RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION Policies Against Hunger IV: Implementing the Voluntary Guidelines Berlin, 16 June 2005 presented by: Prof. M. Saeid Nouri-Naeini

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” Mahatma Gandhi ( )

Human Rights are Indivisible “promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms…are essential for achieving sustainable food security for all.” – Rome Declaration on World Food Security, 1996

Privileged Place of Right to Adequate Food Without adequate food, all other human rights and human existence are compromised: The right to adequate food “is indivisibly linked to human dignity and is indispensable for the fulfillment of other human rights....” – General Comment 12

A Paradigm Shift From a focus on needs and charity… …to one where people are empowered to demand a policy environment which enables them to meet their needs, including food, and participate in policy design People are the actors not mere objects of policy. …But sustainable development and food security perspectives remain complementary

Governments (1) Primary “duty bearers”, focus of Voluntary Guidelines (VGs) Need to establish right to food (RTF) legal framework, e.g.:  Framework law  Constitutional provisions  Incorporating treaties into domestic law Need to establish institutional framework, e.g.:  Commission  Interministerial body  Ombudsman/rapporteur  Independence (Paris Principles) One size does not fit all!

Governments (2) Obligation to respect (“do no harm”) Use VGs as check-list for policy-making & evaluation Policies should assure food insecure access to resources & information (obligation to facilitate) Safety nets/social protection (obligation to provide)  Both rights- and needs-based Collect disaggregated data on those who do not enjoy the right to adequate food  Participatory assessment Transparent and participatory budgeting via rights- based approach (RBA)  Fund VG implementation Set benchmarks

Governments (3) Obligation to protect from harm due to third party activities  Civil liability  Prevent forced evictions  Food safety regulations  Competition policy Obligation to promote (foster knowledge of RTF) Policy coordination/coherence  VGs offer guidance on focused policy Executive agencies, parliaments, courts, local governments all have important roles

Education & Awareness Formal & informal, at all levels (primary through university) Use of popular media (radio, comics) Education and training on RTF/VGs:  Rights-holders  Government officials  Professionals  Private Sector  CSOs Government, CSOs, media all responsible

Civil Society Watchdog role Foster awareness among rights-holders Pressure & partnership with government Shadow reports to:  Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights  Regional bodies  National parliaments Global networking Grass-roots early warning of emergencies

International Dimension Provide ODA to support RTF/VG implementation Use rights lens to make trade policy  Do no harm (obligation to respect) Promote RTF/VGs in U.N. & Bretton Woods Systems Incorporate RTF/VGs in national strategies (PRPS) VGs as interpretive aid in international & regional bodies

Emergencies & Food Aid Local food production & food aid procurement rather than external food aid More emphasis on food aid in cash rather than in kind More attention to prevention Timely response to early warning Create autonomous disaster prevention and management authorities Prosecution of deliberate starvation (war crimes) at the International Criminal Court Food should not be used as a weapon

U.N. SYSTEM ACTION World Food Summit, 1996 World Food Summit: five years later, 2002 Voluntary Guidelines, 2004 Call for all U.N. agencies to mainstream human right  Action-2 Plan (2004)  2005 Plan of Action of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights

MDGs & Human Rights U.N. Millennium Declaration:  “a just world”  “right to development”  “freedom from poverty” Focus on realization of the objectives of the Declaration, of which the MDGs are one part, includes a rights-based approach

The Context: Growing Hunger Source: FAO

What to do? How and where to start? “Who ever enters this house, give him food and do not ask his fate, because the one who is entitled to life by the almighty, definitely is entitled to food by Abolhasan” Abolhasan Kharaghani, (an Iranian Sufy)

Thank you.