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Development and people of African descent 2015, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group is concerned by the pervasive and distinct form of racism faced by people of African descent in employment and the labour market. Most statistical data from different parts of the world point to people of African descent and Africans as being among the most unemployed, and often subjected to racial discrimination while seeking employment. Similarly, people of African descent often lack access to quality health services and face disparities in health status as a result of racial discrimination.
- Body
- Working Group of experts on people of African descent
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Development and people of African descent 2015, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group encourages Governments and international development and financial institutions to establish programmes, based on the participation of the communities concerned, aimed at improving the economic and social conditions of people of African descent. It also encourages Governments in the affected regions to use regional arrangements and organizations to address the effects of underdevelopment, which tend to have a disproportionate impact on people of African descent.
- Body
- Working Group of experts on people of African descent
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Albinism is a condition that results in a significant or near total lack of pigmentation in any or all of the skin, hair and eyes. The most significant human rights issues have emerged from myths linked to the form of albinism involving a lack of pigmentation in the skin. This is also the most visible form of albinism. All forms of albinism are together understood as rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited and occurring in both sexes, regardless of ethnicity, in all countries of the world. However, in most communities around the world, albinism is not fully understood.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Some countries with a record of attacks against persons with albinism have identified as a major problem the ambiguity between witchcraft on the one hand and the practice of traditional, herbal or alternative medicine on the other. This is further complicated by the secrecy surrounding witchcraft and the resulting difficulty in identifying its real practitioners in all cases. These matters raise the question of whether and how these occupations ought to be defined and regulated as a means of preventing human rights violations allegedly and actually committed by their practitioners. There is also the issue of whether witchcraft beliefs should be given any form of legal character or recognition when it is largely a supernatural phenomenon. Often, these issues are further complicated by the fact that many legal instruments addressing witchcraft are outdated and disconnected from current social realities.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision for the mandate 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The appearance that ensues in albinism, in particular the lack of melanin in the skin, eyes and hair, exposes tens of thousands of persons to stigma and discrimination across the world. It is reported that, in Africa, attacks directed at persons with albinism are usually carried out with machetes, resulting in severe mutilation or death. In most cases, the persons attacked are dismembered; body parts such as fingers, arms, legs, eyes, genitals, skin, bones, the head and hair have been severed from the body and taken. In several of those cases, body parts have been hacked off while the person was alive. Reportedly, there is a corollary witchcraft belief that it is preferable to harvest body parts from live victims because screams increase the potency of the potion for which the parts are used. Possible human sacrifices of persons with albinism have also been reported, including through immolation.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision for the mandate 2016, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Guided by her mandate to identify, exchange and promote good practices relating to the realization of the rights of persons with albinism and their participation as equal members of society, she will strive to identify effective measures to address discrimination against persons with albinism at all levels, including with regard to access to health and education. This collection of best practices would address the protection and promotion of human rights of people with albinism and focus on issues beyond attacks, namely discrimination and equality.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health was first articulated in the 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO), whose preamble states that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition". Similarly, article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights mentions health as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides the most comprehensive normative framework on the right to the highest attainable standard of health. The article has been interpreted as inclusive of specific entitlements, including the right to an adequate system of health protection, the right to prevention and treatment of illnesses, the right to access essential medicines, the provision of health-related education and information, as well as participation of those concerned in health-related decisions.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- In its global study on the legal status of traditional medicine and complementary/alternative medicine, WHO recognized both mainstream medical care (allopathic medicine) and complementary/alternative medicine, terms that were used interchangeably with "traditional medicine" in some countries. Given the broadness of the term "traditional medicine" and the wide range of practices it encompassed, traditional medicine was difficult to define with a finite list of objective criteria. However, WHO provided a helpful list of what might be included: a diversity of health practices, approaches, knowledge, and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and/or mineral-based medicines; spiritual therapies; manual techniques; and exercises, applied singly or in combination, to maintain well-being, as well as to treat, diagnose or prevent illness.