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Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- For some of the groups that are the most vulnerable today, this means protecting existing access to land, water, grazing or fishing grounds, or forests, all of which may be productive resources essential for a decent livelihood. In such cases, as detailed below, the right to food may complement the protection of the right to property or of indigenous peoples' relationship with their lands, territories, and resources. In other cases, because landlessness is a cause of particular vulnerability, the obligation of the State goes further: it is to strengthen such access or make it possible - for example, through redistributive programmes that may in turn result in restrictions on others' right to property. This obligation of States is especially clear in cases in which the members of such groups have no alternative means of producing food or gaining sufficient income to purchase food that is sufficient, adequate and culturally acceptable.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 40c
- Paragraph text
- [In order to respect the right to food, States should:] Respect the needs of special groups. States should implement the specific rights of indigenous peoples by demarcating their lands and territories and by providing them with specific protection. States should also protect access to fishing grounds, grazing grounds and water points for fisherfolk, herders and pastoralists, for whom the protection of commons is vital. The recognition of communal rights should extend beyond indigenous communities, at least to certain communities that entertain a similar relationship with the land, centred on the community rather than on the individual;
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Fisheries and the right to food 2012, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- First, the right to food requires that States respect existing access to adequate food and abstain from taking measures that result in reducing such access. To fully discharge this obligation, States should refrain from adopting any policy that affects the territories and activities of small-scale, artisanal and indigenous fishers unless their free, prior and informed consent is obtained. National and local courts may play a significant role in this regard. Courts should be empowered, in particular, to adjudicate claims from small-scale fishers whose livelihoods are threatened by measures that infringe on their ability to fish so as to provide sufficient income to ensure an adequate standard of living.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Climate change, sustainable resource management and food security are now widely considered among the most complex, interdependent and urgent global policy challenges. With average temperatures predicted by the world scientific community to rise by 2-4° C by the end of the century, the ability of entire regions to maintain current levels of agricultural production is being threatened and many of the adverse effects of climate change are now acutely felt. Individuals and communities already in vulnerable situations and at risk of discrimination due to geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status and disability are often disproportionately affected.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- The Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security must also be used as a key reference tool for the implementation of effective models of governance concerning food, agriculture and nutrition for States, intergovernmental actors and the corporate private sector. Although it is not a legally binding document, it constitutes a commitment for countries to adopt its principles, options and policy base, as suited to their local needs and circumstances. The document includes provision for the rights of women and children in relation to food security and recognizes the central role played by smallholder farmers, agricultural workers, artisanal fisher folk, pastoralists and indigenous peoples. The primacy of food security and nutrition as a basic human right is the primary responsibility of the State and should be given priority over any other government policy.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- There are a number of cases involving TNCs and right to food violations at the domestic level; however, in many of these cases, claims are either based on tort or criminal law rather than human rights legislation, or decisions focus on the involvement of the Government in the violation of rights, and not the company. The case against Nigeria submitted through the African Commission on Human Rights is an example thereof. Another example is the case brought to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of indigenous Guarani people living in the Oriente region in Ecuador against the oil exploitation activities by their own Government and Texaco.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Human rights of internally displaced persons in the context of the Post-2015 development agenda 2015, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- During his joint visit to the Central African Republic in February 2015, the Special Rapporteur deplored the living conditions of nearly 500 members of the Peulh minority group, trapped in an enclave in Yaloke. According to reports, the food being distributed in Yaloke does not meet the cultural and nutritional needs of the Peulh minority group. The Peulh, living largely on a diet of beef and milk from cattle, are not used to the rice and beans that humanitarian agencies distribute. As of December 2014, over 40 Peulh had died from malnutrition and other diseases, the majority of them children.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 93b
- Paragraph text
- In accordance with the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur in her 2015 report to the General Assembly (A/70/301): (b) Human rights impact assessments should be conducted of all trade and investment agreements, following the impact assessments carried out as part of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights developed by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to adequate food (Art. 11) 1999, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- In response to these requests, the Committee reviewed the relevant reports and documentation of the Commission on Human Rights and of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities on the right to adequate food as a human right; devoted a day of general discussion to this issue at its seventh session in 1997, taking into consideration the draft international code of conduct on the human right to adequate food prepared by international nongovernmental organizations; participated in two expert consultations on the right to adequate food as a human right organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in Geneva in December 1997, and in Rome in November 1998 co-hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and noted their final reports. In April 1999 the Committee participated in a symposium on "The substance and politics of a human rights approach to food and nutrition policies and programmes", organized by the Administrative Committee on Co-ordination/Sub-Committee on Nutrition of the United Nations at its twenty-sixth session in Geneva and hosted by OHCHR.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1999
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes the importance of ensuring sustainable access to water resources for agriculture to realize the right to adequate food (see General Comment No.12 (1999)). Attention should be given to ensuring that disadvantaged and marginalized farmers, including women farmers, have equitable access to water and water management systems, including sustainable rain harvesting and irrigation technology. Taking note of the duty in article 1, paragraph 2, of the Covenant, which provides that a people may not "be deprived of its means of subsistence", States parties should ensure that there is adequate access to water for subsistence farming and for securing the livelihoods of indigenous peoples.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- At the international level, the right to food is recognized as a distinct and fundamental right in a number of international instruments. It was recognized in article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (article 11) and, through the right to life, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is also conferred in article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is further recognized in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (articles 3, 24, para. 2 (c), and 27), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (articles 12, para. 2, and 14) the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (article 5 (e)) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (articles 25 (f) and 28, para. 1).
