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Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Recent years have witnessed various attempts to regulate the impact of business activities on human rights outside of the territorial boundaries of the home State. Notably the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011) underlined that States "should set out clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations" and clarified the responsibility of TNCs and other business enterprises to respect human rights. Similarly The United Nations Global Compact (2000) urges TNCs to respect workers' rights and human rights; and the OECD Guidelines call on enterprises to respect human rights. In 2011, a group of experts in international law and human rights adopted the Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which provide that States are responsible for violations of economic, social and cultural rights by non-State actors, including corporations in cases where these non-State actors act under the instructions or direct control of the State, or are empowered by the State to exercise elements of governmental authority.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- In setting out the mandate of the Special Rapporteur in resolution 6/2, the Human Rights Council encouraged close cooperation with all stakeholders, including non-State actors. Accordingly, during her first month in office, the Special Rapporteur held consultations on a preliminary and informal basis with representatives from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), academic experts and representatives of member States and civil society organizations based in Geneva. She also had occasion to meet with representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), including the Director-General, members of the senior management team and members of the team working on the right to food, as well as the Chair of the Committee on World Food Security and members of the Bureau and Advisory Group of the Committee. The Special Rapporteur wishes to express her gratitude to those with whom she met and appreciates their warm welcome. She is encouraged by the dedication of many States, organizations and individuals working towards the eradication of hunger and the realization of the right to adequate food and she looks forward to cooperating with all stakeholders on issues relevant to her mandate over the coming years.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Assessing a decade of progress on the right to food 2013, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Despite the significant progress made in recent years, some dimensions of the right to food remain underdeveloped. This is especially the case as regards its extraterritorial dimensions. According to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the duties associated with the right to food extend to all situations, whether located on a State's national territory or abroad, over which a State may exercise influence without infringing on the sovereignty of the territorial State (see E/C.12/2000/4, para. 39, E/C.12/2002/11, para. 31 and E/C.12/2011/1). This is reaffirmed in the Maastricht Principles on the extraterritorial obligations of States in the area of economic, social and cultural rights, adopted by a group of international law experts on 28 September 2011, as well as in the Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, endorsed by the Human Rights Council on 27 September 2012 (see A/HRC/21/39, para. 61). Yet, the mechanisms allowing victims of violations of the right to food in extraterritorial situations are often non-existent or hardly accessible in practice. On the whole, however, the examples above show a remarkable progress of the right to food since the Right to Food Guidelines were adopted.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- The legally binding nature of voluntary rules may also emerge with the help of national law. Voluntary standards can often be enforced in accordance with competition or consumer laws, where they include relevant representations to the consumer. Thus, a corporation's non-adherence to its own codes can be enforced before courts in the country of the corporation's headquarters.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- While some critics suggest that the voluntary nature of the Right to Food Guidelines limits their usefulness, they were adopted by member States of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) by consensus. States cannot therefore claim to be unaware of or refuse to comply with the guidelines. Over the years, in many formal settings, the Governments have reiterated their commitment to and support for the guidelines.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus 2012, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The discussion surrounding the contributions made by GAIN provides an illustration. One reason companies partner with GAIN is to reach the "bottom of the pyramid," i.e., potential customers who are too poor to constitute a solvent market in the short term. GAIN-supported initiatives, however, should not bar the emergence of sustainable and equitable solutions in which people are served by local producers. Some GAIN projects do build the capacity of local partners and can continue in the long term without external support. But any such interventions should include a clear exit strategy to empower communities to feed themselves. In this regard, donors should make their support to GAIN conditional upon such a requirement of subsidiarity and upon the adoption of a clear exit strategy. In particular, as noted in the proposal for a draft code of conduct for sustainable diets, "when ecosystems are able to support sustainable diets, nutrition programmes, policies and interventions supporting the use of supplements, RUTF [ready-to-use therapeutic foods], fortificants, and infant formulas are inappropriate and can lead to malnutrition, and ... the marketing of these food substitutes and related products can contribute to major public health problems".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Leaders at the Conference also recognized the importance of integrating their political commitments with the post-2015 development agenda and of anchoring nutrition targets in the Sustainable Development Goals. The Goals have a universal character and cannot be achieved without special attention to nutrition. While Goal 2 explicitly refers to "nutrition" and Goal 3 to non-communicable diseases, nutrition is arguably interwoven within all 17 Goals, as well as 50 indicators.