Reference Materials

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Human Right to Adequate Food

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966 entry into force 3 January 1976, in accordance with article 27.

The Right to Adequate Food, OHCHR Fact Sheet No. 34, OHCHR/FAO (2010)

This Fact Sheet explains what the right to adequate food is, illustrates its implications for specific individuals and groups, and elaborates upon State parties’ obligations with respect to this human right. The Fact Sheet also provides an overview of national, regional and international accountability and monitoring mechanisms.

 

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 12 (1999)

At the 1996 World Food Summit, States agreed to cut in half the number of undernourished people by 2015. States also requested clarification with respect to their obligations to respect, protect and fulfill the right to food in accordance with international human rights law. The Committee on Economic, Social and Social Rights responded to this call by issuing general comment No. 12 (1999), which defines and elaborates the right to food.

FAO, Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security (2004)

The Voluntary Guidelines represent the first attempt by governments to interpret an economic, social and cultural right and to recommend actions to be undertaken for its realization. The objective of the Voluntary Guidelines is to provide practical guidance to States in their implementation of the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security, in order to achieve the goals of the World Food Summit Plan of Action. Relevant stakeholders could also benefit from such guidance.

The Voluntary Guidelines cover the full range of actions to be considered by governments at the national level in order to build an enabling environment for people to feed themselves in dignity and to establish appropriate safety nets for those who are unable to do so. They can be used to strengthen and improve current development frameworks, particularly with regard to social and human dimensions, putting the entitlements of people more firmly at the centre of development. The Voluntary Guidelines represent a step towards integrating human rights into the work of agencies dealing with food and agriculture, such as FAO, as called for by the United Nations Secretary-General within his UN reforms. They provide an additional instrument to combat hunger and poverty and to accelerate attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Global Network for the Right to Food and Nutrition, State of the Right to Food and Nutrition Report 2020

 

The 2020 State of Food Security and Nutrition (SOFI) report confirms that hunger continues to be on the rise. The number of additional undernourished people is up by 10 million in the past year and by 60 million since 2014. After revising China’s undernourishment estimates of the past two decades, there is a downward shift in the estimated global hunger figures to 690 million people, but this does not change the upward trend observed during the past years, SOFI insists. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic could push an additional 83 to 132 million people into hunger. However, SOFI makes clear that even without the negative effects of COVID-19, the Zero Hunger by 2030 target of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 is an illusion. These 3 – figures only confirm the pressing need to protect human rights at a time when accountability mechanisms are gravely undermined, and transnational corporations (TNCs) continue to capture governance spaces. This has been emphasized by a recent report of the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), calling for food security and nutrition thinking to urgently prioritize the right to food and a food systems analytical framework in the context of the SDGs 2030 Agenda.

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Agroecology

HLPE Report #14: Agroecological and other innovative approaches for sustainable agriculture and food systems that enhance food security and nutrition 

The High Level Panel of Experts for Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) is the science–policy interface of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) that is, at the global level, the foremost inclusive and evidence-based international and intergovernmental platform for food security and nutrition (FSN). The HLPE reports serve as a common, evidence-based starting point for the multi-stakeholder process of policy convergence in the CFS. In October 2017, the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) requested the HLPE to produce a report on “Agroecological approaches and other innovations for sustainable agriculture and food systems that enhance food security and nutrition” to inform its discussions during the 46th CFS Plenary Session in October 2019 and to build a better understanding of the roles that agroecological and other innovative approaches, practices and technologies can play. v This report and its recommendations aim at presenting decision-makers, in the different “spheres of society”, with evidence on the potential contribution of agroecological and other innovative approaches, practices and technologies to design and implement sustainable food systems that contribute to FSN.

Handbook on Agroecology: Farmers’ Manual on Sustainable Practices

This handbook is third in the series of booklets on Agroecology for small and marginal farmers, brought out by the Focus on the Global South in partnership with the Rosa LuxembergStiftung (RLS), South Asia. This booklet is aimed to educate and inform farmers about diverse possibility of sustainable and safe food production methods and its techniques. This handbook is designed as a practical guide to these different practices of agroecology and their specific principles, techniques and strategies.

There are several agroecological practices are quite prevalent in India and several organisations are also working for promotion of one or the other forms of these low cost agricultural practices. Still many small farmers in India are unwilling to suddenly switch over to these sustainable agricultural practices due lack of incentives, low availability of resources, fear of loss of crop, increased initial costs, lack of proper government support etc. Therefore, some efforts are urgently required to educate and inform farmers about the urgent need to change to sustainable and safe food production methods.

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Children

Joint Advocacy Brief: Protecting Children’s Right to a Healthy Food Environment

UNICEF’s flagship report, The State of the World’s Children 2019, highlights that at least 1 in 3 children under 5 are not growing well due to one or more forms of malnutrition. This statistic and other data provided throughout the report underscore how current food systems, and the food environments surrounding us in our daily lives, are failing children and failing to protect their to nutritious, safe, affordable and sustainable food and diets. As a result, millions of children face multiple forms of malnutrition – including undernutrition, hidden hunger and overweight – that are threatening their survival, growth and development, and impeding the progress of economies and nations.

