Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food on her mission to Morocco, A/HRC/31/51/Add.2
Presented to the Human Rights Council during its thirty-first session. The report is available in full text here.
Note by the Secretariat
The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food on her country visit to Morocco from 5 to 12 October 2015. In the report, the Special Rapporteur examines the general challenges facing Morocco in implementing measures to ensure the realization of the right to adequate food and nutrition. The Special Rapporteur highlights the particular difficulties encountered by the most vulnerable groups affected along with the challenges preventing them from their full enjoyment of the right to adequate food. The report recognizes the important steps already taken by the Government to realize the right to food, and highlights a number of recommendations for consideration by all stakeholders, in particular the development of a national framework law on the right to food.
Conclusions and Recommendations
61. In recent years, Morocco has embarked on a proactive process of modernization and democratization, and the country has made impressive strides in reducing poverty, through the introduction of crucial economic and social reforms. The adoption of a wide range of policies and programmes to ensure the effective enjoyment of the right to food, as part of the right to an adequate standard of living, should be commended. However, as evidenced in this report, considerable challenges remain, particularly in regard to tackling inequality and vulnerability, along with increasing disparities in income between regions, as well as between urban and rural areas. Although the emergence of a free market economy has assisted with the impressive growth experienced by the country in recent years, this growth has not benefited all. While some parts of the country are being transformed, poverty remains particularly high in rural and remote areas as the income gap widens. The disproportionate impact of unemployment on young people and women also needs to be addressed, as does the lack of implementation of legislation promoting right to food policies. As one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the adverse effects of climate change, Morocco also faces a significant challenge in ensuring that its food sources are protected.
62. The Special Rapporteur commends the Government’s Morocco Green Plan, which has enormous potential for transforming the agricultural sector into a stable source of growth, competitiveness and broad-based economic development. However, more work is necessary to accomplish the plan and to ensure that everyone benefits,particularly smallholder farmers in rural and remote areas. Steps should therefore be taken to ensure that poor households producing high-valued local products receive fair market value and are effectively consulted in decisions that affect their livelihoods. Large-scale farming operatives targeted through Pillar I of the Plan should avoid resource depletion as a result of intensive agricultural practices. If this balance is struck between the two Pillars, the Special Rapporteur believes that the Plan could enhance its role as a determining role in improving food security, and inspire other countries in the region as a model of good practice.
63. In order to ensure a future where everyone will benefit from Morocco’s economic growth, action must be taken to more effectively implement food security policies. In the long term, higher growth rates need to be achieved, which will lead to sustainable job creation while proving to be more inclusive. The quality and governance of public services, including for youths and women, must be strengthened, while the development model needs to be environmentally sustainable. Civil society will play an essential role in fortifying Morocco’s commitment to guaranteeing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the future, and should be encouraged to incorporate economic, social and cultural rights in its manifesto, particularly the right to food.
64. The Special Rapporteur offers the following specific recommendations to the Government.
Legal and institutional framework
65. Ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
66. Devise and adopt a national right to food framework law based on time-bound benchmarks and effective implementation plans for each region. The framework should also include the necessary budgetary and fiscal measures to ensure sustainability in the long term. Authorities and agencies responsible for implementation should be identified and appropriate monitoring and accountability mechanisms established. The full and active participation of all actors concerned should be ensured, including the most vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition.
67. Ensure proper implementation of existing laws by strengthening monitoring and accountability mechanisms; ensure that laws currently under revision are in line with international human rights standards.
68. Ensure that, going forward, adequate resources are provided to implement the poverty reduction measures outlined in the National Initiative for Human Development, with particular focus on reviewing the structural disparities in implementation, and targeting the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, particularly those living in remote areas.
69. Promote and encourage independent civil society as a means of fortifying Morocco’s commitment to guaranteeing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the future, and encourage the incorporation of economic, social and cultural rights in its manifesto, particularly the right to food.
Morocco Green Plan
70. Strengthen monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure that agricultural intensification projects launched through Pillar I of the Plan are environmentally sustainable and avoid resource depletion.
Agriculture
71. Develop programmes to strengthen community organizations, through necessary training and support to enable them to take charge of their own development and ensure diversification of agricultural activities offering alternative employment opportunities.
