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from Right to Food, 11-11-2009

bullet  The Right to Food at the centre of the World Food Week 2009
      Expert Panel on “The Role of the Right to Food in Addressing the
      Global Food Crisis”

Following the launch of the Toolbox held on 15th October, the Expert Panel on “The Role of the Right to Food in Addressing the Global Food Crisis” brought together the views of economists, policy makers, human rights experts and academia to discuss about the most important issues and challenges of the current food crisis. Chaired by the Assistant Director-General of the Economic and Social Development, Mr Hafez Ghanem, the panellists answered specific questions regarding the role of human rights in addressing hunger.
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from Right to Food, 11-11-2009

bullet  The Right to Food at the centre of the World Food Week 2009
      The Launch of the Right to Food Toolbox

The 2009 World Food Week hosted two important events in which the right to food was at the centre of the discussions relating the current crisis.
On October 15th, Mr. Jacques Diouf, Director General of FAO, Mr. Hafez Ghanem, Assistant Director-General of the Economic and Social Department and
Ms. Barbara Ekwall, team leader of the right to food, launched the
Right to Food Methodological Toolbox: a practical publication containing six volumes covering a wide range of topics such as assessment, legislation, education, budgeting and monitoring in order to implement the right to adequate food at national level. During his intervention, the Director General stressed the important role of the right to food as an essential means to overcome the current food crisis and said that even if it represents a big challenge, the implementation of the right to food at national level was possible in the long term. In that sense, the Toolbox provides the operational assistance that all countries and stakeholders need in order to know HOW this major goal can be achieved.


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launch of the methodological toolbox

from Right to Food, 23 - 10 - 2009

“Toolbox” to aid in promoting right to food
Five-volume set provides governments and civil society with "how-to" guidelines

23 October 2009, Rome - FAO has published a "methodological toolbox" on the right to food, designed to provide countries, institutions civil society and other stakeholders with a series of effective instruments they can use to assert the right to adequate food as a basic human right.

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from Right to Food, 14 - 10 - 2009

bullet  Expert Panel on “The Role of the Right to Food in Addressing the Global Food Crisis”

The Agricultural and Development Economics Division (ESA) is pleased to invite you to this event which will take place on the 16th of October 2009, FAO,
Austria Room (C-237) 14:30-16:00 hours
.

A multidisciplinary expert panel will discuss and provide recommendations on how the right to adequate food can concretely contribute to ensuring food security in times of crisis.

The Expert Panel will bring together the views of economists, policy makers, human rights experts and the academia to the debate.
The panelists are:
Ms Eve Crowley, Officer-in-Charge, Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division, FAO;
Prof. Asbjørn Eide, Senior Fellow, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights;
Mr David Nabarro, Assistant Secretary-General, Coordination on Avian & Pandemic Influenza and the Global Food Crisis (UNSIC);
Prof. Siddiqur Osmani, School of Economics of Ulster University;
Mr Flavio Valente, Secretary-General, Face It Act Now (FIAN) International;
Mr Hafez Ghanem Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Development Department, will moderate the Panel.

The event will be held in English, French and Spanish interpretation will be provided. We look forward to welcoming you at our event!


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from Right to Food, 14 - 10 - 2009

bullet  Launch of the Right to Food Methodological Toolbox

The Agricultural and Development Economics Division (ESA) is pleased to invite you to this event which will take place on Thursday, 15th October 2009,
from 14:30 to 15:00 hours in the Lebanon Room (D-209).

The agenda will be as follow:

14:30-14.35 Introduction by ADG/ES Department (Chairperson)
14.35-14.45 Welcome by FAO Director-General
14.45-14.55 Presentation of the Right to Food Methodological Toolbox
by Ms Barbara Ekwall,Team Leader, Right to Food Team, ESA
14.55-15.00 Concluding remarks by the Chairperson

The Right to Food Methodological Toolbox represents a major step in the implementation of the right to adequate food at national level. It comprises six volumes covering a wide range of topics such as assessment, legislation, education, budgeting and monitoring in order to implement the right to adequate food at national level. The Toolbox comes at an opportune moment, when more and more countries are presently seeking to integrate the right to adequate food into their legislations, strategies, policies and programs.

