced that this year Mexico will be hosting the VII Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America (MFD) organized annually by the UNDP Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean with the support of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID). The aim of the MFD is to provide ministers and decision-makers a space to discuss social policy experiences and identify answers to the new challenges of the region. 

Human Rights Day is held on 10 December every year, the date the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaiming its principles as the “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.”

This year has a special significance: it marks the 20th anniversary of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. For the occasion, the Right to Food Team at FAO is happy to launch the following publications and tools which can help further the progressive realization of the right to food. These tools address specific needs and themes related to the right to food and can be used by a wide range of partners, human rights workers and professionals, governments, organizations and individuals.

Rome – 9 October 2013. In the context of the 40th session of the Committee on World Food Security, FAO organized jointly with the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights the side event “Right to Food Guidelines: Ten Years of Implementation”. During the side event, a number of points were brought up, which will be useful to consider in the context of the 10 Years Review of the Right to Food Guidelines (retrospective).

On 14 June 2013, more than 40 experts from 8 West African countries concluded a two day’s consultation with the adoption of recommendations and commitments related to concrete activities to be conducted in their respective area of work so as to contribute to the advancement of the right to food in the region. The expert consultation, convened by the UN Special Rapporteur for the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, was co-organized by FAO and the Office of the High-Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

El Salvador - 4 June 2013. A group of 39 Salvadoran professionals in Law, Nutrition, Education and Biology, among other areas, concluded this week the training course on the Right to Adequate Food conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). "The main objective of this training course was to provide participants tools to better grasp the concept of the Right to Adequate Food in a practical way.

On 5 May 2013 the Protocol formally entered into force, three months after Uruguay’s ratification. According to the Protocol, it shall enter into force three months after the date of the deposit with the UN Secretary-General of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession. The Protocol, adopted in 2008, grants individuals, or groups of individuals under the jurisdiction of a State Party, the right to submit communications about alleged violations on any economic, social and cultural right (ESCR), thereby placing all human rights on an equal footing.

More than 60 Members of Parliament proposed a draft Law on Food Sovereignty and Food and Nutrition Security, for the Right to Food in the Dominican Republic. The process began in the first half of 2011, when the Inter-institutional Committee for Food and Nutrition Security, composed of the Ministries of Agriculture and Health and the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger, and with the technical support of FAO, WFP, PAHO and UNDP, started the implementation of 8 Regional Forums...