16 May 2008: The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights of the UN Economic and Social Council adopted a statement on the world
food crisis, during its fortieth session on 16 May 2008. The statement
(E/C.12/2008/1) calls on all States to address the immediate causes of the food
crisis and urges them to address its structural causes at the national and
international levels, including by: “implementing strategies to combat global
climate change that do not negatively affect the right to adequate food and
freedom from hunger, but rather promote sustainable agriculture, as required by
article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.”

The statement also urges parties to invest in small-scale
agriculture; apply human rights principles, especially those relating to the
right to adequate food and freedom from hunger, by undertaking ex ante impact
assessments of financial, trade and development policies; and apply the FAO’s
Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to
Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security. [Statement]