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Development-induced displacement is an increasingly widespread phenomenon with devastating impact. An estimated 15 million people each year are forced to relocate and resettle as a result of such interventions. Despite some of the more recent efforts to highlight land dispossession, as yet global institutions have been unable to discourage the practices and processes that undermine land rights, prevent equitable access and establish the context for large and small-scale displacements. The expanding mining sector has contributed to strong economic growth in some countries, with mining and oil concessions dramatically increasing in countries. The industry has however also generated social conflict in many States, particularly in rural areas, with mining activities coming into direct competition with small-scale agriculture. Indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable as they are often forced to leave their land and sources of livelihood. A lack of engagement and opportunities for participation in decisions that affect their lives has left many communities in situations of dire poverty and without access to adequate food and nutrition.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The following examples illustrate the positive role played by regional human rights mechanisms. In the case Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council v. Kenya, the Endorois, a primarily pastoralist indigenous community, were removed from their lands by the Government of Kenya to establish a wildlife reserve. The African Commission found Kenya to have violated articles 8, 14, 17, 21 and 22 of the African Charter. The Commission noted that, as a consequence of its removal, the community had been "relegated to semi-arid land", which was unsuitable for pastoralism. The ability to graze animals, a key means of subsistence for the community, had become impossible as a result of loss of their land and this threatened the community's survival.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Overview of the activities carried during the first three-year term of the mandate 2011, para. 173
- Paragraph text
- We reaffirm our commitment in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and overcapacity, taking into account the importance of this sector to developing countries, and we reiterate our commitment to conclude multilateral disciplines on fisheries subsidies that will give effect to the mandates of the World Trade Organization Doha Development Agenda and the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration to strengthen disciplines on subsidies in the fisheries sector, including through the prohibition of certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation, taking into account the importance of the sector to development priorities, poverty reduction and livelihood and food security concerns. We encourage States to further improve the transparency and reporting of existing fisheries subsidies programmes through the World Trade Organization. Given the state of fisheries resources, and without prejudicing the Doha and Hong Kong ministerial mandates on fisheries subsidies or the need to conclude these negotiations, we encourage States to eliminate subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and to refrain from introducing new such subsidies or from extending or enhancing existing ones.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Women’s right and the right to food 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- A successful strategy for strengthening the rights of women in support of the realization of the right to food requires a whole-of-government approach, coordinated across various ministries, including those responsible for health, education, employment, social affairs and agriculture. For instance, for the multiplier effects of school-feeding programmes to be maximized, coordinated action between departments responsible for agriculture, education and employment is required. Such a strategy should include targets, defined through a participatory process, and independent monitoring of their achievement within specified time frames. The outcomes to be achieved should be defined through indicators based on the normative components of the right to food, and disaggregated by ethnicity, age and gender in order to ensure that a gender-sensitive approach will be adopted in all sectors, and that multiple forms of discrimination, such as that experienced by older women and indigenous women, is tracked and addressed effectively. The systematic collection of gender-disaggregated data is key to this objective.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- While more affluent countries are better able to cope with the effects of climate change, nations with a higher proportion of people living in poverty may not have access to necessary infrastructure and resources and their populations have fewer opportunities to diversify their livelihoods and reduce their dependence on agriculture. Within this group of vulnerable populations, small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, particularly women who depend on climate-sensitive natural systems for their food and livelihoods, are expected to be particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change on their food security.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
The need to harmonize activities affecting indigenous peoples within the United Nations system 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Such was the issue raised this year in relation to the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and adopted by the Committee on World Food Security on 11 May 2012. The development of the Guidelines was initiated in 2009 and included some 10 consultations with Governments, civil society, the private sector, academia and United Nations agencies, among others. The Guidelines are expressly voluntary (guideline 2.1) but at the same time have potentially far-reaching implications, as they may be used by all countries and regions at all stages of economic development and for the governance of all forms of tenure (guideline 2.4).
