Special Rapporteur on the right to food

Overview of the mandate

At its fifty-sixth session, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 2000/10 of 17 April 2000, in which it decided, in order to respond fully to the necessity for an integrated and coordinated approach in the promotion and protection of the right to food, to appoint, for a period of three years, a Special Rapporteur on the right to food. It defined the Special Rapporteur’s mandate as follows:

(a) To seek, receive and respond to information on all aspects of the realization of the right to food, including the urgent necessity of eradicating hunger;

(b) To establish cooperation with Governments, intergovernmental organizations, in particular the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and non-governmental organizations, on the promotion and effective implementation of the right to food, and to make appropriate recommendations on the realization thereof, taking into consideration the work already done in this field throughout the United Nations system;

(c) To identify emerging issues related to the right to food worldwide.”

In addition, the Commission on Human Rights issued the following resolutions regarding the right to food and the mandate of the Special Rapporteur:

The Commission on Human Rights was replaced by the Human Rights Council by the General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food was endorsed and extended by the Human Rights Council by its resolution 6/2 of 27 September 2007.

The scope of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food as established by resolution 6/2 consists of the following elements:

(a) To promote the full realization of the right to food and the adoption of measures at the national, regional and international levels for the realization of the right of everyone to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger so as to be able fully to develop and maintain their physical and mental capacities;

(b) To examine ways and means of overcoming existing and emerging obstacles to the realization of the right to food;

(c) To continue mainstreaming a gender perspective and taking into account an age dimension in the fulfilment of the mandate, considering that women and children are disproportionately affected by hunger, food insecurity and poverty;

(d) To submit proposals that could help the realization of Millennium Development Goal No. 1 to halve by the year 2015 the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, as well as to realize the right to food, in particular, taking into account the role of international assistance and cooperation in reinforcing national actions to implement sustainable food security policies;

(e) To present recommendations on possible steps with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the right to food, including steps to promote the conditions for everyone to be free from hunger and as soon as possible enjoy fully the right to food, taking into account lessons learnt in the implementation of national plans to combat hunger;

(f) To work in close cooperation with all States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as with other relevant actors representing the broadest possible range of interests and experiences, within their respective mandates, to take fully into account the need to promote the effective realization of the right to food for all, including in the ongoing negotiations in different fields;

(g) To continue participating in and contributing to relevant international conferences and events with the aim of promoting the realization of the right to food.

Resolutions and Decisions of the Human Rights Council

Resolutions of the General Assembly