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- One third of the world's population and over half of the populations of the poorest parts of Asia and Africa do not have regular access to allopathic drugs, including essential medicines. In its global study, WHO reported that the most commonly reported reasons for using traditional medicine were that it was more affordable and accessible, less paternalistic than allopathic medicine and consequently often closer to the patient's ideology. During the visit of the Independent Expert to Mozambique, the very high number of traditional medicine practitioners registered with the main association of traditional healers suggested that resort to traditional medicine was popular.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- WHO suggested that regardless of the reason why an individual used it, traditional medicine provided an important health-care service to persons without geographic or financial access to health care. The Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, in his report to the Human Rights Council in 2008, echoed general comment No. 14, stating that "a health system is required to take into account traditional preventive care, healing practices and medicines" (see A/HRC/7/11, paragraph 44). In addition, he also stated, in his 2006 report to the General Assembly (A/61/338), in which he examined the right to health and maternal mortality, that all medicines had to be culturally acceptable and respectful of medical ethics. He suggested, for example, that national measures should support the proper use of traditional medicine and its integration into health-care systems, while clinical trials must obtain the informed consent of research subjects.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- In the public interest, it is also important that States ensure adequate standards for traditional medicine. There must be minimum requirements for all practitioners, regardless of whether they are affiliated with an organization. The standards must be in line with established human rights norms, without compromising the core principles of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of goods and services. The obligation on States also extends to ensuring that practitioners do not conduct harmful practices, including the use of body parts of persons with albinism for muti or juju.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health obviously includes sexual health. The Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Mr. Paul Hunt, has defined sexual health as "a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexuality, not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity; sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- In order to achieve this state of well-being, we must be able to look after our health, deal positively, responsibly and respectfully with our sexuality and must therefore be aware of our needs and rights. This is possible only if we receive comprehensive sexual education from the outset of our schooling and throughout the educational process. To this end, school should foster pupils' critical thinking about the various expressions of human sexuality and interpersonal relations, without reducing the topic to a biological approach (reproduction).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- There is no valid excuse for not providing people with the comprehensive sexual education that they need in order to lead a dignified and healthy life. Enjoyment of the right to sexual education plays a crucial preventive role and may be a question of life or death. Recognizing the need for the world's population to be educated in order to prevent HIV/AIDS, the Special Rapporteur also wishes to point out that restricting sexual education to the issue of sexually transmitted diseases gives a limited view of sexuality. In his opinion, reducing sexual education to these aspects may create an erroneous association between sexuality and disease, which is as harmful as associating it with sin.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights protects the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (art. 12) and the right to education (art. 13) and prohibits all forms of discrimination (art. 2). In its general comment No. 14 (2000), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights interpreted the right to health as an inclusive right "extending not only to timely and appropriate health care but also to the underlying determinants of health", among which it highlighted "access to health-related education and information, including on sexual and reproductive health".22
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Regrettably, the rights perspective is very rarely included in sexual education programmes, which are usually limited to the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and unwanted pregnancy. Although this approach is necessary in order to achieve enjoyment of the right to health and for the purposes of family planning, it cannot be the principal reason for including sexual education in the curriculum. Sexual education should be considered a right in itself and should be clearly linked with other rights in accordance with the principle of the interdependence and indivisibility of human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights criteria for making contract farming and other business models inclusive of small-scale farmers 2011, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Contract farming is generally associated with the production of commercial crops for export, mono-cropping and forms of production that rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, often with adverse repercussions for human health and for soil. None of these consequences, however, are inevitable in contract farming. As already noted, this kind of contractual arrangement between a buyer and a farmer can be used to produce crops for sale on the domestic market and contribute to the strengthening of local markets, and in particular to improving the links between rural producers and urban consumers. Contract farming could and should include incentives for moving towards more diverse farming systems, using a combination of plants, trees and animals according to the principles of agroecology (see A/HRC/16/49). While contract farming often involves the provision of inputs, including mineral fertilizers, by the buyer, it may also include provisions that oblige the producer to comply with certain environmental conditions, for instance more cautious use of pesticides.