Please, note that the launch will be held in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian. We look forward to welcoming you at out event!


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from Right to Food, 06-10-2009

bullet  Call from the Cordoba Group

The Cordoba Group calls for coherence and action on food security and climate change. Meeting in advance of a series of international high-level meetings to take place in the second half of 2009.
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from Right to Food, 30-09-2009

bullet  The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: one more step towards the justiciability of the Right to Food

Last Friday, a new mechanism that will enable individuals to bring concrete cases of violations of the right to food before the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights –as part of its monitoring mandate – was open for signature.
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from Right to Food, 09-09-2009

bullet  Mexico D.F. approves Law on Food Security and Nutrition for the Federal District

The new Law on Food Security and Nutrition, approved on the 17th of August by the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District, is a milestone for the protection of the right to food. It is one of the first laws in the world implementing the right to food at the sub-national level and thus bringing the right to food protection closer to the citizens. Another very important achievement of the Law is that the right to food is recognized both, as a fundamental human right and as the main objective of this Law.
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from Right to Food, 07-07-2009

bullet  As India starts legislating on food security, there is much it could learn from laws and practices abroad

The Government of India is contemplating legislating a Right to Food Act which would make the Right to Food a fundamental right that would be justiciable.
There is considerable debate on what the contours of this Act should be. A recent article written by Biraj Patnaik, principal adviser to the Indian Supreme Court commissioners on the right to food, summarises the key lessons from different parts of the world on legislating the Right to Food.
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from Right to Food, 11-06-2009

bullet  Large scale land investments:
Recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food

On 11 June, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food stressed the indivisible linkage between land issues and the realization of the right to food and recommended the application of a core set of human rights measures and principles within the current agreements on large scale land investments in developing countries.
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new publication

from Right to Food, 28-05-2009

FAO's new publication on

"The Right to Food and HIV/AIDS"

FAO’s Right to Food Unit is pleased to announce the publication of the Study on the Right to food in the context of HIV/AIDS by Arne Vandenbogaerde. As latest UN reports indicate little progress in the struggle against the epidemic, this paper aims to clarify the relevance of the right to food in combating HIV/AIDS.
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from Right to Food , 09-04-2009

bullet  Right to Food Forum Newsletter

The Right to Food Unit is pleased to share the Special Edition of the Right to Food Newsletter which principally contains the outcomes and lessons learned of the Forum held in Rome in October 2008.
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from Right to Food , 03-04-2009

bullet  Global Food Crisis and the Right to Food Interactive Thematic Dialogue
of the UN General Assembly, 6 April 2009, New York

In the context of the global food crisis that started in 2007 with the soaring food and energy prices and that continues today, the UN General Assembly will hold an Interactive Dialogue on the Global Food Crisis and the Right to Food on 6 April 2009.
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from Right to Food , 05-02-2009

bullet   High Level Meeting on Food Security for All

The High Level Meeting of Madrid called for a new strategy in the fight against hunger and expressively included the right to food as an undeniable basis for sustainable solutions.
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from Right to Food , 11-12-2008

bullet  The Cordoba Declaration launched on Human Rights Day

The Cordoba Declaration on the Right to food and the Governance of the Global Food and Agricultural Systems has been launched yesterday, on Human Rights Day, through different networks related to the right to food movement.

The launching comes timely, at a moment when the world is facing persistently high and dramatically increasing number of persons who suffer from chronic hunger, due among others to the high food prices.
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from Right to Food , 15-10-2008

bullet  Right to Food Watchdogs launch a new action tool: "Right to Food and Nutrition Watch"

