Dear Colleagues,
Right to Food Guidelines and GC12 to the human right to food together have provided a detailed characterization and illustration of the normative contents of the right, as envisaged under Article 11 (1 and 2) of the ICESCR. However, there is a compelling need to recognize the RtF expressly and unequivocally under constitutions of the member states. For such a recognition would be a major milestone, though not a panacea, to address the problem. It would facilitate the realization of the RtF, and help the states and their agencies to comply with their constitutional obligations to the right and to hold them accountable accordingly. Apart from this, a RtF legal framework would support the effort to better realize the right by providing the details on the right and its means of enforcement. Moreover, there is a need for a paradigmatic shift in policy approach. Non-binding and technical one does not put a duty on the state for the realization of the same. On the other hand, a policy alternative and a grass-root social movement that underscores food as a fundamental human right would be an instrumental to the realization of the right. Finally, through more democratic governance that ensures participation, accountability, non-discrimination, transparency, human dignity, empowerment, and rule of law the RtF can be better realized.
Д-р. Yeshewas Ebabu Worku