Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food on her mission to Philippines, A/HRC/31/51/Add.1
The Special Rapporteur presented this report to the Human Rights Council during its thirty-first session, and is available in six languages 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 the Philippines from 20 to 27 February 2015. The report examines the general challenges facing the Philippines 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 Special Rapporteur notes that, despite the country’s impressive growth rate in recent years, economic prosperity has not been inclusive. In her report, she 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.
Concluding observations and recommendations
64. The Philippines has adopted 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. However, as evidenced in the present report, considerable challenges remain, particularly with regard to the increasing income gap between the rich and the poor and a lack of implementation in relation to legislation and right-to-food policies. Moreover, 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 very high and is becoming entrenched not only in rural areas but also in urban centres as the income gap widens. The situation is particularly difficult for those in remote areas and regions affected by conflict, as well as those living in extreme poverty and the unemployed. Given the significant role played by the agricultural sector, unsustainable export-oriented agro-industry, as well as large land acquisition projects for cash crops, should be avoided in order to protect smallholder farmers and maintain self-sufficiency. As one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the adverse effects of climate change, the Philippines also faces a significant challenge in ensuring that its food sources are protected.
65. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government:
(a) Devise and adopt a national right-to-food framework law based on timebound benchmarks and effective implementation plans for each region. The framework should also include the budgetary and fiscal measures necessary 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, including those most vulnerable to hunger, should be ensured;
(b) Expedite the Right to Adequate Food Bill and allocate the necessary budgetary and human resources for its effective implementation as a matter of priority;
(c) Ensure that efforts are made to pass the National Land Use and Management Act, the Agrarian Reform Extension Law and all other pending bills relating to the right to adequate food and nutrition;
(d) Ensure implementation of the agrarian reform programme under the Constitution of the Philippines and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, especially its provision on the right of rural women, as a matter of priority;
(e) Establish a programme to mitigate hunger and increase household income, for example, sustainable livelihood programmes for food producers such as smallholder agriculture and fisheries in the country within the framework of sustainability;
(f) Develop a clear programme on the development of smallholder agriculture and fisheries within the framework of sustainability. This should be coupled with adequate and appropriate public investment in support services for access to socialized credit, seeds, fertilizer, farm machinery and infrastructure such as farm-tomarket roads and post-harvest and irrigation facilities. Access to markets should be guaranteed;
(g) Produce guidelines through the Department of Agriculture to delineate municipal waters to protect the livelihoods of artisanal fisherfolk from commercial trawlers. The space occupied by fish cages in mariculture parks should not exceed what is prescribed by law, and fish cages exceeding the limit should be removed;
(h) Ensure that adequate basic social services, including food and drinking water, are made available to all indigenous peoples in the country to the maximum extent possible, as also recommended by the previous Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples;
(i) Ensure women’s participation in the development of a food security plan that ensures support for women having access to sustainable agriculture and community-based coastal resource management, and implement laws on women such as the Magna Carta of Women Act, including its section 20, on food security and productive resources;
(j) Implement campaigns to raise awareness among women of their rights to land, particularly in rural areas;
(k) Continue to invest in essential services with the aim of eradicating stunting as part of the national development plan, and consider establishing a specific unit within the national poverty agency to monitor child nutrition, with particular emphasis on child stunting;
(l) 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;
(m) Ensure that national legislation is in line with the obligations of the Philippines according to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and consider establishing a task force to identify the main principles and standards of the Convention that have yet to be incorporated into national legislation;
(n) Implement legislative provisions to ensure that children with disabilities, particularly those living in rural areas, have access to adequate food and nutrition;
(o) Comply with the duty to protect individuals and communities against human rights abuses in the context of economic activities and ensure access to effective remedy for victims, particularly within the extractive industries. In addition, efforts should be made to ensure development of a range of strategies that enhance the country’s ability to conserve and protect its environment and to empower local communities;
(p) Prioritize vulnerability assessments, adaptation and mitigation financing and support for the urban poor, small farmers and coastal communities who are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change;
(q) 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;
(r) Enforce environmental laws to protect 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;
(s) Implement human rights impact assessments as a means of building trust between the authorities in charge of development projects and the affected communities. Such a process should be conducted in a transparent manner, with the provision of adequate information to affected communities; include the full consideration of all alternatives; and be undertaken prior to the launch of any project, rather than as a means to validate a project that has already commenced;
(t) Consolidate existing social protection schemes, to diminish fragmentation and bureaucratic procedures and ensure that targeting methods are employed with the aim of progressively achieving universal coverage.