Right to Food study, 2010.

We are pleased to present the Land Tenure Working Paper 15 entitled “A responsible governance of land tenure: an essential means for realizing the right to food”. This paper is available in English and Spanish have been jointly produced by the Right to Food Team and the Climate, Energy and Tenure Division of FAO.

and tenure and the Right to Food are prominent issues on the international agenda. There are clear linkages between the two concepts: a responsible governance which secures access to land and to other natural resources, has a direct impact on efforts to realize the Right to Food. An improved access to land allows those who depend on it to secure their livelihood and to ensure food security for their immediate households and communities. Furthermore, fair land tenure policies allow vulnerable populations the capacity to have access to adequate safe and nutritious food, particularly in times of hardship.

This paper illustrates the legal significance of the Right to Food at national level and provides a series of concrete examples of the implementation of human right principles, the Right to Food, and State obligations regarding land tenure systems, food policies and institutional frameworks. It tries to answer the question of how the obligations to respect, protect and fulfil on the part of the States, link the Right to Food to land policy. It also provides a set of primary objectives and principles which should guide decision-makers on policy matters related to developing and implementing institutional frameworks for responsible governance of land and promotion to the realization of the Right to Food.

This publication is a contribution to the preparation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the governance of tenure. The preparation of the Guidelines is taking place currently and will further develop the Right to Food Guidelines designed to support progressive realization of the right to adequate food and adopted by the FAO Council in November 2004.