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THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD

THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD. George Kent University of Hawai’i. THE PROBLEM. MALNUTRITION. 200 million malnourished children 1 billion adults seriously underweight Maternal anemia…>80% in some countries Infections, cancer, heart disease, obesity…

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THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD

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  1. THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD George Kent University of Hawai’i

  2. THE PROBLEM

  3. MALNUTRITION • 200 million malnourished children • 1 billion adults seriously underweight • Maternal anemia…>80% in some countries • Infections, cancer, heart disease, obesity… • Of the millions of children’s deaths each year, more than half are associated with malnutrition

  4. YEAR CHILD DEATHS 1960 18,900,000 1970 17,400,000 1980 14,700,000 1990 12,700,000 1991 12,821,000 1992 13,191,000 1993 13,272,000 1994 12,588,000 1995 12,465,000 1996 11,694,000 1997 11,574,000 1998 11,140,000 1999 10,630,000

  5. MORTALITY RISK FACTORS, 1990

  6. THE ANALYSIS

  7. Why is there so much hunger? • Technology? • Not enough land? • Not enough food? • People don’t know how to produce food? • Poverty?

  8. FOOD TRADE: 2000 • Japan imported $46 billion worth of food. • The U.S. imported $80 billion worth of food.

  9. The poor feed the rich!

  10. ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS • Each Japanese and each U.S. citizen is estimated to consume production of 10 acres outside their countries, placing a higher demand on global resources than any other individuals.* *Earth Day Network http://www.earthday.net/goals/footprintnations.stm

  11. WHY DO PEOPLE PRODUCE FOOD? • Subsistence food producers produce mainly to feed themselves. • Commercial food systems respond mainly to power, not need. Farmers and other food producers work mainly for income, not because they are concerned about other people’s health and well-being.

  12. AVAILABILITY VS. ACCESS • Availability -- is there food around? Access -- can you get enough of it?

  13. FAILURE OF ENTITLEMENTS • “What we can eat depends on what food we are able to acquire . . . . If a group of people fail to establish their entitlement over an adequate amount of food, they have to go hungry (Drèze and Sen, 1989)

  14. There is ALWAYS enough food for those who have money!

  15. People usually get food either by producing it, or by earning money to buy food. If they cannot produce it or buy it, they have no basis for making a claim on it.

  16. Lack of entitlement Food may be available in the community, in the stores, but poor people do not have access to it. They are not entitled to it.

  17. BASES FOR ENTITLEMENT • Own production • Exchange • Gift • Human rights?

  18. THE RESPONSE

  19. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT HUNGER? • Provide people with land? Whose? • Job training? For what jobs? • Feed the hungry? For how long? Who will pay? • Who has what responsibilities with regard to hunger?

  20. TRADITIONAL REMEDIES • National Nutrition and Holistic Care Program, Costa Rica • Tamil Nadu Integrated Nutrition Project, India • Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), U.S. • Joint WHO/UNICEF Nutrition Support Program, Tanzania • Alternative School Nutrition Program, Philippines

  21. THE HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH • Every individual should have adequate food. • Every individual has a right to adequate food.

  22. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFINITION • A human right is a claim that the government must do or desist from doing specific things to further human dignity. • Human rights are universal, enjoyed by all persons by virtue of their being human.

  23. MAJOR HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTS • Charter of the United Nations, 1945 • Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966/1976 • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966/1976 • Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989/1990

  24. RIGHTS SYSTEMS • A. Rights-holders and their rights • B. Duty-bearers and their obligations • C. Agents of accountability and their procedures for assuring that duty bearers meet their obligations to the rights holders

  25. THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD Not just a nice idea! It is in the law!

  26. FOOD RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948): “…everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food … (Article 25)”

  27. INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS (1976) • The States Parties recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing, and housing (Article 11). • Recognizes “…the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger . . . ”

  28. CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD (1990) • States Parties “…recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health …” • “…shall take appropriate measures to combat disease and malnutrition . . . through provision of adequate nutritious foods… (Article 24)”

  29. GENERAL COMMENT 12: DEFINITION “The right to adequate food is realized when every man, woman and child, alone or in community with others, has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement. “

  30. LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT OBLIGATION • Respect - government must not interfere with access to adequate food • Protect - government must prevent others from interfering • Fulfill (facilitate) - must establish enabling conditions so people can provide for themselves • Fulfill (provide) - government must feed directly

  31. The Obligation to Facilitate • “The obligation to fulfil (facilitate) means the State must pro-actively engage in activities intended to strengthen people's access to and utilization of resources and means to ensure their livelihood, including food security.” (General Comment 12)

  32. Facilitating means helping people help themselves. • Governments must ensure that there are enabling conditions so that people can provide for themselves, either by producing food directly, or by earning income and then purchasing their food.

  33. SPECIAL TOPICS • Nutrition Rights in Specific Places • Nutrition Rights in Specific Programs (e.g., TINP, WIC) • Nutrition Rights of Refugees • Nutrition Rights in Complex Emergencies • Nutrition Rights of Infants • Nutrition Rights of Prisoners • Human Right to Water • Micronutrients (e.g., iodine, iron, Vitamin A) • HIV/AIDS (Eugene, Camden court cases) • Rights-based agency programming • India’s Grain Storage Case • National Framework Legislation

  34. THANK YOU!

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