Г-жа Omoyemen Lucia Odigie-Emmanuel
Linkages between human rights, right to food and food/nutrition security and climate change
Linkages between human rights, right to food and food/nutrition security and climate change
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CHAPTER 1 - THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK
1.11. Customary and Religious rules. While legal professionals are likely familiar with the roles of legislation, regulations and judicial decisions in various legal systems, often there is not the same level of familiarity with customary and religious rules. Such rules may play a significant role in some legal systems, and they often derive from practices, traditions and religion, may be neither codified nor written, and may deal with matters such as personal status, family relationships, inheritance, governance and use of land and other natural resources, rights over livestock or seasonal rights to land for the grazing of livestock. Those latter rights may also be collective and pertain to the whole community. With respect to agricultural land investment contracts, customary rules and religious may deal with who is entitled to hold rights to land, the capacity of persons to enter into and execute an agreement on behalf of group right holders, the validity of agreements, issues of form and evidence, or performance and sanctions for non-performance. Such rules may be exclusionary and inconsistent with human rights and public policy, for example by prohibiting women from owning or inheriting land or from entering into contracts.
1.12. Recognition of customary and religious rules. Customary and religious rules are recognised in certain States, by the State’s constitution, statute or judicial decision. The applicability and scope of these rules, how they are recognised, and how possible conflicts between the various autonomous legal orders are to be solved, depend on the particular features of each State’s legal system. In other settings, customary rules and religious rules may be applied by courts as local customs or usages,6 and these two concepts are often conflated. Even when a particular practice or tradition does not legally amount to a custom, the parties to an agricultural land investment contract should carefully take them into account in their dealings, especially when the relationship has a strong social, cultural and personal dimension. In this regard, the parties should also keep in mind that there may be differences, for example, between how a State’s court interprets and applies a local community’s customary rules and how those communities interpret and apply them.
1.22. Human rights. Various human rights instruments establish civil, cultural, economic, environmental, political and social rights. States have a duty to respect, protect and fulfil such rights,16 and investors have a corresponding responsibility to respect human rights and to identify and assess the potential negative impact their investment would have on rights and establish precautionary ,easure to avoid such negative impacts and also to remedy any negative impacts they have on such rights.17 There are various areas of human rights law that might be affected by agricultural investment including, inter alia:
• Food security and the right to food: Ensuring food security for all and the progressive realisation of the right to adequate food are central tenets of the VGGT and the CFS-RAI Principles.18 In accordance with the VGGT and CFS-RAI Principles, a host State’s legal framework may contain laws or regulations that seek to ensure food security, for example, by temporarily banning the export of food if there is a threat to food in that State. Because an agricultural investment could pose as an obstacle to pose as an emerging obstacle to the right food thus negatively affect food security. and a Any perceived threat to food security could provoke strong local opposition to a possible agricultural investment, it is essential that a risk assessment be conducted in this regard (see Chapter 2.IV.B.2).
Г-жа Omoyemen Lucia Odigie-Emmanuel
1. What are the potential entry points for government to address challenges and foster the development of digital agriculture?
The first entry point is to undertake situation analysis that will enable government determine its own need and peculiarity in ensuring the right to food, food security and implementing the SDG related to food and agriculture and the key role digitization can be used for enhancement. Of course acess to information and date in usable form is imperative. It is necessary for government to prioritize investment in building skill especially digital literacy skill and needed infrastructure.
2. How can the establishment of the Digital Council address the numerous barriers to adoption of these technologies?
Initiatives, modalities and representation of the Council should be integrated reflecting a recognition of the linkages among food, water and energy.
3. Do you think that the roles identified for the Digital Council are suitable for facing the agrifood systems challenges outlined above?
Methods for linking food and agricultural policies and tools with other national, subnational and local policies using a rights based approach that integrates SDG targets and indicators.
4. What governance structure should be in place in order for the Council to serve its purpose?
Governance structure should reflect to local level engagement and allow down to up, up to down information flow.