WUNRN
Women's World Summit Foundation
Dear Sisters Living in Rural Communities Around the World,
Today, we wish to inform you of your right to food. Did you know that it is a human right? It is universal, acknowledged at the national, regional and international level, and applies to every person and group of persons. This right is not a political option that governments can choose to implement or ignore. Acknowledging this right means obligations for governments. The primacy of human rights over an economic or commercial agreement has been affirmed repeatedly by UN resolutions adopted by member states.
The right to food was first recognized at the international level in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Art. 25 proclaims: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html The importance of the Universal Declaration lies in its acceptance today by all countries. Complementary rights enabling you to improve access to food, health, education, training and opportunities for employment have been outlined in the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which is the most important UN Convention dedicated to women's rights. 185 countries - over 90% of UN member states - are party to this Convention. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/
The right to food is
also defined in the General Comment No. 12 of the UN Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights:
“The right of every man, woman and child alone and in
community with others to have physical and economic access at all times to
adequate food or means for its procurement in ways consistent with human
dignity”. (§6)
Accordingly, the right to food implies three types of obligations - the obligation to respect, protect and fulfill. “The obligation to respect existing access to adequate food requires State parties not to take any measures that result in preventing such access. The obligation to protect requires measures by the State to ensure that enterprises or individuals do not deprive people of their access to adequate food. The obligation to fulfill (facilitate) means that States must pro-actively engage in activities intended to strengthen people’s access to and utilization of resources and means to ensure their livelihood, including food security. Finally, whenever an individual or group is unable to enjoy the right to adequate food by the means at their disposal, States have the obligation to fulfil (provide) that right directly”. (§15)
Many of you are farmers in your own right, mainly growing food on family plots for your families. Most of your work is invisible although you carry out essential work such as hoeing, planting, weeding and harvesting with simple tools and little outside assistance. This often means that you have no recognized independent status as farmers and your work is considered as secondary within both the family and society. The numbers, however, tell us a different story. In Sub-Saharan Africa, you contribute roughly 60 to 80% of labour in food production, both for household consumption and for sale. In Asia, you account for approximately 50% of overall regional food producers. In South and Southeast Asia, you play a major role in rice production, generally providing the unpaid family or wage labour needed for sowing, transplanting, harvesting and processing. Throughout the Pacific, you play prominent roles in food marketing and in fisheries. In Latin America you contribute 40% of the agricultural supply to the internal market and women’s gardens and agricultural plots often constitute the only means of diversifying the diet.
In other words, you make a vital contribution to feeding the world and
for that you deserve recognition, acknowledgement and support. You are a key
actor in reducing hunger and poverty.
On World Rural Women's Day - 15 October - and all days - We
empower you to claim your basic human right and ensure that your Government
Dear Sisters,
Please remember that no country or government is allowed to deny you your fundamental universal human rights. Lobby your government to proclaim 15 October a National Rural Women's Day, a day for you to celebrate and show your contributions and to remind your Head of State to honour the promises made in your name. Remember you are the salt of the earth and give birth to humanity. WWSF invites you also to nominate candidates for its annual awards, the Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life. For Nomination guidelines, visit (http://www.woman.ch/women/1-guidelines.php) and for names of Laureates, visit (http://www.woman.ch/women/1-laureates.php)
Elly Pradervand, WWSF Executive Director & Global campaign coordinator for World Rural Women’s Day - 15 October www.woman.ch
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UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY THIRD COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXT ASKING THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO DECLARE 15 OCTOBER OF EACH YEAR INTERNATIONAL DAY OF RURAL WOMEN
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