Selected Resources on Food Security and Human Rights

1 Selected Resources on Food Security and Human Rights Compiled by GIZ project Realizing Human Rights in Development Cooperation http://www.gtz.de/human-rights January 2011 Contents I. Human rights in German development policy... 1 II. Human rights reference documents for the right to food... 1 III. More resources on the right to food... 2 IV. Resources relating to the FAO Voluntary Guidelines... 3 V. More on the right to food and agricultural production... 4 VI. More on nutrition and vulnerable groups... 4 VII. More on the right to food and access to land and natural resources... 5 I. Human rights in German development policy BMZ (2010), Human rights in practice Fact sheets on a human rights-based approach in development cooperation Collection of 2-page factsheets that explain what the human rights-based approach in development cooperation means in general and for all priority sectors of German development cooperation. The fact sheet on food security and agriculture is on pages 12-13. http://www.bmz.de/en/publications/topics/human_rights/bmz_information_brochure_7_2010e.pdf (English) http://www.bmz.de/de/publikationen/themen/menschenrechte/bmz_informationsbroschuere_07_2010. pdf (German) II. Human rights reference documents for the right to food UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1999), General Comment No. 12: The right to adequate food The general comments are interpretations of human rights standards by the treaty bodies. The general comment No. 12 details the state obligations on the right to adequate food and as such is an important reference document. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/comments.htm International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR): http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of concluding observations. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/sessions.htm (ICESCR) FAO (2004), Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization on the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines, which were unanimously adopted in 2004, are one of the most important reference documents for the right to food. The Guidelines try to bridge the gap between legal recognition and effective realization of the right by providing concrete help for governments in meeting their obligations. http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/009/y9825e/y9825e00.htm UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food The web site of the Special Rapporteur offers a wide range of information on relevant international standards, gives an overview of the mandate and provides annual reports and information about country visits. http://www.srfood.org/ respectively http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/food/index.htm

2 In his annual reports to the Human Rights Council the UN Special Rapporteur has dealt with various issues relating to the right to food, such as nutrition security, development cooperation and food aid, large-scale land acquisitions, access to farm land and the situation of vulnerable groups of people such as indigenous people, smallholders cultivating land or herders, pastoralists and fisherfolk. Annual reports: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/food/annual.htm Annual reports and other documents: http://www.srfood.org/index.php/en/documents-issued III. More resources on the right to food OHCHR and FAO (2009), The Right to Adequate Food (OHCHR Fact Sheet No. 34) For practitioners with a more profound interest the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the FAO have issued a comprehensive 50-page fact sheet on the right to adequate food. After a conceptual clarification of what the right to food is, the fact sheet explains how the right to food applies to specific groups, what are the state obligations and the responsibility of others actors and how the right to food can be implemented. http://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/factsheet34en.pdf Olivier De Schutter (2009), The role of development cooperation and food aid in realizing the right to adequate food: moving from charity to obligation This report makes a number of suggestions on how to reorient interventions aimed at food security by better integrating a perspective grounded in the human right to adequate food. http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/officialreports/or4-a-hrc-10-5-advanced-edited-version.pdf FAO (2010), Methodological Toolbox on the right to food Compilation of comprehensive FAO guidance on realizing the right to adequate food. 1. Guide on legislating for the right to food 2. Methods to monitor the human right to adequate food - Vol I 2. Methods to monitor the human right to adequate food - Vol II 3. Guide to conducting a right to food assessment 4. Right to food curriculum outline 5. Budget work to advance the right to food http://www.fao.org/righttofood/publi_02_en.htm FAO web site on the Right to Adequate Food This website offers extensive background information on the work and strategy of FAO as well as a number of relevant publications and tools. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/ FAO Right to Food Virtual Library: http://www.fao.org/righttofood/kc/library_en.htm FAO Database on national strategies for the right to food http://www.fao.org/righttofood/inaction/ajustice_strategylist_en.htm FAO Legal database of national legislation on the right to food http://www.fao.org/righttofood/kc/legal_db_en.asp?lang=en FAO Right to Food E-Learning Course This course introduces the principles and concept of the human right to adequate food and its practical application. After a brief overview of its the historical development of this human right. The human rights based approach to development, recourse mechanisms and the Right to Food Guidelines. It further describes the rights, obligations and responsibilities of rights-holders and duty-bearers. It consists of 7 lessons, of approximately 30 to 45 minutes duration each, for a total of about 4.5 hours of self-paced instruction. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/kc/dl_en.htm Human rights Resource Centre: Circle of Rights. Module 12: The Right to Adequate Food, University of Minnesota. This module provides a useful and quick overview of the right to food. It identifies international standards and the respective state obligations, analyses the relationship of the right to food with other rights, and addresses implementation and enforcement mechanisms. http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/ihrip/circle/modules/module12.htm

