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Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 40a
- Paragraph text
- [In order to respect the right to food, States should:] Ensure security of tenure. States should take measures to confer legal security of tenure upon those persons, households and communities currently lacking such protection, including all those who do not have formal titles to home and land. The adoption of anti-eviction laws imposing strict conditions for interference with the rights of land users should be seen as a priority. This should supplement any strengthening of the regulatory framework concerning expropriation, which itself should provide clear procedural safeguards for landowners while, at the same time, providing for the possibility of agrarian reform where land concentration is excessive;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 42a
- Paragraph text
- [In order to ensure the enjoyment of the right to food, States should:] Implement the conclusions set out in the Final Declaration of the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development and prioritize "improved" State-led land redistribution programmes. States should implement land redistribution programmes where a high degree of land ownership concentration (which could be defined as a level of inequality higher than a Gini coefficient of 0.65) is combined with a significant level of rural poverty attributable to landlessness or to the cultivation of excessively small plots of land by smallholders. Redistributive agrarian reforms should: (a) include comprehensive rural development policies that follow the recommendations resulting from the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development, including extension systems, access to credit and agricultural research and support beneficiaries, provided with sufficient budgets; (b) make use of land ceiling laws and be based on legal frameworks that clearly define beneficiaries and exempted land; (c) encourage communal ownership systems, rather than focusing solely on individual beneficiaries; (d) be implemented in accordance with the principles of participation, transparency and accountability, in order to prevent their appropriation by local elites; (e) be grounded in constitutional provisions regarding the social functions of land, where such provisions exist. All States should monitor land inequalities before and after the implementation of such programmes;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 43d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur also makes the following recommendations to the international community:] International human rights bodies should consolidate the right to land and take land issues fully into account when ensuring respect for the right to adequate food. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights could play a leading standard-setting role in clarifying the issue of land as a human right by issuing a general comment in that regard. Acting in their monitoring capacity, human rights bodies should examine the justifications offered by Governments that fail to put in place land redistribution programmes or policies with similar aims, despite the existence of a high degree of concentration of land ownership, combined with a significant level of rural poverty attributable to landlessness or inequitable land distribution.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Access to land and security of tenure are essential to ensure the enjoyment of not only the right to food, but also other human rights, including the right to work (for landless peasants) and the right to housing. This fact led the former Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing to conclude that the Human Rights Council should "ensure the recognition in international human rights law of land as a human right". The present report confirms that conclusion, while taking the right to food as its departure point. It describes the increasing pressures on land. It then discusses the right of land users to be protected in terms of their existing access to natural resources, particularly land. It also argues in favour of ensuring more equitable access to land.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Assessing a decade of progress on the right to food 2013, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The right to food has more to do with modes of production and issues of distribution than with levels of food production alone. It primarily aims to guarantee to each person, individually or as part of a group, permanent and secure access to diets that are adequate from the nutritional point of view, sustainably produced and culturally acceptable. Such access can be ensured through three channels that often operate in combination: (a) self-production; (b) access to income-generating activities; and (c) social protection, whether informally through community support or through State-administered redistributive mechanisms. As such, depending on the population concerned, the right to food is closely related to the right of access to resources such as land, water, forests and seeds, that are essential to those who produce food for their own consumption; the right to work, guaranteed under article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and the right to social security, protected under article 9 of the Covenant.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Assessing a decade of progress on the right to food 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Although remarkable, the example is of course not isolated. In fact, in most countries, social protection schemes and support to food producers are provided for in the law, and lack of implementation can be remedied by courts. However, formal redress mechanisms through the judicial system may be inaccessible to the destitute, who lack any legal literacy and have no support, or to communities who fear all organs of the State. Such groups must have access to alternative redress mechanisms.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Under the right to property, land users are also protected from evictions in certain circumstances, as stipulated in article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, article 1 of the First Protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and article 21 of the American Convention on Human Rights. While the conditions under which eviction may take place vary from instrument to instrument, the most common requirements are the following: an eviction must have a valid (or legitimate) public purpose (a condition that should exclude eviction to serve purely private interests); it must not be discriminatory; it must meet the requirements of due process; and it must be accompanied by fair compensation. Although this protection from arbitrary expropriation does not in principle extend to all forms of illegal occupation, it generally extends to forms of land occupation that are not formally recognized through a legal title ("extra-legal") or that are based only on customary tenure.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- In the presence of the sometimes highly unequal distribution of land in rural areas, strengthening security of tenure may not be sufficient; land redistribution may be required. Article 11, paragraph 2 (a), of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes the connection between the right to food and the use of natural resources, committing States to "developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources". This should be understood as encouraging agrarian reform that leads to more equitable distribution of land for the benefit of smallholders, both because of the inverse relationship between farm size and productivity and because small-scale farming (and linking farmers more closely to the land) may lead to more responsible use of the soil. The Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, adopted in 2004 by the States members of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), also encourage agrarian reform (guideline 8.1).