COVID-19: Economic sanctions should be lifted to prevent hunger crises – UN expert
31 March 2020
GENEVA – A UN human rights expert called for the immediate lifting of international sanctions to prevent hunger crises in countries hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The continued imposition of crippling economic sanctions on Syria, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, and, to a lesser degree, Zimbabwe, to name the most prominent instances, severely undermines the ordinary citizens’ fundamental right to sufficient and adequate food,” said Hilal Elver, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
“These countries are already under stress and cannot handle the additional burden of sanctions. As the world exhibits new bonds of solidarity in response to the pandemic, it is now a matter of humanitarian and practical urgency to lift unilateral economic sanctions immediately.
“With connectivity among States more apparent than ever, it is clearly in the interest of all States, even those imposing sanctions, to immediately terminate such aggressive policies that weaken our institutional capacity to cope with the spreading pandemic,” Elver said.
Read the full statement here.
“Zero hunger” remains a distant reality for far too many, says UN expert
5 March 2020
GENEVA – To reach the goal of “zero hunger” that remains a distant reality for tens of millions of people, States, international organizations and civil society must adopt a holistic, coordinated and rights-based approach with increased participation of those most affected, said a UN expert in a report presented to the Human Rights Council.
“Realizing the right to food requires more than just eliminating hunger and malnutrition; it also requires guaranteeing access to nutritious, adequate food and promoting the survival of smallholder farmers and rural communities,” said Hilal Elver, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food.
In her final thematic report to the Council, the Special Rapporteur provides guidance on recommended actions for realizing the right to food given trends towards globalization and commodification of food systems.
“The current industrial agricultural model mistreats animals, emits greenhouse gases, relies on toxic pesticides, pollutes ecosystems, displaces and abuses agricultural workers and fisher folk, and disrupts traditional farming communities,” the expert says. “Put simply, the human rights of women, children, migrants, indigenous peoples, peasants, and small holder farmers are often violated.”
Read the full statement here.
Read the Special Rapporteur’s Statement from the HRC43 Interactive Dialogue, 3 March 2020, here.
Joint statement by UN human rights experts* – 1st anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas
The need to take steps to implement the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas
17 December 2019
The following joint statement has been made by a group of United Nations human rights experts* to mark the 1st anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas by the UN General Assembly on 17 December 2018.
“The UNDROP builds on a number of binding international treaties from which it has taken agreed language, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Protocols, and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
The implementation of the UNDROP represents a unique and precedent-setting opportunity to redress various forms of discrimination, systematic violations and historical disadvantage that have affected peasants and other people working in rural areas along decades. They represent 80% of the world’s hungry1, 70% of those living in extreme poverty2, and produce 80% of the world’s food supply, as stated by the Committee on World Food Security. The UNDROP is a call for justice based on the culmination of grievances and struggles of the world’s peasantry.
As UN human rights experts, we have witnessed in our work the need to better protect the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas, and we urge States to implement the UNDROP in good faith. The broad recognition of the new norms defined in the UNDROP is crucial to the advancement of an inclusive human rights movement.
Read the full statement here.
Zimbabwe facing man-made starvation, says UN expert
GENEVA / HARARE (28 November 2019) – The independent UN human rights expert was presenting her assessment on the current situation in Zimbabwe, concerning all aspects related to the right to food, following a 11-day visit to the country.
Because of hyperinflation, which, said Ms. Elver, has reached some 490 per cent, more than 60 per cent of the population is now “food-insecure”, in a country once seen as the breadbasket of Africa: “In rural areas, a staggering 5.5 million people are currently facing food insecurity, as poor rains and erratic weather patterns are impacting harvests and livelihoods”, she said. “In urban areas, an estimated 2.2 million people are food-insecure and lack access to minimum public services, including health and safe water”.
Ms. Elver described the figures as “shocking”, and warned that, due to factors such as poverty and high unemployment, widespread corruption, severe price instabilities, and unilateral economic sanctions, the crisis is getting worse. Read the UN story here and the UN news release here.
Azerbaijan’s flourishing farming sector needs support for smallholders, says UN food expert
GENEVA / BAKU (11 October 2019) – Vigorous economic growth and social transformation over the past 20 years have turned Azerbaijan into an impressive upper middle-income country, but it should work towards economic diversification and provide help for smallholders, says visiting UN human rights expert Hilal Elver.
