Indonesia: UN expert launches mission to assess the enjoyment of the right to food

Bahasa Indonesian

GENEVA (4 April 2018) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, will visit Indonesia from 9 to 18 April 2018 to gather first-hand information on the country’s food and agriculture policies that affects peoples’ livelihoods.

“I look forward to the opportunity to assess the enjoyment of the right to food in Indonesia including its good practices and challenges,” the Special Rapporteur said.

“I intend to focus on the efforts made by the Government in increasing food security and reducing malnutrition as well as the impact of business activities on the right to food while paying extra attention to the situation of women, children and populations living in rural areas and remote places,” Ms. Elver added.

The Special Rapporteur said that the objective of her visit was to engage in a constructive dialogue with relevant stakeholders, to identify improvements as well as challenges and suggest recommendations to the Government and others.

During her mission, Ms. Elver will meet with government officials, the national human rights commission, civil society organisations, actors from the private sector and other relevant stakeholders both in Jakarta and outside the capital.

At the end of her visit, the Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference to share the preliminary findings of her visit at 11:30 local time on Wednesday 18 April 2018, at at 11:30 local time on Wednesday 18 April 2018, at Papua Room 7th Floor, Menara Thamrin Building, Jl. MH Thamrin Kav. 3, Jakarta 10250. Access is strictly limited to journalists.

The Special Rapporteur’s observations and recommendations will be reflected in a report to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2019.

ENDS

Ms Hilal Elver (Turkey) was appointed Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food by the Human Rights Council in 2014. She 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 and global distinguished fellow at the University of California Los Angeles Law School (UCLA) Resnick Food Law and Policy Center. 

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.

UN Human Rights country page –Indonesia

For inquiries and media requests, please contact:
In Indonesia (during the visit):Ms. Soo-Young Hwang (+41 79 444 4702 / shwang@ohchr.org). In Geneva: Ms. Viktoria Aberg (+41 22 917 9790 /vaberg@ohchr.org) 

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact
Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)

This year, 2018, is the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948. The Universal Declaration – translated into a world record 500 languages – is rooted in the principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It remains relevant to everyone, every day. In honour of the 70th anniversary of this extraordinarily influential document, and to prevent its vital principles from being eroded, we are urging people everywhere to Stand Up for Human Rights: www.standup4humanrights.org.