PHA-Exch> UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, calls for a Special Session of the Human Rights Council on the world food crisis

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Asako Hattori AHattori at ohchr.org


For his background note, please see:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/food/index.htm


  *NEW UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON RIGHT TO FOOD CALLS FOR SPECIAL SESSION OF
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

*
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  New York and Geneva, 2 May 2008

*
The new UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter,
released today - at a press conference held in New York - a statement
calling upon the international community to act, by convening a Special
Session of the UN Human Rights Council as part of its efforts to address the
world food crisis: *

The General Assembly established the UN Human Rights Council (replacing the
Commission on Human Rights) in 2006 to 'contribute, through dialogue and
cooperation, towards the prevention of human rights violations and [to]
respond promptly to human rights emergencies'.

As I assume the functions of UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food,
succeeding Jean Ziegler, the right to adequate food faces the threat of
violation on an unprecedented scale, due to a series of events involving
different actors. None of them seek to violate human rights, but we cannot
ignore their impact on the ability of millions of individuals throughout the
world to enjoy their right to food. The UN is leading international
initiatives to tackle the crisis; its human rights dimensions must be kept
squarely at the centre of all efforts.

The Human Rights Council should, as a matter of urgency, identify what
actions are needed to ensure full respect for the right to adequate food.
Governments cannot remain passive in the current crisis. Passivity or
inappropriate reaction would, in such circumstances, constitute a violation
of the right to food, whether by omission or by commission. The Human Rights
Council was established as a standing body so it would be able to respond to
human rights emergencies. This is one, and the Council should not remain
silent.

There is a range of measures Governments and international actors should
take to tackle the current food crisis. There is a need to combine
short-term measures with those aimed at increasing food supply over the
medium term. On an immediate basis, States should increase their support to
humanitarian agencies - such as the World Food Programme (WFP) - and the
provision of direct cash transfers to the neediest segments of the
population in food-insecure countries. Over the medium and longer term,
farmers - particularly smallscale farmers who do not benefit from the
increase of global prices - need increased investment in irrigation and
infrastructure and greater access to credit. Action is needed to combat
climate change and mitigate its impact on agricultural production, which is
expected to be particularly severe in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Agricultural subsidies, which distort markets, should be phased out as a
matter of urgency. That should be a priority for the current Doha trade
negotiations. The large volume of public resources freed up by elimination
of market-distorting subsidies should be reinvested in agriculture -
particularly in developing countries and in technologies ensuring positive
human rights impact including through environmental sustainability. Freed
resources should also help finance stronger social safety nets, particularly
in developing countries, targetting the poor and other groups vulnerable to
discrimination. Impact on food security must be as central in discussion of
agrofuel production as environmental and social impacts.
*
Olivier De Schutter is professor of Law at the University of Louvain (UCL)
and at the College of Europe (Natolin), and a Member of the Global Law
School Faculty at New York University; he is currently visiting professor at
Columbia University in New York. Mr. De Schutter is an expert on social and
economic rights and on trade and human rights, who served between 2004 and
2008 as a Secretary General of the International Federation for Human Rights
(FIDH). The Human Rights Council approved on 26 March 2008 the proposal of
its President to appoint Mr. De Schutter as Special Rapporteur on Right to
Food, succeeding Jean Ziegler on the mandate as of 1 May 2008. The Special
Rapporteur can be contacted at **srfood at ohchr.org**.*
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