Right to Food, Food Security and Food Sovereignty

1. Right to Food, Food Security and Food Sovereignty Borbála Simonyi Enlarging Fair Project 1st training session Malta, 6th December 2008

2. The recent food crisis – a system crisis • Already before, more than 800 million starving • Extreme climate • Commodities speculation • Pledges by world leaders: more of the same medicin • Eradication of hunger will not work without putting human rights first

3. Human rights: a betterbasisforglobal trade rules • Universal, indivisible and interdependent • Legally binding on all states • Emphasise equality and non-discrimination • Principles of participation, accountability, transparency • International and extraterritorial obligations implied • Not associated with one type of economical system

4. WTO in conflict with human rights? • Discourages state intervention • Uses a trade yardstick • Ignores the most vulnerable groups • Focuses on dictating one economic model instead of outcomes • Lack of participation and transparency

5. Governmentsobligationsin relations to human rights • Respect – ensure no policy interferes with HRs • Protect – enforcing policies to prevent actors from interfering with HRs • Fulfil: „progressive realisation”: special programmes targeting the most vulnerable groups • In our globalised world: extraterritorial obligations

6. The evolution of the concept of RtF • Recognisedinthe UNHR 1948 • Includedinthe International CovenantonEconomic, Social and CulturalRights • 1996 World FoodSumit • General Comment 12 bythe UN CommitteeonEconomicSocial and CulturalRights – accesstomeans of production • 2000: UN SpecialRapporteurontheRtF • 2002 WFS+5 • 2004 FAO council: VoluntaryGuidelines

7. „The right to adequate food is realised when every man, woman and child , alone or in community with others has physical and economic acces at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement in ways consistent with human dignity” General Comment, 12, the Right to Adequate Food

8. The Right to Food • Availability of food in quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals free from adverse substances and culturally acceptable • Accessibility of such food in ways that are sustainable and that do not interfere with the enjoyment of other human rights

9. Evolution of the Food Security concept • Usedsincethe end of the 70’s • incontext of UN agencies • Atfirst: globalfoodsecurity • 1979: nationalfoodsecurity • Focusingonavailability of foodsupply, thusproductionorientedpolicies • 1981 AmartyaSen: Poverty and Famines – accesstofood • Access of individualstofood, household/individualfoodsecurity

10. Right to Food vs. Food security • Food Security focuses more on access to food/purchasing food vs. RtF and Food sovereignty on access to productive resources • States a technical goal which states work for but no means to hold them accountable • Still a bias towards availability of food vs. The Rtf which starts from individual entitlement • Doesn’t ask the how? question – dignity • Common point: economical access to food

11. Food Sovereignty • Political concept • Alternative policy framework as a • Challenge to the mainstream liberal trade-based food security paradigm • Using rights language to support political demands

12. Evolution of the Food Sovereignty concept • 1996 World Food Summit: Via Campesina • Several other NGO/CSO fora to follow: • Paralel events/public consultations to FAO meetings • Paralel protest meetings to WTO negotiations: Seattle, Cancún, Hong-Kong, etc • International Fora for Food Sovereignty: Havana, Colombia • Nyéléni Forum in Mali, 2007

13. Definition of IPC, 2004 „Food Sovereignty is the right of individuals, communities, peoples and countries to define their own agricultural, labour, fishing, food and land policies, which are ecologically, sociall, economically and culturally appropiate to their unique circumstances. It includes the true right to food and to produce food, which means that all people have the right to safe, nutritious and culturally appropiate food and to food-producing resources and the ability to sustain themselves and their societies.”

14. Six pillars of Food Sovereignty • Focuses on food for people • Values food providers • Localises food systems • Puts control locally • Builds knowledge and skills • Works with nature

15. Policy proposals emerging from the concept • Code of Conduct on the Human Right to Food • International Convention on Food Sovereignty • World Commission on Sustainable Agriculture • Reformed and strengthened United Nations • Independent dispute settlement mechanism • International treaty to define the rights of smallholder farmers

16. Potential of FoodSovereigntypoliciesagainsthunger and poverty – nationallevel • Marginalisation • Access to productive resources and land policy • Budget allocation • Rural employment • Other policy areas

17. FS policiesagainsthunger & poverty-international • Prices/dumping • Markets – lack on physical access, standards, concentration • Policy space – WTO, IMF, WB

18. Challenges to the FS policy framework • From the current dominant development paradigm • Production-oriented focus on global food security • The use of the term „sovereignty” • In the same time asking for more global governance • Several proposals for new international legal instruments – feasible? • Confused use of the rights language

19. Literature • Michal Windfuhr & Jennie Jonsen (FIAN): Food Sovereignty. Towards Democracy in Localised Food Systems. http://www.ukabc.org/foodsovpaper.htm • Carin Smaller & Sophia Murphy (IATP): Bridging the Divide: a human rights visvion for global foor trade. http://www.iatp.org/iatp/publications.cfm?refid=104458

20. Useful links • Institute forAgriculture and Trade Policy www.iatp.org • United Kingdom Network forAgriculturalBiodiversitywww.ukabc.org • International PlanningCommitteeon FS www.foodsovereignty.org • Website of Jean Zieglerwww.righttofood.org • La ViaCampesina: www.viacampesina.org • FIAN International: www.foodfirst.org • Our World is notforSale Network: www.owinfs.org