As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the progress made in recognizing children’s rights, we must also reflect on the unfinished agenda and emphasize the continuing obligations of governments2 to guarantee special safeguards for children, specific to their needs and vulnerabilities. This joint advocacy brief between the Special Rapporteur and UNICEF explores how a child rights-based approach can and should be used to create and safeguard food environments that better enable healthy diets for children and contribute to the fulfilment of the fundamental right to healthy food and adequate nutrition, to which all children are entitled.

Climate Change and Environment

A Multi- Billion-Dollar Opportunity: Repurposing agricultural support to transform food systems

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This joint FAO-UNDP-UNEP report calls for governments to rethink the way agriculture is subsidized and supported. The majority (87%) of $540 billion of support to agricultural producers is either price distorting or harmful to nature and health. Repurposing this support can help transform food systems and achieve the SDGs

 

 
 
 
 

 

UN Environment, Global Environment Outlook 6: Healthy Planet, Healthy People

Published in time for the Fourth United Nations Environmental Assembly, UN Environment’s sixth Global Environment Outlook (2019) calls on decision makers to take immediate action to address pressing environmental issues to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals as well as other Internationally Agreed Environment Goals, such as the Paris Agreement.

GEO-6 builds on the findings of previous GEO reports, including the six regional assessments (2016), and outlines the current state of the environment, illustrates possible future environmental trends and analyses the effectiveness of policies. This flagship report shows how governments can put the world on the path to a truly sustainable future. It emphasizes that urgent and inclusive action is needed by decision makers at all levels to achieve a healthy planet with healthy people. A report “Summary for Policy Makers” is also available here.

FAO, The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture

This report presents the first global assessment of biodiversity for food and agriculture (BFA). It complements other global assessments prepared under the auspices of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which have focused on the state of genetic resources within particular sectors of food and agriculture.

The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture (SoW-BFA) addresses the sustainable use, development and conservation of BFA worldwide. BFA is taken to include the diversity of animals, plants and micro-organisms at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels that sustain structures, functions and processes in and around production systems and provide food and non-food agricultural products.

UNEP, Environmental Rule of Law: First Global Report (2019)

As the first assessment of the global environmental rule of law, this Report draws on experiences, challenges, viewpoints, and successes of diverse countries around the world, highlighting global trends as well as opportunities for countries and partners to strengthen the environmental rule of law. The Report highlights the need to undertake a regular global assessment of the state of environmental rule of law. To track progress nationally and globally, it is necessary to utilize a set of consistent indicators. The Report proposes an indicator framework for environmental rule of law and highlights existing datasets that may be utilized in support of the global assessment. The Report also calls for a concerted effort to support countries in pilot testing approaches to strengthen environmental rule of law. Such an initiative could support testing of approaches in diverse contexts, and then adapting them before scaling them up. It should also foster exchange of experiences between jurisdictions to foster learning.

Crises, Conflict and Food Insecurity

FAO, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020

The report complements the usual assessment of food security and nutrition with projections of what the world may look like in 2030, if trends of the last decade continue. Projections show that the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 and, despite some progress, most indicators are also not on track to meet global nutrition targets. The food security and nutritional status of the most vulnerable population groups is likely to deteriorate further due to the health and socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report puts a spotlight on diet quality as a critical link between food security and nutrition. Meeting SDG 2 targets will only be possible if people have enough food to eat and if what they are eating is nutritious and affordable. The report also introduces new analysis of the cost and affordability of healthy diets around the world, by region and in different development contexts. It presents valuations of the health and climate-change costs associated with current food consumption patterns, as well as the potential cost savings if food consumption patterns were to shift towards healthy diets that include sustainability considerations. The report then concludes with a discussion of the policies and strategies to transform food systems to ensure affordable healthy diets, as part of the required efforts to end both hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

FAO, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019

This year, importantly, the report notes that hunger has been increasing in many countries where economic growth is lagging. Strikingly, the majority of these countries are not low-income countries, but middle-income countries and countries that rely heavily on international trade of primary commodities. Economic shocks are also prolonging and worsening the severity of acute food insecurity in food crisis contexts. Left unattended, these trends may have very unwelcome implications for malnutrition in all its forms. Moreover, we see that economic slowdowns and downturns disproportionally challenge food security and nutrition where inequalities in the distribution of income and other resources are profound.

We must recognize the importance of safeguarding food security and nutrition in times of economic difficulty. We must invest wisely during periods of economic booms to reduce economic vulnerability and build capacity to withstand and quickly recover when economic turmoil erupts. We must foster pro-poor and inclusive structural transformation focusing on people and placing communities at the centre to reduce economic vulnerabilities and set ourselves on track to ending hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition while “leaving no one behind”.

FAO, IFAD, WFP & WHO, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018

This report monitors progress towards the targets of ending both hunger (SDG Target 2.1) and all forms of malnutrition (SDG Target 2.2), and provides an analysis of the underlying causes and drivers of observed trends. While the prevalence of undernourishment is at the forefront of monitoring hunger, the prevalence of severe food insecurity – based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) – was introduced last year to provide an estimate of the proportion of the population facing serious constraints on their ability to obtain safe, nutritious and sufficient food. The report also tracks progress on a set of indicators used to monitor World Health Assembly global targets for nutrition and diet-related non-communicable diseases, three of which are also indicators of SDG2 targets.