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous peoples are already among the world's most vulnerable and marginalized communities in many parts of the world owing to discriminatory policies. They are highly dependent on natural resources, with subsistence agriculture, hunting and gathering forming a core part of their livelihoods, and they often have very limited additional income from other activities. Additionally, they may face situations where the land tenure and access rights of their communities are not legally recognized.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Assessing a decade of progress on the right to food 2013, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- National human rights institutions, ombuds institutions or human rights ombudsmen may go beyond monitoring violations and reporting. They occasionally may seize judicial authorities or trigger action by food and nutrition security councils established under framework laws on the right to food. In Argentina, the National Ombudsman requested in 2007 that the Supreme Court order the national State and the Government of Chaco Province to provide food and drinking water to the province's indigenous Toba communities. In Brazil, a similar role can be played by the Public Ministry, which is composed of independent public prosecutors that can hold public authorities accountable in the implementation of programmes relating to food and nutrition.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Agroecology is particularly beneficial and well suited to the needs of poor rural communities, as it is relatively labour intensive, most effectively practised on small plots of land and relies on locally produced inputs, thereby reducing dependence on access to external inputs and on subsidies. It is also of particular benefit to vulnerable groups such as smallholder farmers, women and indigenous peoples, owing to their reliance on local inputs and practices. The shift being advocated builds on the skills and experience of the world's small farmers. Farmers living in harsh environments in Africa, Asia and Latin America have developed traditional knowledge and skills that facilitate resilience and sustainability. One of the virtues of agroecology is that it combines local knowledge with innovative technology.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Biofuels are biomass-derived fuels designed to replace petroleum. As they depend on soil and water, these resources may be diverted from agricultural purposes and therefore diminish impoverished communities' ability to grow the food they require. In less than a decade biofuel production has increased fivefold and has contributed to high volatility in food prices as well as increases in prices of staple foods. This is of particular concern for low-income countries reliant on international food markets. In recent years, there has been an alarming increase in the number of large-scale land deals for the purpose of producing biofuels. Forced relocations as a result of large-scale land acquisitions and long-term leases pose a particular threat to smallholder farmers and indigenous populations, especially when land rights and tenure are weak. Evidence also indicates that efficient biofuel production depends on capital-intensive farming, which favours large agricultural producers who are better connected to the markets, leaving small-scale farmers in poor countries unable to compete effectively.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- In its case SERAC v. Nigeria, the African Commission held that the treatment by Nigeria of the Ogoni indigenous community violated the right to food implied in the African Charter. In their statement to the African Commission, the NGOs submitting the claim contended that: "the Nigerian government ... destroyed and threatened Ogoni food sources through a variety of means. The government ... participated in irresponsible oil development that poisoned much of the soil and water upon which Ogoni farming and fishing depended. In their raids on villages, Nigerian security forces have destroyed crops and killed farm animals. The security forces have created a state of terror and insecurity that ... made it impossible for many Ogoni villagers to return to their fields and animals. The destruction of farm lands, rivers, crops and animals created malnutrition and starvation among certain Ogoni communities."
