The transformative potential of the right to food
In this final report (PDF) by the former Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, main conclusions are presented on eradication of hunger and malnutrition from his country visits in thirteen countries: Benin, Cameroon, Madagascar and Malawi (low-income countries); Brazil, China, Guatemala, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, South Africa and the Syrian Arab Republic (middle-income countries); and Canada (a high-income country); and missions to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Key recommendations of the report include: 1) ensuring access to resources (land, seeds and fisheries); 2) supporting local food systems (reinvestment in agriculture, agro-ecology, support of small-holder farmers, contract farming and agricultural workers); 3) deploying national strategies (national strategies, human rights impact assessments, women’s rights, social protection and nutrition); and 4) shaping an enabling international environment (food price volatility, framework for trade and investment in agriculture, regulating agribusiness, agro fuels and food aid and development cooperation).