The most recent evidence signals that the number of hungry people in the world is growing, reaching 821 million in 2017 or one in every nine people, according to the report The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018. The report summarizes the most recent trends in hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms with an analysis on wasting, and an emphasis on the extent to which climate variability undermines progress in these areas. The evidence suggests that severe food insecurity has been increasing in all sub-regions of Africa and in South America. Analyses on wasting among children under five years of age reveal that inequities persist – the poorest households having a prevalence nearly 1.4 times higher than the richest households at the global level, and nearly twice as high in some sub-regions. SOFI was published through a partnership of United Nations agencies including FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO.

Food Security Information Network, Global Report on Food Crisis 2020

The fourth annual Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC 2020) is the result of a joint, consensus-based assessment of acute food insecurity situations around the world by 16 partner organizations. The Report finds that, at 135 million, the number of people in Crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) in 2019 was the highest in the four years of the GRFC’s existence. This increase also reflected the inclusion of additional countries and areas within some countries. When comparing the 50 countries that were in both the 2019 and the 2020 reports, the population in Crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) rose from 112 to 123 million. This reflected worsening acute food insecurity in key conflict-driven crises, notably the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan and the growing severity of drought and economic shocks as drivers in countries such as Haiti, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Around 183 million people in 47 countries were classified in Stressed (IPC/CH Phase 2) conditions, at risk of slipping into Crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) if confronted by an additional shock or stressor. Conflict/insecurity was still the main driver of food crises in 2019, but weather extremes and economic shocks became increasingly significant. The acute food insecurity forecasts for 2020 were produced before COVID-19 became a pandemic and do not account for its likely impact in food crisis countries. 

FAO, WFP, Monitoring food security in countries with conflict situations:  A joint FAO/WFP update for the United Nations Security Council (Jan 2019)

This report, facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN) and produced under the Global Network Against Food Crises,1 provides United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members with an overview of the magnitude, severity and drivers of acute food insecurity in eight countries and regions that have the world’s highest burden of people in need of emergency food, nutrition and livelihood assistance as a result of protracted conflict combined with other factors. These countries are: Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lake Chad Basin, Somalia, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen. According to latest analyses from late 2018 (mainly Integrated Food Security Phase Classification [IPC]), around 56 million people need urgent food and livelihood assistance in these countries.

Global Rights Compliance, The Crime of Starvation and Methods of Prosecution and Accountability

Every instance of famine or acute food insecurity today is, at its core, man-made. This paper explores the paths to prohibition and accountability for the widespread and systematic death and suffering that it causes worldwide, with a focus on criminal prosecutions.1 The current scale of suffering and death caused by, or associated with, this crime is unprecedented in recent history. The famine in Yemen alone threatens to be the most severe in living memory. Starvation has a compound effect on international peace and security surpassing the (atrocious) death tolls: mass displacement and social disruption,2 intergenerational physical and cognitive harm,3 and severe economic deprivation4 are only a fraction of the terrible consequences visited upon the unfortunate victims. There are of course many factors that might explain (albeit not justify) the ongoing neglect and the lack of effective criminal accountability for man-made starvation. In order to explore these issues, which appear to have significantly inhibited judicial action to prevent, prohibit and punish the crime of starvation, this paper is divided into three sections: policy; law; and, practice. 

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Financialization, Digitalization, and Investment

Public Eye, Agricultural Commodity Traders in Switzerland – Benefitting from Misery? (2019)

These are the findings of “Agricultural Commodity Traders in Switzerland: Benefitting from Misery?“, the report published today by Public Eye. It dissects the structure and activities of 16 of the world’s largest agricultural traders which have their headquarters or a significant trading arm in Switzerland. The multinationals benefit from the country’s lack of regulation around transparency and the protection of human rights abroad, as well as from discreet fiscal arrangements. The latter was the subject of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Canton of Geneva and COFCO, China’s largest and state-owned agribusiness company. Public Eye obtained a copy through federal freedom of information legislation. Cantonal Councillor Pierre Maudet signed this agreement in Beijing on 13 May 2017, promising to support COFCO in its talks with fiscal authorities. The Chinese giant set up its main global trading centre in Geneva and is now the 5th largest “Swiss” agricultural trader, with a turnover of nearly CHF 40 million.

Right to Food and Nutrition Watch, When Food Becomes Immaterial: Confronting the Digital Age (2018)

Over the past decades, the combined effect of liberalization, deregulation and privatization has seen the range of tradable goods and services expanding and extending into domains that have previously been considered inherently public, such as water, education and health, among others. This transformation of public goods, the cornerstone of human rights, into tradable commodities is referred to as “commoditization” or “commodification”. Not only has the private provision of public goods under the neo-liberal doctrine of global economic institutions increasingly become the norm, but also, such provision has increasingly been de-regulated to the point of fundamentally altering the nature of the goods being provided.

Three intertwined dynamics – dematerialization, digitalization and financialization – are profoundly changing the nature of both tradable goods and the markets where these are exchanged. While each of these dynamics may be subject to different characterizations, the objective of the Watch is to frame popular definitions that can support policy engagement and political action by rights-holders and their social organizations.

