Activities

Special Rapporteur on the right to food

2021

19 August 2021: The Special Rapporteur’s policy brief on ways to make the UN Food Systems Summit truly a 'people’s summit'
English | Français | Español

2020

21 September 2020: Interview of the Special Rapporteur with FAO

2019

9 July 2019: The Special Rapporteur gave a public lecture on the right to food at the University of Western Australia’s Institute of Advanced Studies.

3 July 2019: The Special Rapporteur delivered the keynote address at the Food Governance Conference at the University of Sydney School of Law.

27 June 2019: The Special Rapporteur provided a video message on the right to food in Portugal for a meeting with ACTUAR and FIAN Portugal.

17-21 June 2019: The Special Rapporteur attended the annual meeting of Special Procedure mandate-holders, participated in several high-level meetings and providing input at a consultation on prevention and economic, social and cultural rights.

13 June 2019: The Special Rapporteur met with UK food activists, right to food campaigners, and political advisors to discuss the path forward to a rights-based food system.

10-11 June 2019: The Special Rapporteur provided panel remarks at the Future of Food International Symposium in Rome.

3-12 June 2019: The Special Rapporteur conducted a mission to Rome, meeting with various stakeholders from RBAs, CFS, and civil society.

29 April 2019: The Special Rapporteur participated on a panel discussing 'The Forgotten War: Violence, Famine, and Humanitarian Catastrophe in Yemen.'

2-3 April 2019: The Special Rapporteur provided remarks at 'Food & Agriculture in Times of Crises,' a High Level Event of the Global Network Against Food Crises

8 March 2019: The Special Rapporteur provided remarks at the RBAs’ International Women’s Day celebration.

4-8 March 2019: The Special Rapporteur conducted a mission to Rome to meet with stakeholders from Rome-based agencies (RBAs), the Committee on World Food Security, and civil society.

5 March 2019: The Special Rapporteur delivered a lecture at Roma Tre University in Rome.

1 March 2019: The Special Rapporteur engaged with stakeholders at a side-event sponsored by FIAN International on fishery workers and the right to food in Geneva.

28 February 2019: The Special Rapporteur presented her thematic report on fishery workers and the right to food (A/HRC/40/56) and country reports following visits to Viet Nam (2017), Indonesia (2018) and Argentina (2018) during a clustered interactive dialogue with the Human Rights Council during its 40th Session in Geneva.

27 February 2019:The Special Rapporteur spoke at the Inauguration of the Academic Year 2018-2019 at the Accademia di Brera, Milan, where she received the title of Doctor Honoris Diploma.

15 February 2019: The Special Rapporteur provided introductory remarks at an event featuring the Director-General of FAO at the UCLA School of Law, hosted by the Resnick Center of Food Law and Policy and the Promise Institute for Human Rights.

5-7 February 2019: The Special Rapporteur attended One Planet Network’s 2nd Global Conference of the Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) Programme in San José, Costa Rica.

2018

7 November 2018: The Special Rapporteur delivered a keynote address celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at Istanbul Maltepe University, Turkey.

5 November 2018: The Special Rapporteur attended the Langaia Festival hosted by the Lanzambiental cultural association in Lazarote, Canary Islands.

1 November 2018: The Special Rapporteur discussed the contribution of agroecology to the right to food at BioCultura 2018 in Madrid, Spain.

29-30 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur attended the Global Parliamentary Summit against hunger and malnutrition, and delivered the keynote address on Sustainable Development Goal 2 and the right to food in Madrid, Spain.

27 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur presented her thematic report on agricultural workers and the right to food (A/73/164) to the UN General Assembly 3rd Committee in New York, US.

25 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur presented her thematic report on agricultural workers and the right to food (A/73/164) at a panel discussion with members from the Food Chain Workers Alliance, WhyHunger, and the Rural & Migrant Ministry at the Church Center for the United Nations in New York, US.

