Right to Food Assessment, 2014.

West African States have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and have therefore committed to realize the fundamental right to be free from hunger, and to move as expeditiously as possible towards the full realization of the Right to Food.

This publication describes the context and present situation of the development of the Right to Food in the West-African region. It focuses on the analysis of the food and nutrition situation, centered on the main barriers to eradicating hunger in the region. It includes an analysis of the legal framework, based on a review of regional and national legal instruments and mechanisms. It also incorporates an analysis of relevant policies and programmes carried out, focusing on elements and principles inherent to the right to food. The assessment ends with a brief description of the most relevant institutions in the field of Food Security and Nutrition (FNS) and human rights.

This assessment is one of the first steps for the realization of the right to food in the ECOWAS region. It aims at providing regional and national institutions and decision-makers with valuable information that will enable them to formulate right-to-adequate-food policies, programmes and strategies, implement specific measures to remedy the weaknesses detected, identify capacity development needs related to the right to food at both regional and national levels, and monitor Right to Food fulfillment progress in the region.