The 43rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will be conducted from 24 February to 20 March, in which several events on the human right to adequate food and the appointment of the new Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food are scheduled.

INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE WITH THE UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

Description: Mrs. Hilal Elver will also present her final thematic report and mission reports. 

Venue details: March 3^rd, 3:00 pm, Palais des Nations.

Description: 

The UN expert on the right to food will offer her insight into the global state of the right to food. She will show that,despite the Sustainable Development Goal of “zero hunger” and malnutrition by 2030, the realization of the right to food remains a distant, if not impossible, reality for far too many. She will present her final report which offers a critical perspective on the trends that have led to this reality and a review of new developments that have the potential to change the status quo.

***Later updates: Events cancellation given the circumstances surrounding COVID-19***

SIDE-EVENT: THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND NUTRITION IN PROTRACTED CRISES

Venue details: March 4^th, 3:00 – 4:00 pm, Room XXVII – Palais des Nations.          

Description: Several recent situations of acute food emergencies have witnessed the use of starvation as a method of warfare, massive displacement due to blockages, sieges, increasing politicization of humanitarian assistance and a complete collapse of the economic infrastructure. The Framework for Action for Food Insecurity in Protracted Crises (FFA) represents a global consensus on rethinking how we address food insecurity in protracted crisis through a human rights framework. This side event aims to share lived realities from communities in crisis and on- ground experiences from humanitarian and legal experts.       

Speakers:

• Mr. Todd Howland - Chief of the Development, Economic and Social Issues Branch - OHCHR 
• Mrs. Hilal Elver - UN Special rapporteur on the Right to Food
• Mr. Joseph Schechla - Coordinator, HIC-HLRN
• Mrs. Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett - Director, FAO Liaison Office with the UN, Geneva
• Mr. Brian Lander - Deputy Director of the World Food Program in Geneva on behalf of the Committee on Food Security

Organizers: FIAN International, Habitat International Coalition, OHCHR, FAO, CFS and the Swiss Confederation.  

SIDE EVENT: CONFLICT-INDUCED FOOD INSECURITY AND MAN-MADE STARVATION: DEPLOYING HUMAN RIGHTS AS THE FIRST LINE OF PROTECTION 

Venue details: March 4^th, 4:00 – 5.30 pm, Room XXII – Palais des Nations.

Description: While the world continues to be haunted by the spectre of food insecurity, malnutrition and mass starvation, the Special Rapporteur has persistently advocated for a human-rights based approach to the right to food, particularly in times of conflict and civil unrest. This advocacy was not made in isolation; in the past three years, the international community has reacted to situations of food insecurity and malnutrition in settings of protracted conflict. The event will feature some of the world’s leading experts, practitioners and affected individuals. 

Speakers: Featured experts:

• Mrs. Hilal Elver, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
• Mr. Olivier de Schutter Former Special Rapporteur on the right to food
• Mrs. Catriona Murdoch Global Rights Compliance

Organizer:  Mrs. Hilal Elver, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE APPOINTMENT OF THE UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD

Venue details: March 20^th, Palais des Nations.

For more information, see HRC President´s letter of 21 February with candidates proposed as Special Procedures mandate holders.