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food was established by the Commission on Human Rights in resolution 2000/10. In September 2007, the Human Rights Council, in resolution 6/2, reviewed and extended the mandate for three years. In resolution 6/2, the Council instructed the Special Rapporteur to: (a) promote the full realization of the right to food and the adoption of measures at the national, regional and international levels for the realization of the right to food; (b) examine ways and means of overcoming obstacles to the realization of the right to food; (c) continue mainstreaming a gender perspective and take into account an age dimension in the fulfilment of the mandate; (d) submit proposals that could help the realization of Millennium Development Goal 1; (e) present recommendations on possible steps towards achieving progressively the full realization of the right to food; (f) work in close cooperation with all States, intergovernmental and non governmental organizations, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other relevant actors to take fully into account the need to promote the effective realization of the right to food for all; and (g) continue participating in and contributing to relevant international conferences and events with the aim of promoting the realization of the right to food. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur was subsequently endorsed by the Council in resolutions 13/4 and 22/9, renewing the mandate for periods of three years.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights criteria for making contract farming and other business models inclusive of small-scale farmers 2011, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- States should pay attention to a number of issues, listed below, to ensure that contract farming arrangements contribute to the realization of the right to food. Agribusiness enterprises also have a role to play. Consistent with their responsibility to respect human rights (see Human Rights Council resolution 17/4), they should seek to incorporate good practices in their dealings with small-scale farmers. The Special Rapporteur highlights seven areas where improvements could be made.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- In addition to the legal gaps and dual standards noted above, there are other challenges derived from excessive or inaccurate use of pesticides, accidents, and dissemination of misinformation and misconceptions by producers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- While not specifically enunciated in general comment No. 12 (1999), sustainability is linked to hunger-reduction strategies and policies as it places emphasis on the principles of participation, non-discrimination, transparency and empowerment.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights criteria for making contract farming and other business models inclusive of small-scale farmers 2011, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Standards must be clear and specific so that firms cannot manipulate the application of vague standards. On the other hand, they should not be too complex, which could also allow firms to manipulate standards. Firms should demonstrate the standards visually to farmers. In addition, the firm's representatives should explain well in advance how crops are graded.
- 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
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Another consideration supporting the necessity of extraterritoriality is the principle of non-discrimination. It is a fundamental part of human rights law, and the logical extension of the universality principle. If States are able to treat individuals in other countries differently from the way they may treat individuals in their own territory, this is discriminatory practice and goes against the principles of universality of rights enjoyment.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The responsibility of corporations is specified in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In addition to setting out States’ existing obligations to protect against business-related human rights abuse and ensure access to remedy for victims, the Guiding Principles specify the independent responsibility of businesses to respect human rights, that is to avoid and address adverse human rights impacts linked to their operations. While businesses are not directly bound by international human rights treaties, the Guiding Principles provide a broadly agreed normative basis to assess corporate activity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Certain voluntary guidelines and recommendations are also relevant in the context of human rights and pesticides. The Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, which provide non-binding guidance for States on operationalizing the right to adequate food, promote State action in the realm of food safety and consumer protection. For example, guideline 9 calls for States to develop food safety standards on pesticide residues. Guideline 4 advocates that States should ensure adequate protection for consumers against unsafe food and encourages the development of corporate social responsibility policies for businesses.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- International obligations with extraterritorial dimensions are enunciated in a number of international treaties that emphasize the importance of international cooperation among States to ensure the protection of human rights. At the same time, international human rights instruments refer to how non-State actors have duties to uphold human rights standards. For example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in its preamble - and binding provisions in universal and regional human rights documents also indicate - duties for private actors, while the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (A/HRC/17/31), endorsed by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 17/4 in 2011, elaborate on the responsibility of business enterprises to respect 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
