WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD REPORT TO THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL 2013 

 

Women's Rights & The Right to Food

 

Direct Link to Full 20-Page Report:

http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session22/AHRC2250_English.PDF

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World Food Programme

http://www.wfp.org/our-work/preventing-hunger/focus-women/women-hunger-facts

Women & Hunger: 10 Facts

Women are often victims of hunger. They also have a crucial role to play in defeating hunger. As mothers, farmers, teachers and entrepreneurs, they hold the key to building a future free of malnutrition. Here are ten reasons why empowering women is such an important part of WFP’s work.

  1. In developing countries, 79 % of economically active women spend their working hours producing food through agriculture. Women are 43% of the farming work force.
  2. Yields for women farmers are 20-30 percent lower than for men. This is because women have less access to improved seeds, fertilizers and equipment.
  3. Giving women farmers more resources could bring the number of hungry people in the world down by 100 - 150 million people.
  4. Surveys in a wide range of countries have shown that 85 - 90 percent of the time spent on household food preparation is women’s time.
  5. In some countries, tradition dictates that women eat last, after all the male members and children have been fed.
  6. When a crisis hits, women are generally the first to sacrifice their food consumption, in order to protect the food consumption of their families.
  7. Malnourished mothers are more likely to give birth to underweight babies. Underweight babies are 20 percent more likely to die before the age of five.
  8. Around half of all pregnant women in developing countries are anaemic. This causes around 110,000 deaths during child birth each year.
  9. Research confirms that, in the hands of women, an increase in family income improves children’s health and nutrition.
  10. Education is key. One study showed that women's education contributed 43% of the reduction in child malnutrition over time, while food availability accounted for 26%.

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UN FAO - UN Food & Agriculture Organization

http://www.fao.org/righttofood/about-right-to-food/from-principles-to-practice/en/

 

THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD - MAKE IT HAPPEN

 

From Principles to Practice

Governments should take action at the national level to build an enabling environment for people to feed themselves in dignity and to establish appropriate safety nets for those who are unable to do so. Civil society should, in a joint effort with Governments, work towards advancing the right to food and building the capacity of right holders and duty bearers alike.

Seven Practical Steps

The Right to Food Guidelines contains the seven practical steps and ways in which human rights principles should be put into practice. It is recommended that the seven human rights principles are applied in all fields related to food and agriculture.

The Right to Food Team recommends these seven practical steps, which governments should take. The steps could be applied in this sequence, but of course, in reality, most countries have already undertaken some if not all of the steps.

The Seven Steps Approach for Implementation:

  1. Identify the hungry and the poor, whose right to food is not realized
  2. Conduct a thorough assessment of the existing policies, institutions, laws and programmes
  3. Develop right-based food security strategies for an enabling environment and assistance measures
  4. Improve institutional coordination and functioning (assign roles and responsibilities)
  5. Review and strengthen the legal framework
  6. Monitor the progressive realization of the right to food
  7. Ensure effective recourse for violations of the right to food 

The seven steps described focus on the government. Civil society and NGOs should also play an active part, especially with regard to advocacy and information. Many and diverse actors need capacity development for the steps to be effectively undertaken. These include members of the executive, legislative and judicial branch of the state, nutritionists, agronomists, lawyers, professionals working in food security as well as civil society and individuals.

Capacity Development: A Driver of Change

Capacity development is considered an essential core element for all stakeholders as it can influence the realization of the right to food. Trained government officials will be able to understand their own roles in implementing the right to food, and their obligations. An improved public understanding of human rights in general and the right to food in particular helps individuals and communities to participate in making decisions that affect their food security situation. Thus, capacity development can be described as a driver of change.

Capacity development at individual level can lead to changes in skills, behaviours and attitudes among a wide range of actors in the agriculture and rural development sector. Training, knowledge sharing, partnering and networking are ways of strengthening capacities at individual level. Strengthening capacities within organizations, institutions, governments and states level can improve the overall functioning and performance and this can have a direct impact on how individuals within organizations develop their competencies and use their capabilities.

However, many other factors can influence capacity development and the possibilities for change. Political commitment and vision, policy, legal and economic frameworks, budget allocations and processes, governance and power structures, social norms and culture are all factors that can influence the realization for the right to food.  

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