“The fragility of Azerbaijan’s economy because of its heavy dependence on oil and gas production highlights a need for diversification by increasing investments in the non-oil sector,” said Elver, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, presenting a preliminary statement at the end of her 11-day visit.
“The Government is focusing its efforts on developing the country’s agricultural potential and on increasing productivity to guarantee economic stability. But this is still in its early stages and needs to incorporate a human rights-based approach to ensure sustainable development that is sensitive to the needs and traditions of the country’s regions and people of various ethnic backgrounds. Read the full UN news release here.
Failing to protect biodiversity can be a human rights violation – UN experts
GENEVA (25 June 2019) ‑ A group of UN experts* has warned the erosion of nature, the extinction of species and the loss of biological diversity at unprecedented rates severely threatens human rights for present and future generations.
In a statement following the release of a new scientific report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the independent experts said they were alarmed at the accelerating loss of biodiversity on which humanity depends. The most comprehensive global assessment of the state of nature found more than one million species are threatened with extinction.
“The loss of global biodiversity is having and will continue to have devastating effects on a wide range of human rights for decades to come. This report is a stark reminder that we can simply not enjoy our basic human rights to life, health, food and safe water without a healthy environment”, David Boyd, a UN expert on human rights and the environment, said today. Read the full UN news release here.
UN experts urge ILO to back safe and healthy work conditions as a ‘fundamental’ right
GENEVA (13 June 2019) – UN experts today urged the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to immediately recognise and adopt safe and healthy working conditions as one of its fundamental principles and rights at work.
“Millions of workers around the world suffer from diseases and disabilities due to unsafe and unhealthy conditions of work. It is estimated that approximately two million workers die prematurely each year because of an unsafe or unhealthy workplace,” the experts* said as the ILO held its centenary conference in Geneva.
“Safe and healthy working conditions have been explicitly recognised under the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights since 1966 as a fundamental aspect of the right to just and favourable conditions of work. However, despite ILO Convention 155, the right to safe and healthy working conditions is not among the “Fundamental principles and rights at work” recognised by the ILO.” The draft “ILO Centenary outcome document,” currently under discussion, proposes that ILO recognise occupational safety and health as a fundamental principle and right at work. Read the full UN news release here.
Cheap seafood endangers fish workers right to food – UN expert
GENEVA (28 February 2019) – Low wages and horrendous working conditions on fishing vessels, fish farms and in processing factories have a serious impact on the everyday lives of the workers’ families, Hilal Elver, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food said during her presentation to the Human Rights Council today.
“Most of the 120 million people working in the fisheries sector – often exposed to dangerous conditions and working up to 20 hours a day – don’t earn a living wage. They therefore fail to fulfil their families’ basic needs including food, clothing, housing, education and healthcare,” the expert stressed.
Around 24,000 workers in the fish industry die each year, and many more are seriously injured, even permanently. People working in fish farms often face serious health issues due to exposure to toxic chemicals. Yet, they and their families fail to receive compensation as they tend to work informally outside of national labour and social protection schemes, plunging the families into poverty. Read the full UN news release here.
Venezuela: Bachelet condemns killings, urges restraint and calls for dialogue to halt spiralling crisis
GENEVA (25 January 2019) – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Friday condemned, and called for effective investigations into, the violence that has led to a number of deaths and injuries during this week’s protests in Venezuela. She urged all sides to conduct immediate talks to defuse the increasingly incendiary atmosphere.
At least 20 people are reported by credible local sources to have died after allegedly being shot by security forces or members of pro-government armed groups during demonstrations on Tuesday and Wednesday, with many others reported injured by bullets, buckshot and rubber bullets.
“Any violent incident resulting in death or injury should be subject to an independent and impartial investigation to find out whether there was excessive use of force by the authorities, or if crimes have been committed by members of armed groups, whether pro-government or otherwise,” said Bachelet. “I am extremely concerned that the situation in Venezuela may rapidly spiral out of control with catastrophic consequences.” Read the full UN news release here.
Agricultural workers are among world’s hungriest, says UN expert
NEW YORK (23 October 2018) – Agricultural workers are among the world’s most hungry and are largely excluded from national legal protective frameworks, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, said in New York today.