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Human rights criteria for making contract farming and other business models inclusive of small-scale farmers 2011, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Beyond the farming household, the switch to cash crops also increases vulnerability to price shocks for the local community. When the contracted crops are edible produce that is available on the local market, it may be helpful to ensure the accessibility (physically and economically) of adequate and culturally acceptable food for the population. One possible solution to facilitate the enjoyment of the right to food of the community is to include a local marketing requirement in the contract whereby a certain percentage of crops is sold on the local market.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Industrial uses of land and urbanization have also increased in recent years, further heightening the competition: 19.5 million hectares of farmland are converted annually into land for industrial and real estate development. Researchers have documented cases in which farmers' lands have been expropriated for mining projects or for the building of industrial plants, in conditions amounting to forced eviction with no or insufficient compensation. In certain regions, the expansion of industrial areas has taken the form of the establishment of special economic zones aimed at creating conditions favourable for the arrival of foreign investors. Large infrastructure projects such as dams and highways have also had an important impact, and a significant proportion of the communications sent to Governments by the Special Rapporteur during the period from 2003 to 2009 relates to evictions for such projects.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- There are strong arguments, however, in favour of land reform as contributing to the progressive realization of the human right to food, at least in contexts characterized by (a) a high degree of concentration of land ownership (such as a level of inequality higher than a Gini coefficient of 0.65), combined with (b) a significant level of rural poverty attributable to landlessness or the cultivation of excessively small plots of land by smallholders. The implication is that States should monitor existing inequalities in terms of access to land and, where both circumstances are present, should allocate the maximum available resources to agrarian reform schemes and implement those programmes in accordance with the principles of participation, transparency and accountability, to protect them from being appropriated by local elites. Where States fail to establish land redistribution schemes, they should provide justifications for not having done so.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in May 2013, provided an additional remedial mechanism. It reinforces the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights and places them on an equal footing with civil and political rights. The Optional Protocol is intended to complement rather than replace national legal systems and should not be considered as the principal means of seeking justice. It grants individuals, or groups of individuals under the jurisdiction of a State party, the right to submit communications about alleged violations of any economic, social or cultural right to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Complaint procedures remind Governments of their responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil the right to adequate food.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The interdependence and indivisibility of economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights have long been asserted within international law, yet in practice economic, social and cultural rights have typically been relegated to second place within the international framework, with civil and political rights taking centre stage, particularly when it comes to implementation. While the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights includes an explicit provision requiring States "to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy" (art. 2, para. 3 (b)), no such specific provision is explicitly mentioned in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It should be noted, however, that the Committee has clarified that the obligation under article 2, paragraph 1, of the Covenant to "take steps … by all appropriate means" includes the provision of judicial remedies.
- 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Individual titling appears to matter less to the poor than security of tenure, reflecting the fact that "[a]t low levels of income and in the absence of other social security mechanisms, land serves as a social safety net for the rural poor and provides them their basic means of livelihood". In other words, while security of land tenure and recognition of land rights may correspond to strong demand, as illustrated by a number of country experiences, the same cannot be said of individual titling and the alienability of land. On the contrary, the limiting of land sales can protect smallholders from pressure to cede their land; it can also protect use rights regarding communal land and preserve communal forms of land management. There is growing experience with the use of low-cost, accessible tools for recording local land rights, or at least land transactions, to ensure security of tenure through the recognition of use rights rather than full ownership. Examples include the "Plan foncier rural", implemented in Benin and tested in Burkina Faso, and the $1 registration process leading to the issuance of certificates in some Ethiopian states. An interesting illustration of the decentralized management of land rights is Law 2005-019 of Madagascar, setting forth the status of land.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- While the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant represented a significant step in terms of ensuring justice for the victims of violations of economic, social and cultural rights, to date only 15 States are currently party thereto, in comparison with 115 parties to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This in itself is representative of the fact that many States have failed to develop a judicial culture of recognition in practice, or the necessary legal frameworks required to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Covenant, including the right to food, are justiciable. In some countries, it is the case that international human rights conventions are not considered as formal sources of law and, even where they may be incorporated into national law, these rights may not provide criminal punishment or financial compensations, but rather expresses a moral conviction without legal force. In some States, even when justiciable rights are enshrined in the Constitution, there is a reluctance to acknowledge their relevance. There is also certain reluctance at the regional level, with many European States failing to recognize the direct applicability of the Covenant in domestic law. In Africa, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights provides no option for complaints relating to the violation of the right to food.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
15 shown of 15 entities