The Oakland Institute, The Highest Bidder Takes It All: The World Bank’s Scheme to Privatize the Commons

The Highest Bidder Takes It All: The World Bank’s Scheme to Privatize the Commons details how the Bank’s prescribes reforms, via a new land indicator in the Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) project, promotes large-scale land acquisitions and the expansion of agribusinesses in the developing world. This new indicator is now a key element of the larger EBA project, which dictates pro-business reforms that governments should conduct in the agricultural sector. Initiated as a pilot in 38 countries in 2017, the land indicator is expected to be expanded to 80 countries in 2019. The project is funded by the US and UK governments and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The EBA’s main recommendations to governments include formalizing private property rights, easing the sale and lease of land for commercial use, systematizing the sale of public land by auction to the highest bidder, and improving procedures for expropriation. Countries are scored on how well they implement the Bank’s policy advice. The scores then help determine the volume of aid money and foreign investment they receive.

CFS, Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems

Responsible investment in agriculture and food systems is essential for enhancing food security and nutrition and supporting the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security. Responsible investment makes a significant contribution to enhancing sustainable livelihoods, in particular for smallholders, and members of marginalized and vulnerable groups, creating decent work for all agricultural and food workers, eradicating poverty, fostering social and gender equality, eliminating the worst forms of child labour, promoting social participation and inclusiveness, increasing economic growth, and therefore achieving sustainable development. The Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems prepared by the Committee on World Food Security provide added value through a multistakeholder, holistic, and consensus-driven approach which fosters global ownership and application. T

Fisheries

FAO, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2018

The 2018 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture emphasizes the sector’s role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, and measurement of progress towards these goals. It notes the particular contributions of inland and small-scale fisheries, and highlights the importance of rights-based governance for equitable and inclusive development. As in past editions, the publication begins with a global analysis of trends in fisheries and aquaculture production, stocks, processing and use, trade and consumption, based on the latest official statistics, along with a review of the status of the world’s fishing fleets and human engagement and governance in the sector.

The issue concludes with the outlook for the sector, including projections to 2030. As always, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture aims to provide objective, reliable and up-to-date information to a wide audience, including policy-makers, managers, scientists, stakeholders and indeed all those interested in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.

FAO, Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (2015)

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (the SSF Guidelines) is the first internationally agreed instrument dedicated entirely to the immensely important – but until now often neglected – small-scale fisheries sector. The SSF Guidelines complement the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, which, alongside the fishing provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, is the most widely recognized and implemented international fisheries instruments.

The SSF Guidelines are the result of a bottom-up participatory development process based on the recommendations of the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Sessions of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI). The SSF Guidelines are a fundamental tool in support of the Organization’s vision to eradicate hunger and promote sustainable development as outlined in FAO’s new strategic framework. They will guide dialogue, policy processes and actions at all levels and help the sector to realize its full contribution to food security and poverty eradication.

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Gender

World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report 2018

This report finds that, globally, although many countries have achieved important milestones towards gender parity across education, health, economic and political systems, there remains much to be done. On the one hand, countries where the next generation of women are becoming leaders in their domains are poised for further success. On the other hand, this year’s analysis also warns about the possible emergence of new gender gaps in advanced technologies, such as the risks associated with emerging gender gaps in Artificial Intelligence-related skills. In an era when human skills are increasingly important and complementary to technology, the world cannot afford to deprive itself of women’s talent in sectors in which talent is already scarce.

FAO, Leaving no one behind: Empowering Africa’s Rural Women for Zero Hunger and Shared Prosperity

This brochure presents the key findings and recommendations of the study entitled “the Regional Outlook on Gender and Agri-food Systems,” which was jointly conducted by the FAO and the African Union Commission. The brochure describes gender gaps in (i) access to and control over productive resources and opportunities, (ii) influence and collective capacity, and (iii) agricultural policies, investment and rural context. Additional analysis on progress and good practices across countries in Africa informed the brochure further to provide recommendations and next steps to move from commitments to collective actions. 28 pp.

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Global Supply Chains

Oxfam, Ripe for Change: Ending Human Suffering in Supermarket Supply Chains (2018)

Inequality is rampant across the global economy, and the agro-food sector is no exception. At the top, big supermarkets and other corporate food giants dominate global food markets, allowing them to squeeze value from vast supply chains that span the globe, while at the bottom the bargaining power of small-scale farmers and workers has been steadily eroded in many of the countries from which they source. The result is widespread human suffering among the women and men producing food for supermarkets around the world.

In an era of gross global inequality and escalating climate change, this business model is increasingly unsustainable. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Governments, food companies, small-scale farmers and workers, and citizens around the world can all help to rebalance power in food supply chains and ensure they more fairly reward those producing our food. The supermarket sector is ripe for change.

This report launches Oxfam’s new campaign to expose the root causes behind human suffering in food supply chains and to mobilize the power of people around the world to help end it, starting with a focus on the role of supermarkets.

