The Right to Food around the Globe

  Spain

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Spain does not explicitly guarantee the right to adequate food.

The Kingdom of Spain has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1977 by way of ratification. It has ratified the Optional Protocol (OP-ICESCR) in 2010.

CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITIONS OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD

National status of international obligations

Article 10.2: “Provisions relating to the fundamental rights and liberties recognized by the Constitution shall be construed in conformity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international treaties and agreements thereon ratified by Spain.”

Article 96.1: “Validly concluded international treaties, once officially published in Spain, shall be part of the internal legal system. Their provisions may only be repealed, amended or suspended in the manner provided for in the treaties themselves or in accordance with the general rules of international law.”

Other pertinent provisions for the realization of the right to adequate food

Article 35.1: "All Spaniards have the duty to work and the right to work, to the free choice of profession or trade, to advancement through work, and to a sufficient remuneration for the satisfaction of their needs and those of their families."

Article 41: “The public authorities shall maintain a public Social Security system for all citizens guaranteeing adequate social assistance and benefits in situations of hardship, especially in case of unemployment. Supplementary assistance and benefits shall be optional.”

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – 1948

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) – 1966

Status: Ratification (1977)

Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – 1979

Status: Ratification (1984)

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – 1989

Status: Ratification (1990)

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – 2006

Status: Ratification (2007)

Legislation and policies recognizing the right to adequate food

Guidance on how to progressively realise the human right to adequate food in contexts of national food security has been provided by the Right to Food Guidelines, adopted by the FAO Council and endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security.

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).

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