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Acroecology and the right to food 2011, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In the past, Green Revolution approaches have focused primarily on boosting cereal crops. However, rice, wheat and maize are mainly sources of carbohydrates: they contain relatively little protein, and few of the other nutrients essential for adequate diets. The shift from diversified cropping systems to simplified cereal-based systems thus contributed to micronutrient malnutrition in many developing countries. Indeed, of the over 80,000 plant species available to humans, rice, wheat and maize supply the bulk of our protein and energy needs. Nutritionists now increasingly insist on the need for more diverse agro-ecosystems, in order to ensure a more diversified nutrient output of the farming systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Acroecology and the right to food 2011, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- [The research community, including centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research, should:] assess projects on the basis of a comprehensive set of performance criteria (impacts on incomes, resource efficiency, impacts on hunger and malnutrition, empowerment of beneficiaries, etc.) with indicators appropriately disaggregated by population to allow monitoring improvements in the status of vulnerable populations, taking into account the requirements of the right to food, in addition to classical agronomical measures.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- This is changing. Experts now agree that food systems must ensure the access of all to "sustainable diets", defined as "diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while optimizing natural and human resources". This definition recognizes the need to gear agrifood systems away from an exclusive focus on boosting production and towards integrating the requirements of the adequacy of diets, social equity and environmental sustainability. All these components are essential to achieving durable success in combating hunger and malnutrition, as emphasized by the Special Rapporteur in past reports.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The agrifood systems must be reshaped to address these challenges of malnutrition-undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, and overnutrition-not in isolation, but concurrently. Malnutrition in all its forms cannot be addressed only by a food sciences approach, such as through the provision of ready-to-use therapeutic foods or micronutrient-enriched "health foods" to combat micronutrient deficiency or the negative health impacts of foods high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, sodium and sugar ("HFSS" foods). Ensuring adequate availability of and accessibility to fruits and vegetables and diets that are sufficiently diverse and balanced across food groups requires the rebuilding of agrifood systems. This means prioritizing access to adequate diets that are socially and environmentally sustainable over the mere provision of cheap calories. Any intervention seeking to address the diverse forms of malnutrition described above should be assessed against the requirement that it favour, and does not create obstacles to, such a reprioritization.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- The efforts on these fronts must continue. Nutrition interventions should be but one part of broader-based strategies for the realization of the right to adequate food. For example, the provision of fortified foods (enriched to improve nutritional content) may be necessary, where local production is insufficiently diversified and incapable of supplying the full range of foods required for adequate diets. Rebuilding and strengthening local food systems through diversified farming systems to ensure the availability of and accessibility to adequate diets will be more sustainable in the long term. Food systems based on local knowledge and conditions, such as homestead or community gardens, can be a cost-effective way to combat micronutrient deficiency, as demonstrated by examples in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, the Niger and South Africa; such alternative food systems present the additional advantage of increasing local incomes and resilience to price shocks, another pathway through which positive nutritional outcomes can be achieved.