Coalition of Immokalee Workers,  Fair Food 2017 Annual Report (2017)

Since 2011, this reality has been dramatically changed for many farmworkers as a result of the groundbreaking Fair Food Program (FFP), which brings together farmworkers, consumers, food retailers, and growers to achieve humane labor standards and better wages in agriculture. The FFP was created by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a human rights organization founded by farmworkers in southwest Florida…the CIW launched its Campaign for Fair Food in 2001.

Farmworkers and a national network of consumers asked companies at the top of the agricultural supply chain to use their market power as a force for good by paying a premium – a penny more a pound – for their produce, to be used as a wage supplement for farmworkers, and by agreeing to purchase only from growers who implemented a human rightsbased Code of Conduct on their farms.

Seventeen years later, 14 major buyers – including McDonald’s, Subway, Whole Foods, and Walmart – have joined the Fair Food Program. As a result, growers representing over 90 percent of Florida tomato production and major tomato operations in six other states on the East Coast, as well as strawberry and pepper operations in Florida, have agreed to implement the Fair Food Code of Conduct on their farms.

OHCHR, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

This publication contains the “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework”, which were developed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.

The Special Representative annexed the Guiding Principles to his final report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/17/31), which also includes an introduction to the Guiding Principles and an overview of the process that led to their development. The Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles in its resolution 17/4 of 16 June 2011.

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Migration and Rural Development

IDMC and NRC, Global Report on Internal Displacement 2019

Internal displacement is increasingly a protracted and urban phenomenon. Existing rapid urbanisation can be further accelerated with the arrival of people fleeing conflict and disasters, which in turn has serious implications for municipal authorities and urban communities coping with the rapid influx. In fragile settings with weak planning systems and capacities, this leads to fast and unplanned urbanisation, further aggravating inequalities, and generating further risk of displacement and instability.

This year’s Global Report on Internal Displacement highlights the many challenges, but also opportunities, that cities face today when dealing with internal displacement. It also demonstrates a changing humanitarian landscape where internal displacement poses risks to both current and future crises. In cities, considering the additional strain placed on already limited local capacities and resources, durable solutions require that local, national and international actors integrate internal displacement into urban development strategies and financing.

UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2018

The yearly Global Trends report from the UN Refugee Office found that 70.8 million children, women and men were forcibly displaced at the close of 2018, the highest number in the organization’s almost 70-year history.This is twice as many people as 20 years ago, 2.3 million more than the previous year, and is greater than the population of Thailand. Worryingly, this global figure is probably on the low side. The crisis in Venezuela, in particular, is still only partly reflected in the total. In all, some four million Venezuelans have left their country, making this one of the world’s biggest current displacement crises.

Big displacements across international borders are not as common as the 70.8 million global total implies. Almost two thirds of those uprooted from their homes are internally displaced people, or IDPs, who have not left their homelands. Of the 25.9 million refugees, nearly one in five are Palestinians under the care of UNRWA.Overall, an estimated 13.6 million people became newly displaced during the year due to wars or persecution, a number equivalent to the population of Tokyo, and greater than that of Moscow and Manila. The total included 10.8 million IDPs and 2.8 million new refugees and asylum-seekers.The growth in displacement continued to outpace the rate at which solutions are being found for people who become displaced. With refugees, the best solution is being able to return home voluntarily, in safety and dignity

FAO, IFAD, IOM, WFP, The Linkages Between Migration, Agriculture, Food Security and Rural Development

Understanding contemporary migration, both international and internal, remains a challenge. The decision by people to migrate either within their own countries or across borders is influenced by an intricate set of factors. This report examines the complex interlinkages between migration, agriculture, food security and rural development and the factors that determine the decision of rural people to migrate; including economic factors, employment opportunities, conflict, poverty, hunger, environmental degradation and climate shocks.

The relationship between food security and migration can be direct, when people do not see viable options other than migrating to escape hunger. The linkages between agriculture, food security and migration can also be indirect as a strategy by households to cope with income uncertainties and food insecurity risks. Sending one or more family member to work in economic sectors other than agriculture can increase their capacities to cope in the event of adverse shocks.

Moreover, migration gives rise to both opportunities and challenges. The report assesses the impact of migration on the countries of origin and destination, with a focus on rural areas and the agricultural sector. It also discusses how agricultural and social policies can address these challenges and capitalize on the opportunities created by migration trends.

Nutrition

UNICEF, World Bank, WHO, Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates- levels and trends- 2019 Edition

The UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank inter-agency team regularly updates joint global and regional estimates of child malnutrition. These estimates of prevalence and numbers for child stunting, overweight, wasting and severe wasting are derived for the global population as well as by regional groupings of United Nations (UN) regions and sub-regions, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), UNICEF, WHO and World Bank regions, as well as World Bank income group classifications. 

Click here to read the key findings of the 2019 report. 

The Eat-Lancet Commission, Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems (2019)

Food systems have the potential to nurture human health and support environmental sustainability; however, they are currently threatening both. Providing a growing global population with healthy diets from sustainable food systems is an immediate challenge. Although global food production of calories has kept pace with population growth, more than 820 million people have insufficient food and many more consume low-quality diets that cause micronutrient deficiencies and contribute to a substantial rise in the incidence of diet-related obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, including coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Unhealthy diets pose a greater risk to morbidity and mortality than does unsafe sex, and alcohol, drug, and tobacco use combined. Because much of the world’s population is inadequately nourished and many environmental systems and processes are pushed beyond safe boundaries by food production, a global transformation of the food system is urgently needed.

