October 2014: A human-rights based approach to food security is necessary to provide access to affordable, nutritious food for all and to eliminate hunger, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Hilal Elver, said in her first report to the UN General Assembly (UNGA). The report describes renewed political commitment as essential to advance the right to adequate food.
In her report, Elver outlines the main areas she intends to focus on, including: analyzing the international legal framework on the right to food, with the aim of identifying good practices; addressing gender gaps on equal assets and productive resources and mainstreaming gender in legislative frameworks and policies related to food security and nutrition; tackling the effects of undernutrition on the most vulnerable; prioritizing the relationship between climate change, the right to food and the post-2015 development agenda; reducing food waste; and considering the impact of conflicts and emergency situations on the right to food.
The report describes the impacts of climate change on agricultural production, poverty reduction, food security and freshwater. The report further explains that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduce the nutrient content of staple food crops, contributing to malnutrition. The Special Rapporteur concludes by stating her intent to focus on “the adverse effects of climate change on the effective enjoyment of human rights (and particularly the right to food).”
Nearly one third of total global food production for human consumption is wasted annually, according to the report. It explains that food waste and losses primarily occur during the early stages of the food value chain, as a result of deficient storage facilities or harvesting techniques in developing countries, while in developed countries consumer behavior has a significant impact on food waste and loss. The Special Rapporteur supports the development of global protocols to measure food loss and waste to improve data reliability and comparability and calls for innovative ideas for tackling food waste.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should be based on a rights-based approach and include mechanisms for transparent, participatory decision-making, particularly for vulnerable groups, according to the report. It recommends, inter alia: targets on asset redistribution on the use of land, oceans, technology, credit and cultural and intellectual property; a qualitative approach to the right to food; support for small-scale family farmers and food producers in policies on food security and sovereignty; and equal access to land ownership, water and seeds.
The Human Rights Council (HRC) appointed Elver as the Special Rapporteur on the right to food on 8 May 2014. She is expected to present a comprehensive report to the HRC in March 2015. [Human Rights Reports to UNGA 69]