Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 71
Paragraph- Paragraph text
- The question of justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights has long been debated in the international sphere. States have been reluctant to allow for individual complaint procedures before the Covenant. All human rights are indivisible, and should be protected as such. Economic, social and cultural rights are more than mere aspirations, they are necessary conditions for the stability of the democratic order, and economic power must be subject to democratic control. The newly ratified Optional Protocol is an effort to equalize and operationalize those two categories of rights and empower the justiciability of the economic, social and cultural rights. The Special Rapporteur intends to work closely with civil society and States to promote ratification and use of the Optional Protocol and bring violations to the attention of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as a practical means of eradicating hunger and promoting the right to adequate food. The Optional Protocol has the potential to contextualize and operationalize the right to food at international and national levels. However, we should not be complacent as much remains to be done beyond the scope of the Optional Protocol. Wealthy States not only have moral obligations to address poverty and hunger beyond their borders, they are also legally obliged to do so under international law. International cooperation and development assistance must become the legal norm in an increasingly global world. Despite established duties in a number of human rights documents and voluntary principles, significant barriers and loopholes exist in relation to the extraterritorial application of States obligations in human rights law. A coordinated international response is essential in order to maintain international peace and security and to ensure protection of the most vulnerable in times of economic globalization.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
- Reference
- SR Food, Report to the HRC (2015), A/HRC/28/65, para. 71.
- Paragraph info
- Conclusion / Recommendation
- Paragraph number
- 71
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