A/HRC/RES/55/4
Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food
in the Context of National Food Security, adopted by the Council of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations in 2004, and the Declaration of the World Summit on
Food Security, adopted on 16 November 2009, and reaffirming the Five Rome Principles for
Sustainable Global Food Security, and the recommendations and commitments made therein,
Stressing the importance of the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and its Framework for
Action, adopted at the second International Conference on Nutrition, held in Rome on 21
November 2014,
Taking note with appreciation of the United Nations Food Systems Summit, convened
by the Secretary-General and held on 23 September 2021,
Taking note of the work done by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights in promoting the right to adequate food,
Acknowledging that the right to food has been recognized as the right of every
individual, alone or in community with others, to have physical and economic access at all
times to sufficient, adequate and nutritious food, in conformity with, inter alia, the culture,
beliefs, traditions, dietary habits and preferences of individuals, and that is produced and
consumed sustainably, thereby preserving access to food for future generations,
Reaffirming that a peaceful, stable and enabling political, social and economic
environment at both the national and international levels is the essential foundation that will
enable States to give adequate priority to food security, nutrition and poverty eradication,
Recognizing the urgent need to realize the right to food through a coordinated and
sustained effort, using the advantages and synergies offered by international cooperation and
solidarity to find comprehensive solutions to the common present and future problems facing
humanity,
Reiterating that food should not be used as an instrument of political or economic
pressure, and reaffirming in this regard the importance of international cooperation and
solidarity, and the absolute necessity of refraining from unilateral measures that are not in
accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations and that endanger
the food security and nutrition of affected countries,
Reaffirming that food security and nutrition are a national responsibility, and that any
plan for addressing food security and nutrition challenges must be nationally articulated,
designed, owned and led, and built on consultation with all key stakeholders,
Recognizing the urgency of strengthening the multilateral system in the channelling
of material, financial and human resources and in the promotion of policies dedicated to
fighting hunger and all forms of malnutrition,
Recognizing also the complex character of food insecurity and its likely recurrence
owing to a combination of several major factors, such as the effects of the global financial
and economic crisis, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, desertification and the
impact of global climate change, drought, natural disasters and the effects of the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as poverty, excessive population growth, armed
conflicts, excessive volatility in commodity prices and the lack in many countries of the
appropriate technology, investment and capacity-building necessary to confront its impact,
in particular in developing countries, including landlocked developing countries, least
developed countries and small island developing States, and the need for coherence and
collaboration between international institutions at the global level,
Expressing its deep concern at the negative effects of all armed conflicts on the
enjoyment of the right to food,
Expressing its deep concern also at the number and scale of human-made and natural
disasters, diseases and pest infestations, as well as the negative impact of climate change, and
their increasing impact in recent years, which have, in combination with other factors,
resulted in substantial loss of life and livelihood and threatened agricultural production and
food security and nutrition, in particular in developing countries,
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