Strategy and Coordination
Taking the Right to Food from the halls of diplomacy into every corner* of the world – moving it through legislatures and courtrooms and out into the fields and factories – is the mission of the FAO Right to Food Unit. The Right to Food team sees information and awareness raising as one of its main tasks. A good understanding of the right to food and access to information about right to food issues are fundamental for the development of instruments needed for the implementation of the right to food.
Only through effective human rights-oriented policies and coordinated rights-based strategies can duty-bearers fulfil their obligations to enable rights-holders to feed themselves in dignity.
The following examples of country experiences illustrate what different right to food activities can look like:
Coordinator Marcela Libombo of the Food Security and Nutrition Technical Secretariat (SETSAN) recently requested the Unit’s assistance when Food Security Strategy shortcomings were identified; Mozambique had previously been reacting only to emergencies.“ Food security requires a multi-sectoral approach. One sector cannot do it alone.” Ms Marcela Libombo noted that when growers produce a variety of products, “they need to know how to eat them and to clean them well; that is the job of the Ministry of Health.” Similarly, if Mozambique grows enough food for export but some areas within the country still suffer shortages, the country remains food insecure.
In June 2007, government, civil society and international observers commented on the final revision of Mozambique’s food security strategy before submitting it for government approval. A Brazilian right to food expert participated in the process and shared the lessons learned. The strategy received Government approval in September 2007.
In Brazil, government support and the mobilization of more than 800 NGOs have led to a successful “public-private partnership” for social inclusion, food security, and realizing the right to food. The policies rely on human rights-based accountability and recourse mechanisms for the individual.
Advances in right to food implementation also concern the establishment of food security nets.
Mr Noel de Luna, with the Philippines Ministry of Agriculture, gives an interesting example of private sector involvement in a school feeding programme: Many private companies have joined in the, “adopt a school programme,” effort to supplement government school meals in the Philippines. “Once children are in school, they get two meals a day; sometimes they can even bring rice home to their families.”
Kenya, has also taken a new anti-hunger measure: The country produces 290,000 metric tons of maize annually, and is committed to holding 36,000 metric tons in their strategy food reserves. “We have established a hunger safety net,” explained James Okoth Oduor, Drought Management Coordinator, “to help the very poor, orphans, widows, and the disabled.”
Understanding the weaknesses in a food security strategy from the point of view of the vulnerable themselves is one of the first steps in refining measures and strategies. The Right to Food Unit has recently completed a “Guide to Conducting a Right-to-Adequate Food Assessment”. This guide has been elaborated to assist countries in undertaking a right-to-adequate food assessment as a first step in the process of developing a right to adequate food strategy and implementing specific measures in compliance with their obligation to progressively realize this human right.
FAO wants to do its part. In cooperation with individual states, FAO works to develop capacity in the areas of legislation, policy, assessment, monitoring, and accountability. Incorporating human rights principles into traditional development approaches may supply the “missing element,” which some claim, has prevented 50 years of humanitarian aid from overcoming poverty. Empowerment is a key to moving away from the benevolence model of food aid to an enabling environment in which people can feed themselves. A rights-based approach can help not only achieve food security, but also to meet international poverty reduction goals, while simultaneously recognizing human dignity and the inherent worth of every individual. We have the means to achieve full realization of the right to food for all. Now is the time to make it happen.
*As of 20 July 2007, 156 countries have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognising the legal status of the right to food
Taking the Right to Food from the halls of diplomacy into every corner* of the world – moving it through legislatures and courtrooms and out into the fields and factories – is the mission of the FAO Right to Food Unit. The Right to Food team sees information and awareness raising as one of its main tasks. A good understanding of the right to food and access to information about right to food issues are fundamental for the development of instruments needed for the implementation of the right to food.
Only through effective human rights-oriented policies and coordinated rights-based strategies can duty-bearers fulfil their obligations to enable rights-holders to feed themselves in dignity.
The following examples of country experiences illustrate what different right to food activities can look like:
Coordinator Marcela Libombo of the Food Security and Nutrition Technical Secretariat (SETSAN) recently requested the Unit’s assistance when Food Security Strategy shortcomings were identified; Mozambique had previously been reacting only to emergencies.“ Food security requires a multi-sectoral approach. One sector cannot do it alone.” Ms Marcela Libombo noted that when growers produce a variety of products, “they need to know how to eat them and to clean them well; that is the job of the Ministry of Health.” Similarly, if Mozambique grows enough food for export but some areas within the country still suffer shortages, the country remains food insecure.
In June 2007, government, civil society and international observers commented on the final revision of Mozambique’s food security strategy before submitting it for government approval. A Brazilian right to food expert participated in the process and shared the lessons learned. The strategy received Government approval in September 2007.
In Brazil, government support and the mobilization of more than 800 NGOs have led to a successful “public-private partnership” for social inclusion, food security, and realizing the right to food. The policies rely on human rights-based accountability and recourse mechanisms for the individual.
Advances in right to food implementation also concern the establishment of food security nets.
Mr Noel de Luna, with the Philippines Ministry of Agriculture, gives an interesting example of private sector involvement in a school feeding programme: Many private companies have joined in the, “adopt a school programme,” effort to supplement government school meals in the Philippines. “Once children are in school, they get two meals a day; sometimes they can even bring rice home to their families.”
Kenya, has also taken a new anti-hunger measure: The country produces 290,000 metric tons of maize annually, and is committed to holding 36,000 metric tons in their strategy food reserves. “We have established a hunger safety net,” explained James Okoth Oduor, Drought Management Coordinator, “to help the very poor, orphans, widows, and the disabled.”
Understanding the weaknesses in a food security strategy from the point of view of the vulnerable themselves is one of the first steps in refining measures and strategies. The Right to Food Unit has recently completed a “Guide to Conducting a Right-to-Adequate Food Assessment”. This guide has been elaborated to assist countries in undertaking a right-to-adequate food assessment as a first step in the process of developing a right to adequate food strategy and implementing specific measures in compliance with their obligation to progressively realize this human right.
FAO wants to do its part. In cooperation with individual states, FAO works to develop capacity in the areas of legislation, policy, assessment, monitoring, and accountability. Incorporating human rights principles into traditional development approaches may supply the “missing element,” which some claim, has prevented 50 years of humanitarian aid from overcoming poverty. Empowerment is a key to moving away from the benevolence model of food aid to an enabling environment in which people can feed themselves. A rights-based approach can help not only achieve food security, but also to meet international poverty reduction goals, while simultaneously recognizing human dignity and the inherent worth of every individual. We have the means to achieve full realization of the right to food for all. Now is the time to make it happen.
*As of 20 July 2007, 156 countries have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognising the legal status of the right to food
