SPECIAL EVENT “Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Adequate Food” FAO Council - 128th Session Rome, 21 June 2005 BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT

THE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK The Question of Development - I Section III of the Voluntary Guidelines: “national development efforts should be supported by an enabling international environment” as a basis for the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security  POVERTY results from unbalanced development process on two levels: national and international  HUNGER at the extreme end of poverty / social exclusion BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT

THE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK The Question of Development (cont.) DEVELOPMENT AS AN INTEGRATED PROCESS – poverty and hunger cannot be addressed without attention to all aspects of development Hunger is not only an ethical issue Hunger is not only a local / national issue BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT

THE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK The Question of Development (cont.) BRAZIL’s approach: - immediate action AND structural reforms, - action at national AND international levels Zero Hunger Programme Action Against Hunger and Poverty BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT

WHY - Historic Background of Right to Food in Brazil  1990’s - Movement “Citizen Action Against Hunger and Poverty and for Life”, directed by Herbert de Souza;  Creation of first CONSEA as a forum for social participation and policymaking (President Itamar Franco);  Fome Zero movement in 2002;  Declaration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to achieve zero hunger in the country within a relatively short time span. BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT

HOW - Institutional set-up conducive to right to food implementation  CONSEA, with 2/3 civil society and 1/3 government representation, which reports directly to the presidency;  Since 2002, national rapporteurship similar to UN special rapporteurship. Re-election of the National Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Adequate Food, Water and Rural Land in April 2005 for a new two year mandate ( );  Public Ministry, the most important institution in Brazil that assists citizens to obtain legal protection; BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT

WHAT - Actions taken to implement right to food in Brazil National Food and Nutritional Security Framework Law, elaborated by CONSEA. Similar legislation under discussion on state level (Ceará, Mato Grosso do Sul, Espírito Santo, Piauí, Pernambuco, Minas Gerais); CONSEA will present Guidelines to three branches of State activity, i.e. Executive, Congress and Judiciary. The aim is to obtain formal commitment to Guidelines, on next World Food Day. Guidelines to be presented also to state governors and mayors, as well as representatives of civil society and religious organizations; BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT

WHAT - Actions taken to implement right to food in Brazil (cont.) Commission on Human Rights created by Public Ministry, in Jan 2005, to promote human rights based approach and culture in the work of Public Ministry; Establishment of a National Network for the Protection and Promotion of the Right to Food (NGOs and CSOs); The Special Secretariat for Human Rights (SEDH) of the Presidency of the Republic has established a Special Commission to Monitor Violations of Human Right to Food. Assessment of public policies on their impact on right to food conduced by CONSEA; Right to food promoted in international fora, e.g. WTO. BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT

Recent key events to advance right to food in Brazil World Social Forum (Porto Alegre, January 2005); 32 nd Session of the Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN), held for the first time outside Northern Hemisphere, in Brasilia, March Its lead was “Nutrition and Human Right to Food”. - At the occasion, a “Symposium on Realizing the Right to Adequate Food to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals” was organized. - Also during SCN, over 4000 copies of the Voluntary Guidelines, translated into Portuguese, were distributed to Brazilian social movements. BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT

Lessons learnt from the Brazilian experience  Importance of a National Council such as CONSEA as a public space for the coordination of positions between government and civil society.  Potential for cooperation with other countries: Bolivia, Mozambique, Angola and Haiti could benefit from the Brazilian experience; initiatives for cooperation in due course; BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT

Ambassador Flávio Perri Permanent Representative of Brazil to FAO Thank you.. THE END BRAZIL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK WHY HOW WHAT KEY EVENTS LESSONS LEARNT