On the occasion of World Food Day 2008, the Zero Issue of the new Right to Food and Nutrition Watch was presented at FAO headquarters in Rome as well as in other European cities by representatives of the publishing alliance from Bread for the World, ICCO and FIAN International.
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from Right to Food , 15-10-2008

bullet  New Ecuadorian constitution recognizes the right to food

On 28 September 2008, Ecuadorians approved the new Constitution in a national referendum. The Constitution contains several explicit provisions on, and relevant to, the right to food. FAO has promoted the inclusion of the right to food in the Constitution by providing capacity development, international expertise and legal advice during the drafting process of the Constitution.
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from Right to Food , 09-10-2008

bullet  A victory for the Hungry in the Supreme Court of Nepal

On 25 September, the Supreme Court of Nepal issued an interim order according to which the Government of Nepal has to supply immediately food to 32 food-short districts. “Interim order” refers to orders that remain applicable for the duration of the case. The Court found immediate action necessary because of over three million people suffering from food scarcity.
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from Right to Food , 07-10-2008

bullet  Venezuela recognizes the right to food in its recently adopted Law on Food Security and Food Sovereignty

Venezuela has adopted a decree with the rank of an Organic Law on Food Security and Food Sovereignty in July 2008. The law guarantees in Article 8 the right of all citizens to have access to adequate and sufficient food. Venezuela is the fifth country in the world that expilictitly recognizes the right to food in its food security legislation.
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from Right to Food , 23-07-2008

bullet  New Constitution of Ecuador recognizes the right to food

In July 2008, the Constituent Assembly of Ecuador completed the first phase of its task and approved the new Constitution. The new Constitution contains several explicit provisions on, and relevant to, the right to food. FAO has promoted the inclusion of the right to food in the Constitution by providing capacity development, international expertise and legal advice during the drafting process of the Constitution.
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Donna Bryson | Associated Press Writer , 22-07-2008

bullet  Nelson Mandela's group of elders say food is human right, call for solutions to food crisis

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) _ Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan and other members of Nelson Mandela's global crisis task force turned their attention to world hunger on Wednesday, focusing on soaring food prices.
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new publication

from Right to Food, 30-05-2008

FAO's new publication on

"The right to food and the impact
of liquid biofuels (agrofuels)"

FAO's Right to Food Unit is launching the advance copy of a study on "The right to food and the impact of liquid biofuels (agrofuels)" by Asbjørn Eide, senior fellow of the Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo.

This study contributes to the present discussion on soaring food prices, climate change and biofuels, all issues that are at the center of the debate of the High Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy (Rome, 3 to 5 June 2008).
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from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/FoodCrisis.aspx, 29-05-2008

bullet  ‘Hunger is a violation of human rights’

The Human Rights Council of the United Nations has called on all States and other relevant organizations to bring a human rights perspective into their activities to reduce and prevent hunger. A resolution agreed at the conclusion of the Council’s 22 May special session in Geneva on the impact of the world food crisis said measures should be taken to “ensure the realization of the right to food as an essential human rights objective.”
In her speech to the Council, High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said that, “while it is imperative to respond immediately to emergencies with commensurate humanitarian support and aid in order to address conditions of hunger, a human rights focus will contribute to making solutions more durable and more equitable in the medium and long run.”
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from Right to Food, 29-05-2008

bullet  Mission to India, 3 - 9 May 2008

Within the framework of its work on a Guide on Legislating for the Right to Food, two members of the FAO Right to Food Unit travelled to India to hold a series of bilateral meetings with Indian experts in the field, and obtain feedback on the draft Guide. The National Human Rights Commission of India organized a meeting of its core group on the right to food to discuss with the mission.

All stakeholders met showed a strong interest in the right to food and the draft Guide on legislating for the Right to Food. The Mission received many useful suggestions for improvement of the current text of the Guide in particular, with regard to mechanisms for civil society participation, on coordination and monitoring mechanisms as well as on appeals and review procedures in case of a violation of the right to food.
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from Right to Food, 19-05-2008

bullet  Right to Food News from Mozambique
Mozambique advances on all fronts and approves a ‘Right to Food Strategy’

Step by step, Mozambique is advancing on the right to food. Following the right to food unit’s Seven Steps of Implementation, Mozambique is ticking off the boxes one by one. The country's adopted overarching poverty reduction strategy includes rights-based food security as a cross-cutting issue. The latest success is the approval of the revised food security and nutrition strategy in October 2007 that can easily be called the “Right to Food Strategy” of Mozambique.
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from Right to Food, 16-05-2008

bullet  UN Human Rights Council Will Hold Special Session on the World Food Crisis