72. Regularly review policies in relation to imports and emergency supplies to ensure that food security is retained.
73. Encourage an enabling framework for farmers to use agro-ecological practices and provide training on alternative methods of pest control as a means of avoiding the excessive use of synthetic pesticides.
74. Increase already established monitoring mechanisms to ensure that annual fishing permits are distributed in a transparent manner in accordance with international fishing regulations.
Environmental issues and climate change
75. Prioritize vulnerability assessments, adaptation and mitigation financing and support to urban poor, small farmers and coastal communities that are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
76. Promote the conservation and management of agricultural biodiversity to ensure genetic diversity in order to sustain the natural resource base for farmer resilience, innovation and adaptation to climate change.
77. Increase implementation of environmental laws to protect the watersheds, forests and rivers, which are the primary sources of food. Mechanisms to prevent soil erosion and flooding, and to enrich biodiversity, should be implemented.
Women
78. Promote awareness and facilitate the participation of local populations, particularly women and youths, with the support of non-governmental organizations, in development measures to tackle the impact of climate change.
79. Take all measures necessary to eliminate prejudices and negative practices that undermine women’s enjoyment of rights in line with the obligations assumed by Morocco under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.
80. Strengthen the participation of women in relation to the right to food, particularly at the decision-making level. Provision should be made for women who live in remote areas to be able to participate fully in political life.
81. Implement the provisions of the Habous Code and take measures to eliminate the sociocultural barriers currently preventing women from exercising their right to land.
82. Take measures to promote healthy eating among women and highlight the negative health risks associated with overweight and obesity.
83. Raise awareness about optimal breastfeeding practices among the population and support women and their families to practice optimal infant and young children feeding practices.
84. Strengthen implementation and enforcement of the Breastfeeding Code and establish an independent monitoring system.
85. Review, analyse and modify policies and programmes on poverty reduction to ensure that gender concerns are taken into account in effective ways.
86. Encourage the implementation of gender-sensitive budgeting as an operational tool to develop assessments of public policies from a gender perspective.
87. Improve the identification of eligible beneficiaries of social protection schemes, in order to ensure that they reach the poorest and most disadvantaged sectors of society, including those living in rural areas; implement measures to ensure that targeting of beneficiaries is transparent and that corruption is eradicated at all levels within the system.
Children
88. Ensure that the State budget reflects a commitment to children’s rights by guaranteeing equitable and adequate allocation of resources for the provision of essential services for children, particularly in ensuring their right to healthy and nutritious food.
89. Reinforce efforts to allocate appropriate resources, and develop, adopt and implement coordinated policies and programmes to improve and protect the nutrition of children, particularly in rural areas.
90. Facilitate greater and equal access to primary health service, reduce the incidence of maternal, child and infant mortality, and promote proper breastfeeding practices in line with the recommendations highlighted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The role of social workers should be strengthened and they should be remunerated accordingly to ensure that the rights of children to access adequate and nutritious food are effectively monitored, and awareness in relation to good nutrition is raised at the family level.
Unemployed youth
91. Strengthen existing efforts to significantly reduce the unemployment rate by targeting women and young people, and increase the number of retraining programmes and vocational and technical training programmes, as well as incentives for employers to create jobs, and hire women and youth where appropriate.
Persons with disabilities
92. Expedite Draft Law 97.13 on the protection and advancement of persons with disabilities, currently being reviewed in Parliament, in order to ensure the legal protection of persons with disabilities.
93. Ensure that a disability perspective is taken fully into account in nutrition policy and programming, maternal and child health policy, and broader health initiatives.
Dakhla, Western Sahara
94. Adopt a human rights-based poverty reduction strategy that specifically targets the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, with sufficient financial and other resources allocated to ensure implementation and guarantee that resources are fairly distributed among all those affected by poverty, in line with the recommendations made by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
95. Ensure that existing educational resources benefit the local population and introduce mechanisms to significantly reduce unemployment and develop technical training programmes for Sahrawi people as well as incentives for employers to hire young people without discrimination.
96. Monitor the implementation of education and youth programmes, and ensure that the local population is afforded equal opportunities to education and employment, with a view to reducing poverty and guaranteeing food and nutrition security for all, in line with international law.