22 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur participated in UNGA side-event panel “Exploitation by Exposure: Human Rights and Toxic Exposures” hosted by the UN Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes (toxics) at the UN Headquarters in New York, US.

22 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur presented her thematic report on agricultural Workers and the right to food (A/73/164) at Columbia Law School in New York, hosted by Columbia’s Human Rights Institute and Center on Sustainable Investment.

18 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur delivered the keynote address on the Right to Food Guidelines, the importance of a human rights-based perspective, and the progressive realization of the right to food at the Committee on World Food Security Global Thematic Event at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

15-19 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur attended the 45th Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), participating in the plenary session and providing a keynote addresses at the following side events: “Celebrating the International Day of Rural Women from the Field to the CFS and Back,” hosted by the CSM; for “Realizing the Right to Food from Oceans and Inland Waters” hosted by FAO-ECOWAS-OHCHR-Duke University-Worldfish-Michigan State University; and “The Nexus Between Migration and the Right to Food: The Case of Migrant Agricultural Workers” hosted by CSM.

13 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur provided a keynote address at a public debate panel hosted by the Civil Society Mechanism for Committee on World Food Security in Rome, Italy.

11-12 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur attended a conference in Ankara, Turkey on the future of economic, social and cultural rights in the 21st century.

5 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur gave a public talk on corporate responsibility and the right to food at Istanbul Koc University, Turkey.

3 October 2018: The Special Rapporteur gave a public talk on the right to food in Lund, Sweden, organized by the Saul Wanner Foundation.

12-22 September 2018: The Special Rapporteur conducted an official country visit to Argentina to assess the country’s progressive realisation of the right to food.

12 September 2018: The Special Rapporteur presented a video keynote address at a side event to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 39th Session on “Mass starvation: analysis and accountability for the international crime of starvation.”

4-8 June: The Special Rapporteur attended the HRC Special Rapporteurs annual meeting, and expert meeting on agricultural and food workers.

22-23 May 2018: The Special Rapporteur presented the keynote address at Vienna+25, International Conference on the Occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the World Conference on Human Rights, Ludwig Boltzman Institute, Vienna, Austria.

18 May 2018: Cities: water and food security, Water Institute, Rome, Italy.

15-16 May 2018: The Special Rapporteur attended the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture, Biodiversity, Health and Food Workshop hosted by Navdanya International in Florence.

14 May 2018: The Special Rapporteur attended the inauguration of UNESCO chair on the right to food at the University of Milan.

7 May 2018: The Special Rapporteur attended a conference on water and food security in occupied territories at the University of Turin.

8-18 April 2018: The Special Rapporteur conducted an official country visit to Indonesia to assess the country’s progressive realization of the right to food.

26 March 2018: The Special Rapporteur presented a keynote address on Transitioning Towards Sustainable Food Systems for a Healthy Future at the Forum for the Future of Agriculture in Brussels.

9 March 2018: The Special Rapporteur joined the Queen Mary University of Law Faculty to offer a Seminar on International Human Rights and Access to Justice in London, UK.

7 March 2018: Disaster regions and right to food, NGO and expert workshop at OHCHR in Geneva, Switzerland.

26 February-23 March 2018: The Special Rapporteur presented her report on the right to food in the context of natural disasters to the Human Rights Council.

22 January 2018: The Special Rapporteur presented a public talk on natural disasters, famine and food security in London.

2017

13-24 November 2017: The Special Rapporteur conducted an official country visit to Viet Nam to assess the country’s progressive realization of the right to food.

15 November 2017: The Special Rapporteur participates in the public conference: The rights of peasants in the context of the UN process towards adopting a Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas in Bucharest, Romania.

6-8 November 2017: The Special Rapporteur gave a public lecture on “Natural Disasters, Government Duties and Food Emergencies” at the University of Illinois, Urbana, Champaign.

20-24 October 2017: The Special Rapporteur presented her report on the right to food in conflict settings to the General Assembly in New York, held a press conference on famine and right to food, and attended an NGO meeting for her upcoming report on right to food in the context of natural disasters and humanitarian aid.