The Human Rights Council will hold a Special Session on "the negative impact on the realization of the right to food of the worsening world food crisis, caused inter alia by the soaring food prices", in Geneva on Friday, 23 May.
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from Right to Food, 28-03-2008

bullet  Olivier De Schutter -- New U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to food

During its 7th session on 25 March 2008, the Human Rights Council adopted ,without a vote, the list of candidates for special procedures mandate holders proposed by the President of the Council.
The list includes the name of the new Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier de Schutter. The current mandate holder, Jean Ziegler, will continue in his assignment until de Schutter assumes it in the following weeks.
The Right to Food Unit of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations congratulates Prof. de Shutter for his appointment and is convinced that the efforts and dedication deployed by Prof. Ziegler since his appointment as Special Rapporteur in 2000 will be continued.
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from Right to Food, 26-03-2008

bullet  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.
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new publication

from Right to Food, 06-03-2008

On the occasion of Women’s day on the 8 March 2008,
the Right to Food Unit is pleased to announce the publication of a right to food study on

Women and the Right to Food
International Law and State Practice.


The study looks at the right to food in the context of gender discrimination. It includes a brief overview of the position of women's right to food in international law and identifies gaps in both law and practice
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from Cotonou, Benin, 05-03-2008

bullet  Regional workshop on “the Right to Food and the launching of the african network for the promotion of the right to food

The NGO Soeurs Unies à l´Oeuvre, with the support of Bread for the World, Germany and of FIAN International, organizes from 9th through 11th of July 2008 in Cotonou, Benin, a regional workshop on "The right to food and the launching of the African Network for the Promotion of the Right to Food".
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from Nairobi, Kenya, 05-03-2008

bullet  International Strategy Meeting on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and ESCR-Net General Assembly

ESCR-Net, in partnership with the Kenyan ESCR Coalition, will hold a four-day International Strategy Meeting of its Working Groups, Members and active participants in Nairobi, Kenya. This landmark gathering intends to bring together approximately 200 key human rights, social justice and grassroots’ activists from around the world.
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BFA

 

from Right to Food, 28-01-2008

bullet  Bread for all launches Right to Food Campaign

Bread for all (BFA), the Swiss Protestant churches’ development agency, and the organisations "Fastenopfer" and "Partner sein", announce the theme of their 2008 oecumenical campaign “The Right to Food—More than a modest Wish” (“Damit das Recht auf Nahrung kein frommer Wunsch bleibt”). The annual campaign, organised during the fasting period before Easter, addresses development policy issues.
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from Managua, Nicaragua, 25-01-2008

bullet  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.
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from Nicaragua, 18-01-2008

bullet  Workshop in Managua, Nicaragua: "Guide on Legislating for the Right to Food"

The FAO Right to Food Unit organizes a validation workshop on the "Guide on legislating for the Right to Food" in Managua, Nicaragua, from 21 - 24 January 2008. The workshop is an opportunity to discuss the draft Guide developed by the Right to Food Unit with stakeholders and experts, and to formulate recommendations for legislative provisions and the Guide’s overall structure.
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from Bolivia, 18-01-2008

bullet  Recently Adopted Bolivian Constitution Recognizes the Right to Food

Article 16 of Bolivia's new Constitution - which still requires approval through a national referendum - stipulates that everyone has the human right to food. The adoption of the constitutional provision constitutes a major achievement: it creates the legal foundation for further legislative action and advocacy towards ensuring the right to food.
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from Right to Food, 18-01-2008

bullet  Bahrain--157th country to be bound to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

Article 16 of Bolivia's new Constitution - which still requires approval through a national referendum - stipulates that everyone has the human right to food. The adoption of the constitutional provision constitutes a major achievement: it creates the legal foundation for further legislative action and advocacy towards ensuring the right to food.
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  What about the Right to Food?
-Barbara Ekwall, Coordinator of the Rome-based FAO Right-to-Food Unit
 
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