The Right to Food around the Globe

  Ukraine

The Constitution of Ukraine explicitly guarantees the right to adequate food.

Ukraine has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1973 by way of ratification. It has signed the Optional Protocol (OP-ICESCR) in 2009, but has not ratified it yet. 

CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITIONS OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD

Explicit protection of the right to adequate food

Article 48: “Everyone shall have the right to a standard of living sufficient for themselves and their families including adequate nutrition, clothing, and housing.”

National status of international obligations

Article 9: “International treaties in force, consented by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as binding, shall be an integral part of the national legislation of Ukraine.”

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

Article 3.2: “Human rights and freedoms, and guarantees thereof shall determine the essence and course of activities of the State. The State shall be responsible to the individual for its activities. Affirming and ensuring human rights and freedoms shall be the main duty of the State.”

Article 46: “Citizens shall have the right to social protection including the right to financial security in cases of complete, partial, or temporary disability, loss of the principal wage-earner, unemployment due to circumstances beyond their control, old age, and in other cases determined by law. This right shall be guaranteed by the mandatory state social insurance based on insurance payments made by citizens, enterprises, institutions, and organisations, as well as by budgetary and other sources of social security; and by establishing a network of state, communal, and private institutions caring for incapacitated persons. 
Pensions and other types of social payments and assistance that are the principal sources of subsistence shall ensure a standard of living not lower than the minimum living standard established by law.”

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – 1948

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

Status: Ratification (1973)

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

Status: Ratification (1981)

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

Status: Ratification (1991)

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

Status: Ratification (2010)

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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