19 August 2016: The UN Secretary-General (UNSG) has transmitted several reports on human rights to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) ahead of its 71st session. The reports address issues related to the rights to food, drinking water, and sanitation, and the human rights of migrants and of persons with disabilities.

On 3 August 2016, the Secretariat released the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver. The report (A/71/282) discusses the causes of malnutrition, obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It criticizes the harmful impacts of trade liberalization and unregulated marketing of junk food, and warns against promoting technical fixes that do not address the problem of hidden hunger, such as therapeutic foods or bio-fortified products that the poor cannot afford.

The report observes that nutrition is the focus of only one of 169 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets (target 2.2, to “end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons” by 2030), and overweight and obesity do not appear in the SDGs at all. The Special Rapporteur suggests that the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition, proclaimed in April 2016, could be an effective vehicle to strengthen implementation of existing nutrition commitments, but cites the need for adequate arrangements to strengthen review processes and include safeguards against the negative influences of market forces, including a way of managing conflicts of interest that arise from private sector involvement in global nutrition initiatives. Among its recommendations, the report calls on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to endorse the World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on ending the inappropriate promotion of foods for infants and young children.

The report of François Crépeau, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, released on 4 August, speaks against “stereotypes, myths, threats and fantasies” promoted by nationalist populist movements, stressing that the number of migrants worldwide remains low, at 3.3% of global population in 2015, compared with 2.8% in the year 2000. The report (A/71/285) notes that large-scale mobility is inevitable and necessary for the growth and development of a globalized economy, and underlines the importance of a long-term strategic approach to policies on human mobility, in line with SDG target 10.7 (Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies). It argues that the only way to effectively reduce human smuggling is to offer more accessible, regular, safe and affordable mobility solutions, with identity and security checks through efficient visa procedures. In his recommendations, the Special Rapporteur presents desired features of the proposed global compact on migrants, including a stipulation that detention of migrants should always be a measure of last resort, and that children are never to be detained. It also suggests that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) be asked to support the ratification and implementation of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which has had few ratifications to date.

On 5 August, the Secretary-General transmitted the report of the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, Léo Heller. The report (A/71/302) discusses the role of development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector, observing that not all funders have chosen to incorporate human rights into their respective policy frameworks. The report notes that, while the UN High-level Panel on Water has been established to support implementation of water-related aspects of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, the total cost of meeting SDG targets 6.1 (drinking water) and 6.2 (sanitation and hygiene) will be US$114 billion annually, three times higher than current investment levels. It calls on the Panel to address the tendency of funders to favor a business-oriented approach to water and sanitation, and to include a wider plurality of stakeholders and viewpoints, in the interests of successfully introducing the human right to water and sanitation to development cooperation.

The report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Catalina Devandas-Aguilar, transmitted on 9 August, provides guidance to UN Member States on how to establish disability-inclusive policies, in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): key components of such policies include the principles of non-discrimination and accessibility, and free access to assistive technologies and support services. The report (A/71/314) recommends that UN Member States adequately include persons with disabilities in reviewing their respective national policies against the SDGs, and incorporate in all national surveys and censuses the set of questions formulated by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics, so as to gather data that is disaggregated on the basis of disability.

The UN also issued a report of the Secretary-General on accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities at the UN, in terms of its conference facilities, information and documentation, and human resources. The report, titled ‘Towards the full realization of an inclusive and accessible United Nations for persons with disabilities’ (A/71/344), issued on 19 August, describes work that has already been done to make UN processes and its premises more accessible, and commits to undertake further measures in this regard. [Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food] [Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants] [Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation] [Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities] [Report of the Secretary-General: Towards the Full Realization of an Inclusive and Accessible United Nations for Persons with Disabilities] [UN Human Rights Council Webpage on Reports to UNGA 71] [List of Special Rapporteurs]