RES/S-7/1 The negative impact of the worsening of the world food crisis on the realization of the right to food for all

Human Rights Council 7th Special Session

Resolution S-7/1. The negative impact of the worsening of the world food crisis on the realization of the right to food for all

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling all previous resolutions and decisions on the issue of the right to food

adopted in the framework of the United Nations, in particular by the General Assembly, in its

resolution 62/164 of 18 December 2007, and the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 7/14

of 27 March 2008,

Recalling also paragraph 10 of General Assembly resolution 60/251, in which the

Assembly stipulates, inter alia, that the Human Rights Council shall be able to hold special

sessions, when needed, at a request of a member of the Council with the support of one third of

the membership of the Council,

Recalling further the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including its provision that

everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself or

herself and that of his or her family, including food, the Universal Declaration on the Eradication

of Hunger and Malnutrition and the United Nations Millennium Declaration, in particular the

first Millennium Development Goal of eradicating hunger and extreme poverty by 2015,

Recalling the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights, especially its article 11(2), which recognize the fundamental right of every person to be

free from hunger, and the duty of States to take, individually and through international

cooperation, the measures needed to implement this right by improving the methods of

production, conservation and distribution of food,

Bearing in mind the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit

Plan of Action of November 1996, and the Declaration of the World Food Summit: five years

later, adopted in Rome on 13 June 2002,

A/HRC/S-7/L.2 page 2

Bearing in mind also the New York Declaration on Action against Hunger and Poverty, and

recommending the continuation of efforts aimed at identifying additional sources of financing

for the fight against hunger and poverty,

Reaffirming the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to

Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, adopted by the Council of the Food

and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in November 2004,

Reaffirming also that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and

interrelated, and that they must be treated globally, in a fair and equal manner, on the same

footing and with the same emphasis,

Reaffirming further that a peaceful, stable and enabling political, social and economic

environment, at both the national and international levels, is the essential foundation that will

enable States to give adequate priority to food security and poverty eradication,

Recognizing the complex character of the worsening of the current global food crisis, in

which the right to adequate food is threatened to be violated on a massive scale, as a combination

of several major factors, including macroeconomic factors, also impacted negatively by

environmental degradation, desertification and global climate change, natural disasters and the

lack of the necessary technology to confront its impact, particularly in developing countries and

least developed countries,

Bearing in mind the situation of one sixth of the world population, mainly in developing and

least developed countries, suffering from hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity, and alarmed

at the particular effects of the current global food crisis on many net food importing countries,

and especially on least developed countries in Africa, Asia and Latin American and the

Caribbean,

Stressing that the international community should provide its assistance to populations in

need in an effective and coordinated manner, with the consent and in principle on the basis of the

appeal by the affected country, in order to ensure that such humanitarian assistance, including

the supply of food, reaches affected populations,

A/HRC/S-7/L.2 page 3

Acknowledging the United Nations Task Force established by the Secretary-General, and

supporting the Secretary-General to continue his efforts in this regard,

1. Expresses grave concern at the worsening of the world food crisis, which seriously

undermines the realization of the right to food for all;

2. Also expresses grave concern that this crisis threatens to further undermine the

achievement of Millennium Development Goals, in particular Goal 1 aiming at halving by 2015

the proportion of people who suffer from hunger;

3. Calls upon States, individually and through international cooperation and assistance,

relevant multilateral institutions and other relevant stakeholders, to take all necessary measures

to ensure the realization of the right to food as an essential human rights objective, and to

consider reviewing any policy or measure which could have a negative impact on the realization

of the right to food, particularly the right of everyone to be free from hunger, before instituting

such a policy or measure;

4. Stresses that States have a primary obligation to make their best efforts to meet the

vital food needs of their own populations, especially of the vulnerable groups and households,

such as through enhancing programmes to combat mother-child malnutrition, and to increase

local production for this purpose, while the international community should provide, through a

coordinated response and upon request, support to national and regional efforts by providing the

necessary assistance for increasing food production, particularly through transfer of technology,

as well as food crop rehabilitation assistance and food aid;

5. Calls upon States members of the United Nations and other relevant stakeholders to

participate actively in the High-level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of

Climate Change and Bioenergy, to be held from 3 to 5 June 2008, in Rome, organized by the

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, while taking note of the results of the

special meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council on this issue, held on 20

May 2008;

6. Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to extend an

invitation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and to the Special

A/HRC/S-7/L.2 page 4 Rapporteur on the right to food to attend and actively participate in the afore-mentioned High-

level Conference, so as to help to mainstream a human rights perspective in the analysis of the

world food crisis, with a focus on the realization of the right to food;

7. Requests the Special Rapporteur to make a presentation to the Council at its eighth

session on his participation in the meeting mentioned in paragraph 5 above, and on his initial

recommendations regarding actions required, at all levels, to promote, respect and protect the

right to food and freedom from hunger in the midst of the current food crisis, when actions are

called for to promote mid- and long-term food security;

8. Also requests the Special Rapporteur to present a report to the Council at its ninth

session, inviting comments from States and other relevant actors, on the impact of the global

food crisis on the protection of the right to food and the required remedies from a human rights

perspective;

9. Requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to bring the present resolution to

the attention of all relevant international organizations and agencies;

10. Requests the Special Rapporteur on the right to food to continue reporting on further

developments on this issue to the Council and the General Assembly;

11. Decides to remain seized of the implementation of the present resolution.

2nd meeting

22 May 2008

Resolution adopted, as orally revised, without a vote.