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Latin America has shown itself to be the region of the world that has made the most progress in terms of developing legal frameworks that promote the right to food. With more than eight countries possessing specific laws aimed at promoting and protecting the right to food and a number of bills pending in National Assemblies for consideration, the right to adequate food is also referred to or explicitly recognized in several constitutions, including those of Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua and Paraguay. In some cases, the constitutional provisions refer directly to the right to food, and its applicability to the whole population. In other cases, the right is directed at specific groups, while State signatories of the Covenant provide that it be applied directly through the constitution. The following cases are examples of where the right to food has been used as a legal argument to protect social rights.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Innovative ideas for tackling food waste are needed. One of the goals established by the Zero Hunger Challenge, launched by the Secretary-General at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, is to achieve zero loss or waste of food by minimizing the losses which occur during storage and transport by retailers and consumers; empowering consumer choice through appropriate labelling; encouraging commitment by producers, retailers and consumers of all nations; and achieving progress through financial incentives, collective pledges, locally relevant technologies and changed behaviour. While the challenge does not rely on legally binding obligations, it offers States an opportunity to review current policies in relation to food waste. Several constructive steps have been taken by some States to reduce food waste, including the Waste and Resources Action Programme sponsored by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more. The Special Rapporteur plans to examine such examples of good practice and, during her official missions, will assess the degree of food waste in the countries concerned.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- International human rights law complements the Convention on Climate Change by emphasizing that international cooperation is a human rights obligation and that its central objective is safeguarding those rights. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights notes that the right to adequate food requires the adoption of appropriate economic, environmental and social policies, and that the right to health extends to its underlying determinants, including a healthy environment. Similarly, the OHCHR report on climate change and human rights mentioned above focuses on the direct relationship between the right to adequate food and climate change (paras. 25-30). Previous reports of the mandate holders have documented how extreme climate events are increasingly threatening livelihoods and food security (see, for example, A/HRC/7/5).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur commends those States that have ratified the Optional Protocol and encourages others to do so as a matter of priority. 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.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision of the mandate 2014, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- On 8 May 2014, Hilal Elver (Turkey) was appointed by the Human Rights Council as Special Rapporteur on the right to food. She officially assumed her responsibilities as mandate holder on 2 June 2014. The Special Rapporteur wishes to take this opportunity to express her appreciation for the exceptional contribution of her predecessors, Olivier De Schutter (2008-2014) and Jean Ziegler (2000-2008), in advancing the mandate and promoting the realization of the right to adequate food. The Special Rapporteur intends to build on the work of her predecessors and further develop the important networks already established by them.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women’s right and the right to food 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Most social transfer programmes are in the form of cash transfer programmes which can be conditional or unconditional. Unconditional cash transfer programmes correspond better to the idea that social protection is a human right that should benefit all those in need of income support. They reduce the risks of under-inclusion and may be easier to administer where the administrative capacity is weak. A comparison across three Latin American countries concluded that verifying compliance with conditionalities represented 18 per cent of the administrative costs of the programme, and 2 per cent of the total costs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Assessing a decade of progress on the right to food 2013, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recommends that States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights work towards "the adoption of a national strategy to ensure food and nutrition security for all, based on human rights principles that define the objectives, and the formulation of policies and corresponding benchmarks" (see general comment No. 12, para. 21). Similarly, Guideline 3 of the FAO Right to Food Guidelines encourages the adoption of "a national human-rights based strategy for the progressive realization of the right to adequate food … [which] could include objectives, targets, benchmarks and time frames; and actions to formulate policies, identify and mobilize resources, define institutional mechanisms, allocate responsibilities, coordinate the activities of different actors, and provide for monitoring mechanisms".
- 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
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Assessing a decade of progress on the right to food 2013, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Policies aimed at eradicating hunger and malnutrition that are grounded in the right to food shall redefine as legal entitlements benefits that have traditionally been seen as voluntary handouts from States. The right to food requires that schemes providing benefits, whether guaranteeing access to food or promoting agricultural and rural development and national social protection floors, be consolidated into legal entitlements, clearly identifying the beneficiaries and providing them with access to redress mechanisms if they are excluded. In the same spirit, paragraph 7 of International Labour Organization (ILO) Recommendation No. 202 concerning national floors of social protection provides that "national laws and regulations [establishing basic social security guarantees] should specify the range, qualifying conditions and levels of the benefits giving effect to these guarantees. Impartial, transparent, effective, simple, rapid, accessible and inexpensive complaint and appeal procedures should also be specified. Access to complaint and appeal procedures should be free of charge to the applicant. Systems should be in place that enhance compliance with national legal frameworks".
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
24 shown of 24 entities