Belgium
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Belgium implicitly guarantees the right to adequate food through broader human rights.
The Kingdom of Belgium has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1983 by way of ratification. It has ratified the Optional Protocol (OP-ICESCR) in 2014.
CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITIONS OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD
Implicit protection of the right to adequate food
Article 23: "Everyone has the right to lead a life in keeping with human dignity. To this end, the laws, federate laws and rules referred to in Article 134 guarantee economic, social and cultural rights, taking into account corresponding obligations, and determine the conditions for exercising them. These rights include among others:
1°. the right to employment and to the free choice of an occupation within the context of a general employment policy, aimed among others at ensuring a level of employment that is as stable and high as possible, the right to fair terms of employment and to fair remuneration, as well as the right to information, consultation and collective negotiation;
2°. the right to social security, to health care and to social, medical and legal aid;
3°. the right to decent accommodation;
4°. the right to the protection of a healthy environment;
5°. the right to cultural and social fulfilment;
6°. the right to family allowances."
INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) – 1966
Status: Ratification (1983)
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – 1979
Status: Ratification (1985)
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR) – 2008
Status: Ratification (2014)
Legislation and policies recognizing the right to adequate food
Considering that the human right to adequate food can be implemented through a variety of legal and policy actions, we invite you to visit the FAOLEX Country Profile database for a wide-ranging collection of measures that have been taken at national level. Some of the documents you may find are legislation and policies that touch on a number of relevant Guidelines, such as those on Access to resources and assets (Guideline 8), Food safety and consumer protection (Guideline 9), Support for vulnerable groups (Guideline 13) and Natural and human-made disasters (Guideline 16).
