The Right to Food around the Globe

  Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has directive principles that contribute to the realization of the right to adequate food. 

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1981 by way of accession. 

CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITIONS OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD

Directive principles of state policy

Article 25: “The DPRK regards the steady improvement of the material and cultural standards of the people as the supreme principle of its activities. The constantly-increasing material wealth of society in our country, where taxes have been abolished, is used entirely for promoting the well-being of the working people. The State shall provide all working people with every condition for obtaining food, clothing and housing.”

National status of international obligations

Article 15: "The DPRK shall champion the democratic, national rights of Koreans overseas and their rights recognized by the international law."

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

Article 8: “The social system of the DPRK is a people-centered system under which the working people are masters of everything, and everything in society serves the working people. The state shall safeguard the interests of, and respect and protect the human rights of the working people.”

Article 15: “The DPRK shall protect the democratic national rights of Korean compatriots overseas and their legitimate rights and interests as recognized by international law.”

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – 1948

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

Status: Accession (1981)

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

Status: Accession (2001)

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

Status: Ratification (1990)

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

Status: Ratification (2016)

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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