First Session on the Right to Adequate Food

The first Intergovernmental meeting on the Right to Adequate Food took place from 21-26 March at FAO headquarters in Rome stressing the efforts that should be made to guarantee the fundamental right of people to be free of hunger.

The objectives of the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) was to elaborate a set of voluntary guidelines to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security. The meeting follows the Declaration of the 2002 World Food Summit: Five Years Later (paragraph 10) which called for the elaboration of voluntary guidelines.

The Right to Adequate Food was first included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 under article 25 (1) which reads, "everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing..." A subsequent confirmation of this right came in 1966 when the the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), also included this topic in its Article (11) 1, "The States parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living…including adequate food…" This covenant came into force in 1976 and gave national governments the primary responsibility in protecting, respecting and fulfilling this right.

In 1996, the leaders of the world gathered in Rome for the World Food Summit and renewed their commitment to the right to adequate food in the Rome Declaration on World Food Security: "We the Heads of State and Government…reaffirm the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free of hunger."

The body in charge of monitoring the realization - and violation - of the right to adequate food is the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as development agencies and financial institutions of the UN system are in charge of providing technical, financial and food assistance.

This first session of the IGWG marks the beginning of intergovernmental efforts towards upholding and promoting activities to fulfil the right to food as hunger is both a violation to human dignity and poses a barrier to development in social, political and economical areas.

The second session of the IGWG will take place in September 2003 continuing the debate and seeking consensus on specific issues.

To download the official documents of the IGWG's first session click here