The Right to Food around the Globe

  Nepal

The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal explicitly guarantees the right to adequate food.

The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1991 by way of accession.

CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITIONS OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD

Explicit protection of the right to adequate food

Article 36:
(1) Every citizen shall have the right relating to food.
(2) Every citizen shall have the right to be safe from the state of being in danger of life from the scarcity of food.
(3) Every citizen shall have the right to food sovereignty in accordance with law.”

Implicit protection of the right to adequate food

Article 42:
(2) Citizens who are economically very poor and communities on the verge of extinction, shall have the right to special opportunity and facilities in the areas of education, health, housing, employment, food and social security, for their protection, progress, empowerment and development.
(3) People with physical impairment shall have the right to a dignified way of life and equal access to social services and facilities, along with their diversity identity.”

Other pertinent provisions for the realization of the right to adequate food

Article 50: “(1) It shall be the political objective of the State to strengthen a federal democratic republican system to ensure an atmosphere where democratic rights are exercised by acknowledging sovereignty, independence and integrity of the country to be of utmost importance; by protecting freedom, equality, property and all citizens through rule of law; by embracing the norms and values of fundamental rights and human rights, gender equality, proportional inclusion, participation and social justice; and by maintaining a just system in all spheres of national life in order to establish a government system aimed at public welfare, while maintaining relations between federal units on the basis of cooperation between them, and internalizing the principle of inclusion in the governance system on the basis of local autonomy and decentralization,”

Article 51: “The State shall pursue the following policies:

(b) Policies regarding political and governance system:

  • (1) Guaranteeing people’s welfare and all-round-progress through economic, social and cultural transformation, while defending and strengthening political achievements and their development.
  • (2) Maintaining rule of law by protecting and practicing human rights.

(h) Policies regarding the basic needs of citizens:

  • (12) Increasing investment in the agricultural sector by making necessary provisions for sustainable productivity, supply, storage and security, while making it easily available with effective distribution of food grains by encouraging food productivity that suits the soil and climate conditions of the country in accordance with the norms of food sovereignty.”

Article 52: “It shall be the obligation of the State to maintain Nepal's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, autonomy of Nepal, protecting and promoting fundamental rights and human rights, and to observe the directive principles of the State and gradually implementing the policies.”

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – 1948

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) – 1966

Status: Accession (1991)

Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – 1979

Status: Ratification (1991)

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – 1989

Status: Ratification (1990)

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – 2006

Status: Ratification (2010)

Legislation and policies recognizing the right to adequate food

Guidance on how to progressively realise the human right to adequate food in contexts of national food security has been provided by the Right to Food Guidelines, adopted by the FAO Council and endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security.

Considering that the human right to adequate food can be implemented through a variety of legal and policy actions, we invite you to visit the FAOLEX Country Profile database for a wide-ranging collection of measures that have been taken at national level. Some of the documents you may find are legislation and policies that touch on a number of relevant Guidelines, such as those on Access to resources and assets (Guideline 8), Food safety and consumer protection (Guideline 9), Support for vulnerable groups (Guideline 13) and Natural and human-made disasters (Guideline 16).

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