The adoption of Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security (Right to Food Guidelines) in 2004 and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) in 2014 were two major achievements in the effort to ensure food security and nutrition.

This handbook has been developed to support the joint implementation of the SSF Guidelines and the Right to Food Guidelines through an integrated approach and to increase policy coherence and uptake. The document provides an overview of the contents of these voluntary guidelines and identifies potential synergies. It also explains the human rights-based approach and discusses some crucial areas, with special attention to the specific roles and responsibilities of key actors.

This document is primarily directed at those involved in the integration of the SSF Guidelines and the Right to Food Guidelines into national policies and development programmes targeting the small-scale fisheries sector in the context of food security and nutrition. However, it can be equally interesting to other stakeholders who take part in the implementation of the provisions of both instruments in their day-to-day activities and who are concerned with the sustainability of the small-scale fisheries sector.

The adoption of the Right to Food Guidelines in 2004 and the SSF Guidelines in 2014 were two major achievements in the effort to ensure food security and nutrition.