States need to step up to ensure that the people who produce our food do not go hungry, and that their fundamental rights are fully respected, Hilal Elver conveyed in her annual report.
The Special Rapporteur said that agricultural workers, who comprise approximately one third of the world’s workforce, over one billion people, face formidable barriers to the realization of their right to food, often working without labour and employment protections and under dangerous conditions.
She further explained that many of the agricultural workers are employed in the industrial food system that currently dominates the world. This system focuses on increasing food production and maximizing profitability at the lowest possible economic cost at the expense of workers. Read the full UN news release here.
UN expert: Argentina should avoid dismantling family farming at times of economic crisis
GENEVA / BUENOS AIRES (21 September 2018) – The Government of Argentina should support the country’s family farming sector in order to protect food availability, says the UN expert on food and human rights.
Family farmers represent almost 80 per cent of farmers in Argentina and produce nearly half of the vegetables and fruits consumed in the country.
“I understand the challenges faced by Argentina, but I am critical of the Government’s decision to take advantage of the ongoing economic crisis to dismantle support for the country’s family farming sector by laying off almost five hundred workers and experts from the Ministry of Agroindustry. This action seems to be targeted to further promote export-orientated industrial agriculture mainly of soybean and maize,” said Hilal Elver, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food as she presented a statement at the end of a 10-day fact-finding visit to the country. Read the full UN news release here.
Argentina: UN expert to assess right to adequate food
GENEVA / BUENOS AIRES (7 September 2018) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, will visit Argentina from 12 to 21 September 2018 to gather first-hand information on the country’s realization of the right to food.
“I look forward to assessing the level of enjoyment of the right to food in Argentina,” said the independent expert designated by the UN Human Rights Council to report on the full realization of the right to food around the world.
Read the full UN news release here.
UN experts say Monsanto ruling is a first step to “victory for human rights”
GENEVA (15 August 2018) – Two UN human rights* experts welcomed the decision by a California court awarding $289 million compensation to school groundkeeper Mr. Dewayne Johnson after a jury found that the company did not place a warning label on its weedkillers that widespread use could cause terminal cancer.
On 10 August 2018, the jury in the Superior Court of California in San Francisco found Monsanto liable for Mr. Johnson’s cancer and ordered that the company pay $39 million in compensation and $250 million in punitive damages. The decision reflected the 2015 assessment that glyphosate (a component of Monsanto’s principal weedkiller product) was classified by the World Health Organization as “probably carcinogenic to humans”.
Read the full UN news release here.
Zambia: UN expert to assess situation of the right to adequate food
GENEVA / LUSAKA (27 April 2017) – The situation of the right to food in Zambia will be investigated by United Nations Special Rapporteur Hilal Elver, during an official visit from 3 to 12 May 2017.
“I will pay special attention to the situation of peasants and smallholders, including women, and the efforts made to improve their livelihoods,” Ms. Elver said, launching the first visit to the country by an independent expert on the right to food mandated by the Human Rights Council.
Read the full UN news release here.
Pesticides are “global human rights concern”, say UN experts urging new treaty
GENEVA (8 March 2017) – Two United Nations experts are calling for a comprehensive new global treaty to regulate and phase out the use of dangerous pesticides in farming, and move towards sustainable agricultural practices. They say: “excessive use of pesticides are very dangerous to human health, to the environment and it is misleading to claim they are vital to ensuring food security.”
The Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, and the Special Rapporteur on Toxics, Baskut Tuncak, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that widely divergent standards of production, use and protection from hazardous pesticides in different countries are creating double standards, which are having a serious impact on human rights.
Read the full UN news release here.
“Paraguay produces food for 60 million people, yet parts of its own population face hunger and malnutrition” – UN expert
GENEVA / ASUNCIÓN (10 November 2016) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, today warned that 10 percent of Paraguay’s seven million people face hunger and malnutrition despite a decade of impressive economic growth and the fact that it produces food for almost nine times its population.
“Paraguay has struggled to address inequalities -higher than in most neighboring countries- and important segments of society are still excluded from the country’s economic development and suffer from food insecurity,” Ms. Elver said at the end of her first official visit to the country. “Rates of extreme poverty are three times higher amongst rural and indigenous communities than in urban areas,” the expert stressed.
Read the full UN news release here.