Özdemir emphasises the role of the right to adequate food as a fundamental human right
At the “Policies against Hunger” conference, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture Cem Özdemir emphasised the importance of the right to adequate food as a fundamental human right. You can quote the Federal Minister as follows:
“The access to adequate food and nutrition is a key prerequisite for leading a self-determined life in dignity all around the globe. Leading a self-determined life in dignity – it is a matter of course for us here in Europe, but is still far beyond the reach of many people in many regions of the world, because one person in every ten on our globe is suffering from hunger. Around one third of the global population does not have reliable access to adequate food. And this situation is being further exacerbated by Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine."
Federal Minister Özdemir also underlined the following in respect of the need to transform food and agricultural systems: “The answer to the question of how to realise the human right to adequate food in view of this dramatic situation must be two-fold – we need both a short-term and a long-term response. The short-term response is obvious: providing humanitarian assistance wherever this is possible – both to save human lives and to stabilise the affected regions. However, short-term assistance and money alone will not eliminate hunger and malnutrition on a lasting basis. To reach this goal, we need to fundamentally transform our agri-food systems to bring about long-term effects. This transformation will, however, only be able to be successfully implemented if we take account of the rights of those affected. This means that we must always respect the individual right to a self-determined life in dignity, equal participation in society and good governance.
Please find enclosed the complete speech by the Federal Minister. Please note: Check Against Delivery!
The “Policies against Hunger” conference will bring together representatives from politics, administration, international organisations, civil society, the private sector and science with the aim of drawing up guidelines for transforming food systems from the point of view of human rights. The conference guests will include Gabriel Ferrero, Chair of the UN Committee on World Food Security, who will also chair the conference, Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), and Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
You can quote these guests as follows:
Gabriel Ferrero y de Loma-Osorio, Chair of the UN Committee on World Food Security and chair of the conference: "Also in light of the current intersecting crises caused by war, climate change, and the pandemic, the Committee on World Food Security of the United Nations remains the ideal venue for governments and all stakeholders to agree on policy guidance for the transformation of food systems. The Right to Food remains the DNA of the CFS and the basis for its work."
Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO): “Every person has the fundamental right to have enough safe, nutritious, and adequate food to lead a healthy and active life... meaning that no one should go to bed hungry. Unfortunately, too many of those who cannot afford to feed themselves or their families are the very people expected to feed the world - they are farmers. This is why we must collectively focus on longer-term solutions to the root causes of vulnerabilities and put resources directly in the hands of farmers.”
Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food “Since the pandemic formally ended, the food crisis has gotten worse. How countries respond to the food crisis will transform food systems for decades to come; yet without international coordination, no national food plan will succeed. But there is hope. This past year, countries all over the world have finally recognized that the right to food is a key way to respond to the food crisis and make their food systems more resilient. The time is now to turn that political energy into action. The right to food is the only way to create a globally coordinated response to the crisis and overcome structural challenges.“
Background information:
The right to adequate food is a fundamental human right. In 2021, however, up to 828 million people around the globe were suffering from hunger. The consequences of the climate crisis, the loss of biodiversity and Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine are drivers of food insecurity and hunger worldwide. In order to realise the right to food, we need to transform global agri-food systems – to make them more sustainable, more resilient and more equitable.
From 27 to 28 June 2023, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) will host the Policies against Hunger conference, which will address the topic of “Human rights-based approaches to food systems transformation”. The findings and recommendations developed jointly by the conference participants will be fed into 2030 Agenda measures, the follow-up measures to the UN Food Systems Summit, the work carried out in the UN Committee on World Food Security and national policy-making.
