A/69/275 23. Despite the scepticism that persists in a number of States, courts in several countries have been proactive in stepping in to prevent situations in which surviv al was threatened due to government inaction or inefficiency in realizing the right to food. The majority of cases relate to failures by authorities to provide minimum levels of subsistence for affected individuals or communities. 3 The right to food is now enshrined in the constitutions of more than 20 countries, together with legal provisions that allow for judicial protection by invoking the right to life, respect for human dignity, the right to health, the right to land, respect for ethnic and cultural rights, the right to housing and consumer rights. 4 24. 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 Cult ural Rights. Complaint procedures remind Governments of their responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil the right to adequate food. 25. The Special Rapporteur commends those States that have ratified the Optional Protocol and encourages others to do so as a matter of priority. 5 The Special Rapporteur intends to work closely with civil society to promote ratification and use of the Optional Protocol and bring violations to the attention of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as a means of eradicating hunger and promoting the right to adequate food. The Optional Protocol has the potential to contextualize and operationalize the right to food at international and national levels. B. Women and the right to food 26. 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 __________________ 3 4 5 8/18 Christophe Golay, “The right to food and access to justice: examples at the national, regional and international levels” (FAO, 2009). Christian Courtis, “The right to food as a justiciable rights: challenges and strategies”, Revista Internacional de Direito e Cidadania, No. 1, (June 2008). As at 16 July 2014, the following countries had ratified the Optional Protocol: Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, Gabon, Mongolia, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Uruguay. 14-58889