29 October 2017: The Special Rapporteur sent an open letter to the President of the Council, in favor of the draft United Nations declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas

18 October 2017: The Special Rapporteur presented a video message on pesticides and agro-ecology to the EU parliamentary.

17 October 2017: The Special Rapporteur offered video conference expert testimony to the Canadian Parliamentary Committee on reforming food security law in Canada.

14 October 2017: The Special Rapporteur presented a keynote address at a Food Fair in the Netherlands.

8-13 October 2017: The Special Rapporteur attended the Plenary of the Committee for World Food Security (CFS) as an Advisory Group member and in her capacity as Special Rapporteur; served as a panelist for side events on small scale fisheries and the right to food, and women and disaster protection.

28 September 2017: Sustainable Food Systems, Milan Food Center, Milan.

24 September 2017: Women Empowerment and Right to Food, FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy.

14-16 September 2017: The Special Rapporteur attended the Brussels Fair Food Festival and engaged in a debate on industrial agricultural versus agro-ecology.

6 September 2017: The Special Rapporteur presented a public talk on access to justice and the right to food at the University of Edinburg, and addressed the Scottish Parliament on the right to food.

4-5 September 2017: The Special Rapporteur participated in the Symposium on Global Environmental Law at the University of Stratchelite in Glasgow.

16 August 2017: The Special Rapporteur joined the Zaim University faculty of law to teach a class on economic, social and cultural rights during the International Law Summer School Program.

6 August 2017: The Special Rapporteur presented the closing ceremony speech on food security and biodiversity at the TEMA Foundation in Istanbul, Turkey.

25 July 2017: The Special Rapporteur presented the closing ceremony speech for the Human Rights Summer School Program at the Istanbul Bilgi University in Turkey.

25-30 June 2017: The Special Rapporteur attended the UNOHCHR Special Rapporteur’s meeting, and NGO and expert meetings about conflict zones and food security.

3-12 May 2017: The Special Rapporteur undertook an official visit to Zambia to assess the country’s progress in realizing the right to food.

20 March 2017: The Special Rapporteur presented at the ECOSOC Panel on Climate Change and Nutrition at UN Headquarters in New York.

14-17 March 2017: The Special Rapporteur presented a keynote address on the right to food at the Edinburgh Parliament, gave a public talk at the University of Edinburgh, visited NGOs, public schools and local farms, and met with academics on environment and food policies.

8-11 March 2017: The Special Rapporteur attended and presented the keynote address at the Agriculture and Food Ethics Conference, hosted at the University of Ankara.

5-8 March 2017: The Special Rapporteur presented her thematic report on pesticides and the right to food to the Human Rights Council, participated in a workshop on pesticides with civil society and country representatives, and gave a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

6 March 2017: Workers’ Right, Toxic Threats: Accelerating State Action on Toxic Workplaces, Workshop, Federick Ebert Stiftung, Geneva.

8-10 February 2017: The Special Rapporteur attended UC Berkeley, American University events: Climate Engineering workshop.

24 January 2017: The Special Rapporteur delivered an opening speech on Right to Adequate Food meeting at the Committee of Food Security.

20 January 2017: The Special Rapporteur presented a keynote address focused on “Questions of food security, climate change, regulation and corporate influence” at a workshop hosted by the Transnational Legal Theory Journal of Kings College in London, UK.

4-13 January 2017: The Special Rapporteur taught a short-term course on “International human rights and the right to food,” at UCLA Law School in California, United States.

2016

30 November-1 December: “The Food and Nutrition Sustainability Index,” 7th International Forum on Food & Nutrition 2016, Milan, Italy.

24 November 2016: The Special Rapporteur sent an open letter to the Member States of the African Regional Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants.