FAO/WHO, Framework for the Provision of Scientific Advice on Food Security and Nutrition (2018)

This document sets out a framework for the provision of scientific advice (ProScAd) by FAO and WHO on matters related to food safety and nutrition. It discusses the different types of scientific advice provided, as well as the current principles, practices and procedures that underpin this advice.

The purpose is to enhance the outcomes and transparency of scientific advice generated by FAO and WHO. The target audience is all those individuals and groups with an interest in FAO/WHO activities related to the provision of scientific advice. This could include experts who participate in FAO and WHO activities to provide scientific advice, members of the CAC, national delegations attending meetings of the CAC or its committees, scientific experts and institutions,donors, NGOs or other stakeholders.

In addition, the document may be useful for food safety regulators establishing similar procedures at the national level.

WHO & FAO, Driving commitment for nutrition within the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition: Policy Brief (2018)

The United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025 (the Nutrition Decade; http://www.un.org/nutrition) aims to trigger intensified action to end hunger and eradicate all forms of malnutrition worldwide, and ensure universal access to healthier and more sustainable diets for all people, whoever they are and wherever they live. Within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Nutrition Decade presents a unique opportunity for all countries and stakeholders to align activities around a shared framework and timeline, and to increase the visibility, coordination, and effectiveness of nutrition actions worldwide.

Achieving and sustaining on-the-ground reductions in malnutrition will require strong commitment from many people and organizations including policy-makers and governments, implementing agencies and teams, civil society groups, research institutions, businesses and communities. Such commitment does not come easily: it must be created, sustained and strengthened over time. This policy brief sets out factors that drive commitment for nutrition, and is intended to guide actions that will increase commitment by all stakeholders.

UNSCN, Advancing equity, equality and non-discrimination in food systems: Pathways to reform

Inherent barriers exist in food systems that prevent people from overcoming persistent and intergenerational malnutrition and poverty. To overcome these barriers and ensure that no one is left behind, systematic analysis of food system dynamics, as well as the various causes of malnutrition, help assess how equity impacts and is impacted by nutrition.

Inequality refers to differences, variation and disparities in the living conditions of individuals and groups. Inequity adds a moral dimension, referring to the process by which certain outcomes are produced, to the way in which wealth is distributed, and to how needs are assessed and addressed (adapted from Norheim and Asada’s definition, 2009). Equity is concerned with fairness and social justice and aims to focus on people’s needs rather than the provision of services to reach the greatest number of people.

This issue of UNSCN News explores some of the drivers of malnutrition, how they intersect and overlap, and how this intensifies the exclusion of certain groups of people.

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Peasants and Rural Populations

IFPRI, Global Food Policy Report 2019

IFPRI’s flagship report reviews the major food policy issues, developments, and decisions of 2018, and considers challenges and opportunities for 2019. This year’s Global Food Policy Report highlights the urgency of rural revitalization to address a growing crisis in rural areas. Rural people around the world continue to struggle with food insecurity, persistent poverty and inequality, and environmental degradation. Policies, institutions, and investments that take advantage of new opportunities and technologies, increase access to basic services, create more and better rural jobs, foster gender equality, and restore the environment can make rural areas vibrant and healthy places to live and work. Drawing on recent findings, IFPRI researchers and other distinguished food policy experts consider critical aspects of rural revitalization.

UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas

In December 2018, the 3rd Committee of the UN General Assembly voted in favor of the “UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas” through Resolution A/C.3/73/L.30. This vote was the culmination of  a nearly two decade-long process of consultations and negotiations led by millions of peasants from La Vía Campesina, along with pastoralists, artisanal fisher folk, agricultural workers and indigenous peoples’ organizations, with the support of CETIM and FIAN International.

The Declaration aims to better protect the rights of all rural populations including peasants, fisherfolks, nomads, agricultural workers and indigenous peoples and to improve living conditions, as well as to strengthen food sovereignty, the fight against climate change and the conservation of biodiversity. The endorsement of the UN Declaration also constitutes an important contribution to the international community’s effort to promote family farming and peasant agriculture ensure that the rights of rural populations are better recognized and protected by the international community.” Read more at La Via Campesina. 

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SDGs and Food System Policies 

Handbook for SDG-Aligned food companies: Four Pillar Framework Standards

Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) launched a resource that sets out practical steps that food companies can take to align their strategies and practices with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 

 

 

UN, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a global blueprint for dignity, peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future. Three years into the implementation of the Agenda, countries are translating this shared vision into national development plans and strategies. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018 highlights progress being made in many areas of the 2030 Agenda.

Since the turn of the century, the maternal mortality ratio in sub-Saharan Africa has declined by 35 per cent and the under-five mortality rate has dropped by 50 per cent. In South Asia, a girl’s risk of marrying in childhood has declined by over 40 per cent. And, in the least developed countries, the proportion of the people with access to electricity has more than doubled. Globally, labour productivity has increased and unemployment rate decreased. More than 100 countries have sustainable consumption and production policies and initiatives.

