“The challenge is global” – UN expert warns access to adequate food is still far from being achieved

NEW YORK (24 October 2014) – Eradicating hunger and ensuring access to adequate food has not been universally achieved despite considerable legislative and judicial progress in many countries throughout the world in the last decade, said today the new United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver.

“The challenge is global, with approximately one billion people around the world suffering from chronic hunger, while another billion suffer from ‘hidden hunger’ caused by a lack of crucial vitamins and minerals” Ms. Elver stressed in her first report to the UN General Assembly*.

“Climate change and environmental degradation in particular pose a major threat to global food security, compounded by globalization of the food sector, an ever expanding monoculture for export and large corporations, and a worrisome rise in food prices in recent years,” she said referring to the many obstacles preventing people from accessing their basic right to food in a reliable and dignified manner.

In her report, Ms. Elver also highlights the considerable challenges faced by women: “They play a vital role in food security and nutrition, yet they continue to be disproportionately affected by poverty, malnutrition and unpaid care roles in the family and community.”

“The empowerment of women and the protection of their rights should be placed at the center of the right to food policy-making process as an agency of change,” the expert said. In her view, “this should not be limited to rural areas, but also extended to urban women, as well as women from indigenous communities, those living in refugee camps, ethnic and religious minorities and undocumented migrants.”

The Special Rapporteur emphasized that States are responsible, individually and through international co-operation, to take all steps necessary to meet the vital food needs of their people, especially of the most vulnerable groups.

“Children in particular are suffering because of a lack of access to adequate food, with more than two million children under five dying every year as a result of poor nutrition. This is unacceptable if we are to protect the rights of future generations,” she noted.

“In contrast chronic diseases related to obesity, including heart disease, diabetes and some cancers as a result of dietary changes and urbanization are on the rise, with children and adolescents the main targets of marketing campaigns employed by the food and beverage industry.”

The human rights expert called for renewed political commitment from all States to advance the implementation of the right to adequate food, urging them to address the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals so as to reach all proposed goals, with priority given to sustainability and the adoption of a vigorous human rights approach. 

(*) Check the full report: A/69/275: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/newyork/Pages/HRreportstothe69thsessionGA.aspx

Hilal Elver (Turkey) is a Research Professor, and co-director of the Project on Global Climate Change, Human Security, and Democracy housed at the Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She has a law degree, a Ph.D. from the University of Ankara Law School, and SJD from the UCLA Law School. She started her teaching career at the University of Ankara Faculty of Law. . Learn more: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Food/Pages/FoodIndex.aspx

She was appointed Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food by the Human Rights Council in 2014. The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity

For more information and media requests please contact:
In New York:
André-Michel Essoungou, (+1 917 367 9995 / Cell: +1 917 940 0685 / essoungou@un.org)
Nenad Vasic (+1 212 963 5998 / Cell: +1 917 941 7558 / vasic@un.org)
In Geneva:
Orlagh McCann (+41 22 917 9215 / omccann@ohchr.org)

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)  

UN Human Rights, follow us on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unitednationshumanrights
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UNrightswire
Google+ gplus.to/unitednationshumanrights   
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/UNOHCHR
Storify: http://storify.com/UNrightswire

Check the Universal Human Rights Index: http://uhri.ohchr.org/en