16 November 2020, Rome- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was founded in 1945 amid the idealism of post-war reconstruction. Seventy-five years down the line, FAO has shepherded many milestones of UN efforts to eradicate hunger. Among them, the adoption in 2004 of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Adequate Food.

This was the first time the substance of human rights came up for discussion at the Organization, and governments attempted to interpret an economic, social and cultural right, and recommended actions for its realization. This means, the fight against hunger became part of a broader discourse, incorporating the right to food.

The Organization has been supporting countries in seven areas relative to the right to food: formulation and implementation of policies and programmes, legal processes, budget analysis, governance, assessment, monitoring, and capacity development.

Initially included in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as part of the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to adequate food has since been legally guaranteed in a number of international instruments.

To date, 171 States have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and more than 30 countries have an explicit recognition of the right to food in their constitutions, while an array of sectoral laws have been adopted. This made the right to food “justiciable”, so that rights-holders can hold duty-bearers accountable

Inspiration by the Right to Food Guidelines

In the wake of the Right to Food Guidelines in 2004, a variety of global instruments anchoring in human rights principles and aiming to the progressive realization of the right to food were also adopted: the Voluntary Guidelines on Tenure (VGGT), the Responsible Investment in Agriculture (RAI) or the Small Scale Fisheries Guidelines (SSF).

The Right to Food Guidelines also enhanced the role of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in driving the global agenda to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, with commitment towards the implementation of this voluntary and non-binding human rights-based instrument.

The Right to Food Guidelines contributed to advancing the momentum towards the realization of the right to food in other global forums: the World Summit on Food Security in 2009 or the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) in 2014.

In addition, the Right to Food Guidelines have had a tremendous impact is in the elaboration of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With ten years to go until the 2030 Agenda come due, the race is on for bold answers and dramatic solutions. The Right to Food Guidelines, and subsequently documents, can be a very useful roadmap for building a better world.