4-10 November 2016: The Special Rapporteur on the right to food undertook an official visit to Paraguay to assess the realisation of the right to food in the country in November 2016. During her visit, she met with community members living near extensive soybean cultivation who were concerned about the impacts of excessive pesticide use on their health and their crops, as shown in the accompanying image.

11 January 2016: The Special Rapporteur delivered a presentation at the University of California, Santa Baraba in which she provided an overview of the discussions that took place during the 21st UN Conference on Climate Change along with key outcomes from the summit.

2015

8-11 December 2015: The Special Rapporteur attended the 21st UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris from 1 to 3 December. During the summit Ms. Elver participated as a speaker in several side events including: “Agro-ecology, a key solution for mitigation of climate change and adaptation of farming populations” organised by Coordination SUD; "Agroecology: the pathway for climate change mitigation and agriculture adaptation" organised by Action Against Hunger, and "Food Security at 1.5 degree or beyond", co-organised by Action Aid and CARE International.

23 October 2015: The Special Rapporteur presented her thematic report to the General Assembly in New York on the impact of climate change on the right to food
Read the full statement in English

21 September 2015: the Special Rapporteur participated as a keynote speaker during the closing ceremony of the C20 Summit 2015, hosted by Istanbul’s Boğazici University. The summit is a policy and advocacy platform which seeks to deliver policy alternatives that promote sustainable development and tackle inequalities of all kinds, and is an opportunity to finalise civil society’s shared policy recommendations to the G20

2014

3-5 December 2014: The Special Rapporteur participated in the 9th Annual Rural Coalition 2014 Winter Forum at the American University in Washington D.C, entitled "Reflection on our shared work on the right to food at the global level".

10 November 2014: The Special Rapporteur delivered a public lecture, "A rights based approach to food security: An urgent challenge", at the University of Otago, New Zealand.

13 to 16 October 2014: The Special Rapporteur participated in the 42nd plenary session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) which took place at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) in Rome. During the CFS42 Ms. Elver participated in a number of side events.

24 September 2014: The Special Rapporteur delivered a speech at the public debate on Agro.ecology: A solution to the food crisis, organised by the Transnational Institute in the Netherlands.

8-11 December 2014: The Special Rapporteur attended the 20th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Lima, Peru. During the Conference Ms. Elver participated in a number of side events, including as a speaker in an event co-organized by FES, CIEL and Earthjustice entitled 'Climate change threatening human rights: challenges and actions'.

24 October 2014: The Special Rapporteur presented her first report to the General Assembly in New York
Read the full statement in English

22 October 2014: The Special Rapporteur participated as a speaker in a side event organised by the Millenium Institute and Biovision, entitled State Briefing on “Sustainable Food Systems” in view of the UNGA 2nd Committee Resolution on Agriculture development, food security and nutrition in New York

20 October 2014: The Speciual Rapporteur participated at a panelist in a side event organized by UN Women - Report launch: World Survey on the Role of Women in Development 2015

13 to 16 October 2014: The Special Rapporteur participated in the 41st plenary session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) which took place at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) in Rome. During the CFS41 Ms. Elver participated in a number of side events, including as moderator during the FAO Side Event entitled 'Right to Food Justiciability in Perspective'.

8 October 2014: The Special Rapporteur participated as a panelist at the International Launch of the 7th edition of the publication 'Right to Food and Nutrition Watch 2014, Ten years of the Right to Food Guidelines: Gains, Concerns and Struggles, which took place at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome.

3 July 2014: The Special Rapporteur participated as a panelist in a Technical Dialogue on the 10 year Retrospective on the Implementation of the Right to Food Guidelines at the FAO premises in Rome.