However, the report also shows that, in some areas, progress is insufficient to meet the Agenda’s goals and targets by 2030.

European Commission, Reflection Paper Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030 (2019)

The EU was a leading force behind the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals. On 22 November 2016, the Commission adopted a Communication on ‘Next steps for a sustainable European future‘ in response to the 2030 Agenda. The Communication presented a picture of what the EU is doing to contribute to the 2030 Agenda by highlighting key EU policies for each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It also explained how the 10 priorities of this Commission for the period 2014-2019 contribute to the 2030 global agenda. 

On 13 September 2017, the President, in the letter of intent accompanying his State of the Union Address, announced a Reflection Paper entitled ‘Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030’ on the follow-up to the Sustainable Development Goals, including on the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, intended to review the performances and recent measures taken by the EU in relation to the SDGs.

IPES-Food, Towards a Common Food Policy for the European Union (2019)

The Policy Reform and Realignment that is Required to Build Sustainable Food Systems in Europe.This report argues for a Common Food Policy for the European Union: a policy setting a direction of travel for the whole food system, bringing together the various sectoral policies that affect food production, processing, distribution, and consumption, and refocusing all actions on the transition to sustainability. The Common Food Policy vision draws on the collective intelligence of more than 400 farmers, food entrepreneurs, civil society activists, scientists and policymakers consulted through a three-year process of research and deliberation.

FAO, Transforming Food and Agriculture to Achieve the SDGs (2018)

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) believes that adopting sustainable food and agriculture approaches can accelerate progress across multiple SDGs. With the aim of contributing to the transformative change necessary to delivering on our promises by 2030, the 20 interconnected actions presented here respond to these many challenges we face and offer policy-makers a practical guide to Zero Hunger and to broader SDG achievement.

This publication underscores the importance of addressing the SDGs in an integrated way, and of knitting the many sectors of agriculture and rural development into a country’s broader development programme. Rural investment, strengthened farmers’ co-operatives, public-partnerships, accessible policy forums and better coordination across ministries, all with a focus on people, their livelihoods and the environment, are key aspects to delivering the change we need.

Geneva Academy, Briefing No. 11 No One Will Be Left Behind – The Role of UN Human Rights Mechanisms in Monitoring the SDGs that seek to Realize ESCR (2018)

No One Will Be Left Behind looks at the role of United Nations (UN) human rights mechanisms in monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)that seek to realize economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR). It discusses the mutually reinforcing relationship between the SDGs and ESCR. ESCR can offer a legal foundation and guidance in the implementation of SDGs, and the SDGs may increase support for the realization of ESCR.

The publication highlights that the weakness of the 2030 Agenda lies in its limited accountability framework, based on voluntary national reviews and soft guidance from peers. In that context, UN human rights mechanisms – UN treaty bodies, the UN Human Rights Council and its Universal Periodical Review and Special Procedures – can give the SDGs a strong legal basis and provide a means of accountability via independent mechanisms. They can transform the SDGs’ beneficiaries into rights-holders, and UN Members States as those having legal obligations to implement the 17 goals. The international human rights system can provide guidance to states in the implementation of the SDGs, as well as to national, regional and international mechanisms established in the framework of the 2030 Agenda, notably the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

The publication draws attention to the need to fully integrate human rights into the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs, while also providing a set of concrete recommendations for states, UN human rights mechanisms, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the HLPF as to how this might be done.

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Water

HLPE Report # 9 Water for food security and nutrition (2015)

Water is key to human life. It is key to human food security and nutrition. Safe drinking water and sanitation are fundamental to the good nutrition, health and dignity of all. According to the latest estimates by WHO/UNICEF, in 2011, 36 per cent of the world’s population – 2.5 billion people – lacked improved sanitation facilities, and 768 million people had to rely on unsafe drinking water sources. Water of sufficient quantity and quality is essential for agricultural production and for the preparation and processing of food. Irrigated agriculture accounts for 70 percent of all water withdrawals globally (surface and groundwater). 40 percent of irrigation uses groundwater sources, some of them non-renewable at human time scale. Climate change will alter the geographic and seasonal patterns of precipitations, with impacts on agriculture. How can the world ensure food and nutrition security given increasingly scarce water resources, especially in some regions, and the increasing competition for water uses?

This policy-oriented report from the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) presents a synthesis of existing evidence on the multiple relations between water and food security and nutrition, from global levels to household levels.

CFS Policy Recommendations: Water for Food Security and Nutrition (2015)

The Committee acknowledged with appreciation the HLPE report on water for food security and nutrition (FSN); and recalled that: water, food security and nutrition are intrinsically linked; water is essential for the progressive realization of both the right to adequate food in the context of national food security, and the right to safe drinking water and sanitation; and that mainstreaming gender equality and women’s empowerment in relation to water is fundamental to improving FSN. Water is the lifeblood of ecosystems on which the food security and nutrition of present and future generations depend.

The Committee has also acknowledged that different regions face context-specific challenges associated with: water scarcity, producing enough food for a growing population, increasing competition for water between people and sectors, climate change, increasing degradation of water resources and ecosystems, and the lack of fair and transparent allocation mechanisms that recognise and protect the interests and rights of all users, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized.