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Fourth, potential concerns exist regarding the relationship between solutions that rely on imported technologies and products and the local contexts in which these solutions are applied. Technology has a key role to play in improved nutrition. For instance, the iodization of salt is a cost-effective way to reduce iodine deficiency. Biofortification-the improvement at crop level of the micronutrient content of staples-can provide important benefits for rural populations, improving their access to micronutrient-rich foods produced locally at more affordable prices, as illustrated by the adoption of the orange-fleshed sweet potato in Mozambique that reduced vitamin A deficiency significantly. But such technologies could result in long-term dependency for the communities concerned if protected by intellectual property rights. Moreover, opportunities and market access for local farmers could be reduced if they result in the creation of new markets that are captured by the economic actors introducing such technologies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In section II, the Special Rapporteur described the considerable growth of non-communicable diseases and preventable deaths in all regions. A wide range of factors explain this evolution. They include tobacco and alcohol use, reduced physical activity linked to urbanization and thus more sedentary lifestyles, and inadequate diets. These avoidable deaths are often attributed to "lifestyle choices"-choices to exercise less, choices to consume more salt, sugars and fats. But the problem is a systemic one. We have created obesogenic environments and developed food systems that often work against, rather than facilitate, making healthier choices. The transformation of agrifood systems plays a major part in this trend.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- What was the result? Between 1961 and 2009, while fruit and vegetable production increased 332 per cent, world oilseed production increased by 610 per cent and meat production increased 372 per cent. This was associated with shifting diets. Over roughly the same period (1963-2003), developing countries increased the amount of calories they consumed from meat (119 per cent), sugar (127 per cent) and vegetable oils (199 per cent), and industrialized countries also increased vegetable oil consumption (105 per cent). Globally, diets became increasingly energy-dense and rich in sugar, salt and saturated fats, as many higher fibre foods were replaced by heavily processed foods.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Another impact on diets was through the price channel, by changing the relative prices of foods in the consumer's basket. In high-income countries, healthy diets including a wide range of fruits and vegetables are more expensive than diets rich in oils, sugars and fats. While this may not be the reason why overweight and obesity have been increasing over the years, it is certainly one factor among others responsible for this situation. And it leads to important socio-economic disparities in quality diets. Scientists show a strong correlation between low-education and -income levels and higher rates of obesity, type II diabetes and coronary heart disease.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Second, the globalization of food chains leads to a shift from diets high in complex carbohydrates and fibre to diets with a higher proportion of fats and sugars. As a result of this "nutrition transition," disease patterns shift away from infectious and nutrient-deficiency diseases toward higher rates of coronary heart disease, non-insulin dependent diabetes, some types of cancer and obesity. This trend is particularly noticeable in emerging economies, and the Special Rapporteur studied the mechanisms at work closely in his missions to Brazil, China, South Africa and Mexico. Nutrition transition is accelerated by the expansion of trade in food commodities and by the acceleration of vertical integration in food chains, both of which increase the availability of processed foods.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- These advances remain short of what the situation requires. The emphasis remains largely on demand-side measures, focused on consumers' choices, rather than on the supply side: the range of foods made available to consumers and the prices of different types of food. And commitments remain voluntary. States should protect the right to adequate food by adopting measures that reduce the negative impacts on public health of the existing food systems. Moreover, States should discharge their duty to fulfil the right to adequate food by taking immediate measures to progressively make a transition to more sustainable diets.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- While the agrifood industry is encouraged to produce and develop more healthy foods, very little is said about the need to develop more healthy food systems that can deliver sustainable diets in the holistic sense referred to above. But it is high time to recognize the real tension that exists between a strategy that promotes processed foods, enriched with nutrients to the point that diets become medicalized, and a strategy that promotes local and regional food systems, as well as a shift towards foods that are less heavily processed and thus more nutritious. For reasons of logistics and seasonality, as well as the urbanization of lifestyles, these two strategies must sometimes be combined, as not all foods can be sourced locally or bought in farmers' markets. But priorities must nevertheless be set in public policies. The market for food products cannot expand infinitely, and choices must be made as to which food system to promote.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- As such, States should set binding targets in pursuing a double-track approach: (a) protecting the right to adequate diets; and (b) ensuring a transition towards more sustainable diets. They should ensure accountability, in accordance with the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, by establishing independent monitoring mechanisms and allowing individual victims or organizations to file claims against any failures to take the measures required under the national strategy for the realization of the right to food; this is what distinguishes legal obligations from mere policy commitments. Among the indicators that should be used to monitor the implementation of national strategies to prevent non-communicable diseases, WHO should therefore include the existence of a binding legal framework, clearly allocating responsibilities, and including sanctions where the measures that are pledged are not adopted, and it should include the requirements of participation and non-discrimination that form part of an approach based on human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph