New York and Geneva, May 2nd, 2008

 

BACKGROUND NOTE:

ANALYSIS OF THE WORLD FOOD CRISIS BY THE

U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD,

OLIVIER DE SCHUTTER

 

The Special Rapporteur on the right to food has been requested by the UN Human Rights Council to ‘examine ways and means of overcoming existing and emerging obstacles to the realization of the right to food’.1 The Special Rapporteur steps into his mandate in a situation in which the right to adequate food is threatened to be violated on an unprecedented scale. Natural disasters do not constitute violations of human rights, unless the States in a position to assist the victims stand by and do nothing. The disaster which results from the increase of international prices of food commodities is of a different kind. It is a man-made disaster. The causes are identifiable. Both immediate and medium-term solutions can be agreed upon. This imposes on all States an obligation to act, and to act without delay. It is estimated that over 100 million more people will be food insecure, as a result of the current crisis on the international commodities market. These individuals should be given the same degree of attention as if they were arbitrarily detained by an authoritarian government, or if they were beaten by the police. The Special Rapporteur calls upon the Human Rights Council to convene in a special session, in order to explore the steps which should be taken to respond the current situation, consistent with the right to adequate food.

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