Miscellaneous

False Promises: The Alliance For A Green Revolution In Africa (AGRA)

An international study published by the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Biba, Bread for the World, FIAN Germany, Forum on Environment and Development, INKOTA-netzwerk, IRPAD, PELUM Zambia, Tabio, and TOAM documents the dramatic negative impacts of the Alliance for a Green Revolution (AGRA) on small-scale food producers in the 13 African countries the initiative focuses on.

FAO (José Graziano da Silva (Coord.)), From Fome Zero to Zero Hunger (2019)

Many countries were inspired by Brazil’s Zero Hunger strategy, which was undoubtedly one of the key elements that contributed to the election of José Graziano da Silva as Director-General of FAO in 2011. It is therefore fitting that he conclude his term of office with a book showing how this initiative became an inspiration across the world under his mandate. Indeed, this book not only traces the evolution of the implementation of Zero Hunger over the years, but shows how its principles and concepts took root in all regions, from Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa and Asia.

The book presents the different contributions made by the partners involved, from the whole UN System – through the Zero Hunger Challenge – to family farmer platforms, civil society, and parliamentary fronts against hunger and malnutrition. The Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Hilal Elver, offers reflections on Fome Zero’s impacts on efforts to address the right to food, globally. The book also looks at the challenges that the world is facing in achieving food security and nutrition for all, including rising obesity, climate change and, most alarming, the recent reversal in progress towards reducing hunger. We still have 10 years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This book will help to guide us towards the collective goal of a world free from hunger and malnutrition.

IWGIA, The Indigenous World 2019

Indigenous rights defenders are attacked and criminalised at an unprecedented rate all over the world. Often this is the result of conflicts over land and human rights violations that take place in the context of large-scale development or extractive projects. In 2017, the deaths of over 400 environmental and human rights activists were recorded. The Indigenous World 2019 chronicles many of the most egregious assaults on the rights of indigenous peoples, creating a global snapshot of the types of organised destruction that are perpetrated against indigenous peoples. Though access to data is an ongoing challenge, abuses against indigenous peoples are clearly greater in magnitude than what can be documented here, and the toll being extracted on these peoples and communities in terms of the loss of human life is horrific. The annual reports contained in this yearbook stand as testimony to the ongoing struggles faced by indigenous peoples around the world. 

ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work, Work for a Brighter Future (2019)

Co-chaired by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, the commission outlines a vision for a human-centred agenda that is based on investing in people’s capabilities, institutions of work and in decent and sustainable work. Among the ten recommendations are: a universal labour guarantee that protects fundamental workers’ rights, an adequate living wage, limits on hours of work and safe and healthy workplaces; guaranteed social protection from birth to old age that supports people’s needs over the life cycle; a universal entitlement to lifelong learning that enables people to skill, reskill and upskill; managing technological change to boost decent work, including an international governance system for digital labour platforms; greater investments in the care, green and rural economies; a transformative and measurable agenda for gender equality; reshaping business incentives to encourage long-term investments.

The report outlines the challenges caused by new technology, climate change and demography and calls for a collective global response to the disruptions they are causing in the world of work. The report is the culmination of a 15-month examination by the 27-member commission, which is made up of leading figures from business and labour, think tanks, academia, government and non-governmental organizations. 

German Institute for Human Rights, Self-paced E-learning Course: Human Rights in Development Cooperation

The e-learning course introduces the human rights-based approach (HRBA) and shows how it can be applied in different development sectors, including land governance, conflict transformation, sustainable economic development and resource governance. It consists of four self-contained modules, which are designed as self-paced and barrier-free learning. The course is offered free of charge and can be accessed via registration.

UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (2018)

The Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018 puts the spotlight on human trafficking in armed conflict. Human trafficking is always a crime, committed with the intention to exploit; in conflict situations, characterized by violence, brutality and coercion, traffickers can operate with even greater impunity. Trafficking in armed conflict has taken on horrific dimensions – child soldiers, forced labour, sexual slavery. The need to take urgent action against these violations has been recognized by the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to Nadia Murad, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.This year’s Global Report indicates that the overall number of reported trafficking victims has increased. This might mean that more people are being trafficked, but also that national capacities to detect this crime and identify victims are improving in some countries. Increases in trafficking convictions have also been recorded in Asia, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, broadly tracking the rise in the number of reported victims.

Right to Food: Proceedings of the Meeting between UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Hilal Elver and Philippine Civil Society Organizations

In February 2015, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Dr. Hilal Elver, visited the Philippines and met with government agencies as well as civil society organizations and social movement groups representing the marginalized sectors of the country. This report documents the meeting between her and these organizations during which the latter presented a 9-point agenda for the fulfillment of the right to food. The report uses human rights-based approach in analyzing the state of hunger in the Philippines and how such situation impacts the obligation of our government to respect, protect, and promote the right to life of its own people.  Views from below and real life experiences helped give context to these issues tackled in the meeting: (a) the current state of agriculture and small producers; (b) agrarian reform and its impacts to addressing hunger; (c) food security threats for Indigenous People; (d) women and the right to food; (e) urban food security and the informal economy; and (f) the impacts of mining and the climate crisis to food security. The report lays down recommendations for structural reforms and proposes immediate steps.