de l'Unité sur le droit à l’alimentation, 25-01-2008

[anglais]   Latin America and the Caribbean at the forefront of making the right to food real for all
A Regional Workshop Draws on Rich Experiences

From the 21 to the 24 of January 2008, an important Regional Workshop on Legislating for the Right to Food took place in Managua. FAO’s Right-to-Food Unit is preparing a methodological toolkit on the implementation of right-to-food policies, and sponsored the workshop to enrich and validate its draft Guide on Legislating for the Right to Food. The workshop was also supported by the Hunger-Free Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative, as part of its activities for strengthening national food security institutions and to help make the right to food a reality in all countries in the region. FAO Nicaragua was in charge of the organization of the workshop.

The rich discussions provided valuable inputs for the finalization of the Guide, and allowed for the comparison and discussion of the many legal developments in the region.

The Guide aims to provide national law advocates, policy-makers and governmental officers with practical information and guidance for developing and/or strengthening legal frameworks supporting the right to food, consistent with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and other pertinent norms of international law (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comment 12, Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security).

This workshop, with more than 40 experts from 12 countries in the region, represents the cutting edge of right-to-food practical implementation, as the advocators and makers of the three existing Food Security Laws (Brazil, Guatemala and Ecuador) exchanged their experience with the proponents and people behind the food security and right to food draft laws presently under preparation or discussion (i.e. Nicaragua, Honduras, Peru, Mexico, Paraguay, Bolivia and Haiti).

The opening ceremony was open to a wider audience. High-level Nicaraguan speakers were Mr. Miguel de Castilla, Minister of Education, Mr René Núñez, President of Parliament, Jorge Mendoza, Human Rights Ombudsman and Ms Dora Zeledón, Member of Parliament. International speakers were Ms Laura de Clementi, FAO Representative and Margret Vidar, Human Rights Adviser of the Right to Food Unit. The international speakers introduced the right to food and legislative methods while the Nicaraguan speakers discussed current efforts to implement this right in the country, in particular through a bill that is now before Parliament. Speakers from Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador discussed legislative developments in their countries in the second half of the opening ceremony.

The workshop amply demonstrated that Latin America is at present the most advanced region in terms of right-to-food laws, institutions and public awareness. The fact that Latin American society has become significantly aware of the hunger problem and demands solutions to be implemented and human rights to be respected has consequences that go beyond this region, rendering relevant lessons for other regions, such as Asia and Africa.

A workshop on the draft for the Guide had been organized in Uganda in October 2007 and another will take place in New Delhi, India, in March 2008. The Guide on Legislating for the Right to Food is expected to be published by FAO in the second half of this year in English, French and Spanish.

For additional information, please visit:

http://www.fao.org/righttofood

http://www.rlc.fao.org/iniciativa