The Right to Food

Parliamentary fronts against hunger, and legislative initiatives for the right to adequate food and nutrition

Author: FAO Right to Food Team

Right to Food Publication, 2017.

The Parliamentary Front against Hunger (PFH) in Latin America and the Caribbean is a plural group of parliamentarians who seek to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in the region through the formulation of effective legislation and public policies, awareness-raising and alliances with civil society, academia, international organizations, and other key actors. Since its formation in 2009, the PFH has directly or indirectly supported the approval of more than 20 laws in areas related to the right to food, contributing towards efforts to achieve food and nutrition security in the region.

This publication presents the experience and activity of the PFH and aims to provide structured, concise and relevant information about the legislative initiatives supported by the PFH from 2009 to 2016.

In its introduction, the study provides a background on the context and the process that led to the establishment of the PFH, and presents an overview of the status of the Parliamentary Fronts in 2016. It then summarizes the legislative fields in which the fronts have been working, which include constitutional amendments to explicitly recognize the right to adequate food, framework laws on food security and nutrition, school feeding and healthy food, and family farming. Finally, the last chapter of the report sets out a number of lessons learned. In the annex, 15 tables provide information about a selection of laws that have been approved with the support of the PFH at national or regional level. The study is intended to contribute to an exchange of experiences while highlighting the value of South-South interregional cooperation.

The publication is the result of a collaborative process between the Right to Food Team of the Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division (ESP), the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (RLC), the Subregional Office for Mesoamerica (SLM), the Legal Office, the Partnerships, Advocacy and Capacity Development Division, and the Hunger Eradication, Food Security and Nutrition Programme Management Team for FAO Strategic Programme 1 (SP1).


Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
Category: Training and advocacy materials
Keywords: Global studies, Advocacy, Legal issues, Institutional capacity, Food security and nutrition

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