3 Rolf Künnemann and Sandra Epal-Ratjen (2004), The Right to Food A Resource Manual for NGOs. FIAN This practical handbook provides some guidance on the operationalization of the right to food. A number of good case examples highlight the normative content of the right to food in various legal orders. The authors urge development organizations to adopt a holistic approach to human rights, pointing out that often they have considerable insight into whether states authorities and intergovernmental institutions take seriously their obligation to fulfill the needs of the deprived. http://shr.aaas.org/manuals/food/rtf.pdf Right to Food website This website provides insight into the current and past work of Jean Ziegler related to the right to food (previous Special Rapporteur on the right to food and current Vice-President of the UN Human Rights Council s Advisory Committee). It offers information on human rights law developments concerning the right to food and serves as a platform for other relevant news and information. http://www.righttofood.org/ Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN) Website FIAN is an advocacy NGO working on issues related to the right to food. Apart from the Annual Report and the periodical Right to Food Quarterly, you will find reports, studies, fact sheets and other documents dealing with a variety of issues surrounding the right to food. Home page: http://www.fian.org/ List of publications: http://www.fian.org/resources/documents Right to Food and Nutrition Watch NGO consortium that publishes annual Right to Food and Nutrition Watch reports http://www.rtfn-watch.org/ UN Practitioners Portal on HRBA Programming Resources on Food A growing collection of resources on applying a human rights-based approach (HRBA) in development in support of the realization of the right to food. http://hrbaportal.org/?page_id=3147 IV. Resources relating to the FAO Voluntary Guidelines FAO (2006), The Right to Food Guidelines: Information Papers and Case Studies This collection of information papers analyzes crucial questions such as whether the right to food can and should be justifiable, whether international trade agreements are compatible with the right to food, what the implication of the Voluntary Guidelines are for non-party States to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and lessons to be learned from the experience of countries that have already taken steps to implement the right to food. http://www.fao.org/docs/eims/upload/214344/rtfg_eng_draft_03.pdf FAO (2006), The right to food in practice: implementation at the national level This paper gives practical guidance as to how to implement the right to food at the national level based on the recommendations in the Voluntary Guidelines and with best practice examples from various countries. As entry points, five areas of action are discussed in the present paper (advocacy and training; information and assessment; legislation and accountability; strategy and coordination; benchmarks and monitoring). http://www.fao.org/docs/eims/upload/214719/ah189_en.pdf FIAN & Welthungerhilfe (2007), Screen state action against hunger! How to use the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food to monitor public policies The objective of this instrument is to provide civil society with a guide to report writing on the subject of the realization of the right to food in their country. This instrument is designed to allow organizations specializing in only one or some of the issues covered by the Voluntary Guidelines corresponding to their area of expertise. http://www.welthungerhilfe.de/fileadmin/media/pdf/themen/monitoring_tool_right_to_food_fian_wel thungerhilfe.pdf

