Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food on her mission to Indonesia, A/HRC/40/56/Add.2
The Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, conducted an official visit to Indonesia from 9 to 18 April 2018, at the invitation of the Government. The Special Rapporteur’s objective during the visit was to assess the enjoyment of the right to food in Indonesia, by identifying best practices and the remaining challenges, especially for vulnerable populations, including women, children and populations living in rural and remote areas. Read the full report in six languages here.
Recommendations
92. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government of Indonesia:
(a) Ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights;
(b) Ratify other international instruments that are closely related to the
right to food, such as the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188);
(c) Integrate a human rights-based approach to its legal and policy framework and allocate adequate resources for the implementation and enforcement of its existing legal framework;
(d) Implement fully the FAO Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication and the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security as a means to promote and protect the right to food;
(e) Adjust its social protection schemes aimed at protecting vulnerable populations consistent with a human rights-based approach;
(f) Diversify its current policies, which focus predominantly on rice and other staples, so as to support the production of more diverse and nutritious foods, including fruits and vegetables;
(g) Take into account the cultural traditions and food preferences of various populations while promoting access to healthy food;
(h) Focus economic policies to lower food prices, particularly for more diverse and nutritious foods, in order to address malnutrition throughout the country;
(i) Strengthen and more effectively implement its existing policies designed to address malnutrition throughout the country, including school feeding programmes and programmes for those who lack access to affordable nutritious food;
(j) Be mindful of the archipelago’s vulnerability to the extreme impacts of natural disasters and climate change, as well as its rapid population growth, and decreasing and degrading farmlands;
(k) Take appropriate measures to provide small-holder farmers, fisherfolk,
indigenous peoples, pastoralists, women and girls with access to and control over land, water and other natural resources necessary to produce their own food to feed themselves or to support their livelihoods;
(l) Address barriers to the successful and timely implementation of land redistribution initiatives;
(m) Implement a land registration programme to protect local populations
against large-scale land acquisitions by companies seeking to log, mine and grow palm oil;
(n) Enhance efforts to protect the access of small-scale fisherfolk, men,
women and their families, and coastal communities to water resources and integrate a human rights-based approach into laws related to fisheries and fisheries management;
(o) Ensure that the rights of communities affected by land or water
concessions are fully respected and carry out infrastructure development projects in a manner that does not interfere with the enjoyment of human rights, thus undermining the right to food, particularly of populations living in proximity to the development;
(p) Protect agricultural workers from any labour rights violations or abuses,
in accordance with the Government’s primary duty under international human rights law, and consistent with international labour law instruments;
(q) Ensure that business practices are in line with international human
rights laws and standards, including the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;
(r) Fully integrate the right to food into climate change and disaster policies,
and pay special attention to those who are especially vulnerable, including farmers, fisherfolk, rural populations and coastal communities, while also taking a gender perspective;
(s) Conduct a human rights impact assessment on its free trade agreements and explore ways to protect the right to food, especially for local producers.