from Right to Food, 26-03-2008

  Special Rapporteur on the right to food presented his report on his mission to Cuba and his final report to the Human Rights Council

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, presented at the seventh session of the Human Rights Council his report following a visit to Cuba from 28 October to 6 November 2007. His presentation was concluded with an interactive debate on the report.

The purpose of the mission to Cuba was to examine the realization of the right to food in relation to Cuba’s international and national commitments to respect, protect and fulfil this right. In the main findings of the report, the Rapporteur highlights the impressive progress the country had made towards the realization of the right to food although, as he notes, there remain still important challenges to the progressive realization of the right to food. The report ends with a series of recommendations.

The Special Rapporteur on the right to food Jean Ziegler presented on 11 March 2008 at the seventh session of the Human Rights Council also his final report.
The Special Rapporteur reports that “global hunger is still on the rise.” In the summary of the report on the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, the Special Rapporteur points out that

“a phenomenon which greatly affects the right to adequate food are the powerful so-called ‘non-State actors’ on the international scene: the transnational corporations. These actors are ever more powerful, yet we lack control mechanisms to guard against the violations of the right to food some of them are sometimes responsible for committing.
Other issues which remain on the agenda and which will require significant work in the future are desertification, biofuels and refugees from hunger. Yet there is also much hope. The Right to Food Guidelines were adopted by the FAO Council and the elaboration of the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR is progressing, as are global, regional and national commitments to fight hunger.”

Both reports of the Special Rapporteur, which are available in all official UN languages, can be downloaded from the following website

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/7session/reports.htm