2012

19 October 2012 - CFS 39 Side Event: The transformational power of the right to food:
Countries pioneering right to food strategies", Rome, Italy

23 July 2012: The Special Rapporteur concludes his mission to Cameroon.
Read the press release in English and Français
Read his full statement in Français

16 May 2012: The Special Rapporteur concludes his mission to Canada.
Read the press release in English and Français
Read his full statement in English

4 and 5 April 2012: the Special Rapporteur convened a regional expert consultation “Implementing the right to food at the national level: experiences of Eastern and Southern Africa”, organized by OHCHR in cooperation with FAO. The objective of the consultation was to facilitate an exchange of experiences and lessons learned related to the national implementation of the right to food and to identify concrete steps to strengthen national legal frameworks, policies and strategies. More than 45 food experts, parliamentarians, food producers organizations, NGOs, human rights institutions and policy-makers from Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe took part in the meeting.
Read media advisory in English
Read register of commitments made by participants in English

2 and 3 April 2012: The Special Rapporteur convened an expert consultation “Contribution and Threats of Current Fisheries Policies and Practices to the Realization of the Right to Food” in Nairobi, Kenya, organized by OHCHR in cooperation with FAO and UNEP. The objective of the meeting was to consider the impacts on the right to food current fisheries policies and practices and to inform the upcoming thematic report of the Special Rapporteur to the General Assembly. The meeting gathered 30 experts from research institutions, NGOs and international organizations; policymakers, at national, regional and international levels; and representatives of fishers’ organizations.
Read report of the Special Rapporteur “Fisheries and the right to food” (A/67/268)

6 March 2012: The Special Rapporteur participated via video link in public event in Mexico City, organized by OHCHR-Mexico on the occasion of the presentation of his mission report to the Human Rights Council and to launch the publication “El Derecho a la Alimentación: Informe de Misión a México”. At the launch event, attended by 180 people, a panel of Government officials, Parliamentarians and CSOs discussed the findings of the mission report.
Read the publication in Español

2011

22 July 2011: The Special Rapporteur concludes his mission to Madagascar.
Read the press release in English and Français
Read his full statement in Français

15 July 2011: The Special Rapporteur concludes his mission to South Africa.
Read the press release in English
Read his full statement in English

Public consultation Draft Guiding Principles on Human Rights Impact Assessments of Trade and Investment Agreements posted for consultation.
Read about the public consultation

20 June 2011: The Special Rapporteur concludes his mission to Mexico.
Read his full statement in English and in Español
Read the press release in English and in Español
See video of the press conference

Human Rights Council

Eco-Farming can double food production in 10 Years, says new UN report
8 March 2011: Read the press release in English

Mission to China: “From food security to the right to food” – UN expert highlights China’s next steps

23 December 2010: Read the press release in English and in 中文

COP 16, United Nations Climate Change Conference, Cancún

29 November 2010: “Cancun Climate Summit: UN food expert calls for a “Green Marshall Plan for Agriculture”
Read the press release in English

UN General Assembly

Special Rapporteur presents report on "Access to Land and the Right to Food" to the General Assembly (Third Committee)
21 October 2010: "Pressure on farmland is increasing at an unprecedented rate," warns new UN report
Read the press release in English

Committee on World Food Security, 11-14 & 16 October 2010

16 October 2010: "In Rome, the Committee on World Food Security reinvents global governance
Read the press release in English

11 October 2010: "The New Committee on World Food Security meets its first test on World Food Day"
Read the press release in English

World Food Day - 16 October 2010

15 October 2010: "The shift to low-carbon agriculture is becoming a matter of urgency"
Read the press release in English

7 September: The Special Rapporteur concludes his mission to Syria.
Read his full statement in English
Read the press release in English and in العربية

Food Riots

7 September: “Predictable crisis, unprepared governments”
Read the press release in English and in Français

Agribusiness and Human Rights

5 March: The Special Rapporteur presents his report on the role of the agricultural business sector in the realization of the right to food.
Read the report and the speech.
Read the press release in English
Listen to the Special Rapporteur's interview to UN radio and to the press conference

Large Scale Land Acquisitions and Leases

The Special Rapporteur presents his findings on the human rights challenges posed by large scale land acquisitions and leases and proposes 11 minimum human rights principles - Read the study and the principles