4 V. More on the right to food and agricultural production FAO (2008), The Right to Food and the Impact of Liquid Biofuels This paper explores whether and to what extent biofuel production has undermined or is likely in the future to undermine or weaken the access to food for vulnerable people. It highlights a number of problematical consequences and concludes that there are no sufficient ethical justifications for biofuel production that override these negative impacts. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/publi08/right_to_food_and_biofuels.pdf FAO (2008), The Cordoba Declaration on the Right to Food and the Governance of the Global Food and Agricultural Systems. In 2006, the FAO Council adopted the Cordoba Declaration, an advocacy tool on food security crises analysis. The Cordoba Declaration presents a number of issues and recommendations that should be given attention in further work dealing with chronic hunger and the aggravation of the food crisis, as identified by a group of experts in the context of the Cordoba process. The Declaration demonstrates how the right to food can tackle the structural causes of hunger and contribute to food security for all and makes recommendations on how to complement the traditional technical approaches in tackling hunger. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/download_2008/cordoba_declaration_final.doc VI. More on nutrition and vulnerable groups FAO (2009), The right to adequate food and indigenous people This paper focuses on the analysis of the right to food from an indigenous peoples perspective. It addresses the main issues of concern to indigenous peoples that crosscut the right to food including access to natural resources, intellectual property rights and the environment. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/publi09/ind_people.pdf FAO and UNPFII (2009), The right to food and indigenous peoples Joint Brief This briefing explores the right to food from an indigenous perspective by drawing on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from 2007 and highlights the relevant aspects of the Voluntary Principles. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/publi09/joint_brief_ind_people_en.pdf FAO (2009), The Right to Food Guidelines and Indigenous Peoples: an Operational Guide This Guide aims to assist indigenous peoples on how to use the Right to Food Guidelines to promote their own interests in the area of food security. It also intends to increase awareness and improve understanding among development workers as well as United Nations staff, government officials and indigenous peoples themselves, of linkages between issues affecting indigenous peoples and the Right to Food Guidelines. The Guide complements the study on The right to adequate food and indigenous peoples and a Joint Brief of the FAO and UNPFII. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/publi09/rtf_guidelines.pdf FAO (2008), Women and the Right to Food International Law and State Practice This paper analyses, from a gender perspective, the relevant international instruments on the right to food, and the rights of women, before examining implementation and monitoring at the state level. Given that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the main instrument protecting women's rights, the absence in its text of a specific article on the right to food is an important omission which needs to be addressed. The paper advocates the strengthening of an institutional mechanisms that can act as a catalyst to ensure such rights. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/publi08/01_genderpublication.pdf UNHCR (2007), Food Aid and Nutrition Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons, Action Sheet 18 This 6-page briefing paper argues that it is essential to ensure that food aid not only contributes to preserving the life and adequate nutrition levels of those affected by displacement, but also realizes its full potential to become, itself, an agent of protection. As an agent of protection, food aid can help ensure, for example, that children, particularly girls, have access to education. School feeding programmes encourage children to attend school regularly and in greater numbers. http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/search?page=search&docid=4794b6382&query=right to food

5 VII. More on the right to food and access to land and natural resources FAO (2008), The Right to Food and Access to Natural Resources Using Human Rights Arguments and Mechanisms to Improve Resource Access for the Rural Poor This study explores the relationship between human rights - particularly the right to adequate food - and access to natural resources - particularly land. Resource-access issues were traditionally tackled through diverse combinations of technical interventions and political mobilization - more rarely through human rights arguments. Two case studies from Mali and Tanzania highlight the implications and challenges of a human rights-based approach to food. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/publi09/natural_resources_en.pdf FIAN (2006), Access to Land and Productive Resources Towards a Systematic Interpretation of the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food This article is an 8-page summary of a larger publication which developed in detail various aspects of a systematic interpretation of the Voluntary Guidelines. It aims to contribute to the clarification of human rights obligations related to land access and agrarian reform derived from the human right to adequate food. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/kc/downloads/vl/docs/ah301.pdf Full version: http://www.fian.org/resources/documents/others/access-to-land-and-productiveresources/pdf Olivier De Schutter (2010), Access to Land and the Right to Food The report discusses the importance of access to land and tenure security for the realization of the right to adequate food and brings attention to rapid loss of and pressure on farmland due to various reasons and discusses the potentials of agrarian reform to tackle this challenge. http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/officialreports/20101021_access-to-land-report_en.pdf Olivier De Schutter (2009), Large-scale land acquisitions and leases: A set of core principles and measures to address the human rights challenge The Special Rapporteur analyses how investments by industrialized countries in large-scale land acquisitions and leases in developing countries impact on the right to food. He proposes a minimum a set of core principles and measures for host States and investors alike to ensure that these investment agreements contribute to the realization of the human right to adequate food. http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/otherdocuments/22-srrtflarge-scalelandacquisitionshrprinciples-9.6.09-2.pdf FAO (2010), A responsible governance of land tenure: an essential means for realizing the right to food, Land Tenure Working Paper 15 The paper discusses how land tenure regimes and policies affect the realization of the right to food and provides a series of concrete examples about the implementation of human right principles, the Right to Food, and State obligations regarding land tenure systems, food policies and institutional frameworks. http://www.fao.org/righttofood/publi10/ltwp15_responsiblegovernanceoflandtenure.pdf In cooperation with