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Overview of the activities carried during the first three-year term of the mandate 2011, para. 108
- Paragraph text
- We reaffirm our commitments regarding the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger. We acknowledge that food security and nutrition has become a pressing global challenge and, in this regard, we further reaffirm our commitment to enhancing food security and access to adequate, safe and nutritious food for present and future generations in line with the Five Rome Principles for Sustainable Global Food Security, adopted on 16 November 2009, including for children under the age of 2, and through, as appropriate, national, regional and global food security and nutrition strategies.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Overview of the activities carried during the first three-year term of the mandate 2011, para. 110
- Paragraph text
- Noting the diversity of agricultural conditions and systems, we resolve to increase sustainable agricultural production and productivity globally, including by improving the functioning of markets and trading systems and strengthening international cooperation, particularly for developing countries, by increasing public and private investment in sustainable agriculture, land management and rural development. Key areas for investment and support include sustainable agricultural practices; rural infrastructure, storage capacities and related technologies; research and development on sustainable agricultural technologies; development of strong agricultural cooperatives and value chains; and the strengthening of urban-rural linkages. We also recognize the need to significantly reduce post-harvest and other food losses and waste throughout the food supply chain.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Overview of the activities carried during the first three-year term of the mandate 2011, para. 169
- Paragraph text
- We urge States parties to the 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks to fully implement that Agreement and to give, in accordance with Part VII of the Agreement, full recognition to the special requirements of developing States. Furthermore, we call upon all States to implement the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the international plans of action and technical guidelines of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples on the impact of international investment and free trade on the human rights of indigenous peoples 2015, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur also consulted the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/19/59/Add.5), which provides guiding principles for Member States on ways to ensure that the trade and investment agreements they conclude are consistent with their obligations under international human rights instruments; and the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health to the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly (A/69/299), which includes analysis of the impact of investment agreements on the right to health. In addition, in 2015, 10 mandate holders expressed public concern about the impact of investment and free trade agreements on human rights.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Traditional food sources of indigenous peoples are regularly found to contain high levels of pesticides. This is also true in the Arctic, because chemicals travel northward through long-range environmental transport in wind and water, bioaccumulating and biomagnifying in traditional foods such as marine mammals and fish. Indigenous peoples in the Arctic are found to have hazardous pesticides in their bodies that were never used near their communities, and suffer from above average rates of cancer and other diseases.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Acroecology and the right to food 2011, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The diversity of species on farms managed following agroecological principles, as well as in urban or peri-urban agriculture, is an important asset in this regard. For example, it has been estimated that indigenous fruits contribute on average about 42 per cent of the natural food-basket that rural households rely on in southern Africa. This is not only an important source of vitamins and other micronutrients, but it also may be critical for sustenance during lean seasons. Nutritional diversity, enabled by increased diversity in the field, is of particular importance to children and women.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Assessing a decade of progress on the right to food 2013, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to protect requires that the State protect individuals' enjoyment of the right to food against violations by third parties (namely, by other individuals or groups or private enterprises), including by establishing an adequate regulatory framework. Courts too may play a role by intervening where private actors violate the right to food. For instance, in a case on which the Special Rapporteur wrote a letter of allegation, the High Court of Uganda at Kampala ordered on 28 March 2013 that compensation be paid to 2,041 individuals who had been evicted from their land in August 2001, when the Government of Uganda gave the land to a German company to establish a coffee plantation. The Court not only held agents of the State liable but also stated that the investors "had a duty to ensure that our indigenous people were not exploited. They should have respected the human rights and values of people and as honourable businessmen and investors they should have not moved into the lands unless they had satisfied themselves that the tenants were properly compensated, relocated and adequate notice was given to them." This illustrates how courts are in a position to protect individuals against the action of third parties and how private enterprises also have a responsibility to respect human rights and to carry out human rights due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their impacts on human rights, as stipulated in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (see A/HRC/17/31, annex, paras. 6 and 17-21).
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Although traditionally the role of women has been a part of the agenda on the right to food, the Special Rapporteur believes that the empowerment of women and the protection of their rights should be placed at the centre of the policymaking process on the right to food. Specific programmes and policies should be developed to empower women as agents of change. That means ensuring that they are granted equal access to resources, such as land ownership or tenure, water and seeds, and financial and technological assistance. The empowerment of women should not be limited to rural areas, but should also be extended to urban women, women from indigenous communities, those living in refugee camps and undocumented migrants. In the agricultural sector, policies tend to be "gender blind or gender sensitive in mild ways", failing to address some of the main obstacles women face. Moving towards gender transformative policies will require major additional efforts on the part of States.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
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