World Summit on Food Security

The role of the right to food in achieving sustainable global food security
Statement by the rapporteur at the World Summit on Food Security - 18 November 2009

The Right to Food and the Political Economy of Hunger -
18 November 2009 - The text of the McDougall Memorial Lecture is available in English and in Français

Seed Policies and the Right to Food

21 October: Presentation of the report at the General Assembly
Read the rapporteur's statement before the 3rd Committee

Read the report of the Special Rapporteur to the 64th session of the General Assembly

Global Food Crisis: Follow-up session at HRC12 - 17 September

"Political will needed to tackle food crisis and restructure agriculture"

Report of the SR on the right to food (Follow-up to the seventh special session)

Background document to the second report on the global food crisis, Mr. Olivier De Schutter

Summary of the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Prof. Olivier De Schuter
Crisis into opportunity: reinforcing multilateralism

Reinvesting in African agricultures: grounding efforts in the right to food as a condition for sustainable results

Open letter addressed by the Special Rapporteur to African Heads of State and Governments in advance of the 13th ordinary assembly of the African Union Summit, Syrter, 1-3 July 2009
English | Français

The right to food and the financial and economic crisis

UN human rights food expert to G8: "Better, But Not Good Enough"
10 July 2009

"The global food crisis is not over. Our obligations go beyond fixing the financial system"
says UN Special Rapporteur
26 June 2009

Submission to the UN Conference on World Financial and Economic Crisis, UN General Assembly, 24-26 June 2009

Human rights challenges of large-scale land acquisitions or leases

Press release and briefing note [Français] issued by the Special Rapporteur on 11 June 2009. The SR makes a call to take into account a set of core human rights principles and measures when negotiating transnational large-scale land acquisitions or leases, more commonly referred to as land grabbing. He developed these principles ahead of the negotiations on responsible agricultural investments during the forthcoming G8 Summit.

Trade liberalization and the right to food

Is trade liberalization helping or hampering the realization of the right to food? The Special Rapporteur and Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO, discussed this question in a debate on 11 May 2009 jointly organized by the Mayor of Geneva and 3D -> Trade — Human Rights — Equitable Economy. The debate was moderated by Esther Mamarbachi.
See the video..Only in Français. Duration 1h36 (the transcription will be available soon)

World Food Crisis

Coordinating, Learning, Monitoring: A New Role for the Committee on World Food Security" contribution of the Special Rapporteur to the work of the FAO Contact Group on the reform of the Committee on World Food Security, 22 May 2009

Global financial crisis, volatile food prices, make agricultural focus urgent, UN human rights food expert tells UN Commission on Sustainable Development
7 May 2009

Written submission of the Special Rapporteur to the 17th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (New York, 4-15 May 2009)

Keynote address of the Special Rapporteur to the UN General Assembly on the occasion of the thematic dialogue on the right to food, 6 April 2009 and press release distributed at the press conference

Position statement on the "Human Right to Food and the Challenges Facing the Green Revolution in Africa" following the consultation convened by the Special Rapporteur with the support of the Luxembourg Government and held in Luxembour on 15 and 16 December 2008
English | Français

Statement of Mr. Olivier De Schutter,Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food - 10th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council
9 March 2009

Special Rapporteur on the right to food at the 9th session of the Human Rights Council

High Level Meeting on Food Security for All, Madrid, 26-27 January
Analysis of the outcome of the Meeting by the Special Rapporteur

Questionnaire: “Building resilience: a human rights framework for world food and nutrition security”
English | Français | Español

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food: “Building resilience: a human rights framework for world food and nutrition security"

Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food at the 8th session of the Human Rights Council
Press release | Statement

Statement of the Special Rapporteur to the Rome High-Level Conference on World Food Security (5 June 2008)

Statement of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food at the Special Session of the Human Rights Council (22 May 2008)

UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, calls for a Special Session of the Human Rights Council on the world food crisis
Press release | Background Note: Analysis of the World Food Crisis by the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food