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World Food Summit: Five Years Later

The Honourable Lyle Vanclief, P.C., M.P.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Sir John Carling Building
930 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0C5

Re: World Food Summit: Five Years Later

June 3, 2002

Dear Minister Vanclief,

I am writing to you in my capacity of Acting President of Rights & Democracy. This letter is intended to inform you of Rights & Democracy's position related to the World Food Summit, Five Years Later (WFS.fyl) taking place in Rome next week.

In a world which produces more than enough food to feed all of its population, 36 million people die of hunger or malnourishment every year. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Zeigler, calls this tragedy "a silent massacre" and a violation of the human right to food. In his report to the 58th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2002/58), Zeigler makes specific recommendations for implementation of the right to food, including measures:

1. to recognize the justiciability of the right;
2. to adopt flexibility mechanisms within international trade agreements:
3. to address systemic coherence between multilateral institutions and processes;
4. to develop alternative models of agricultural production in support of low income, resource poor farmers in developing countries.

These objectives reflect the commitments made in the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and Plan of Action in 1996 when signatory governments committed to "reducing the number of undernourished people to half their present level by not later than 2015". It is shocking and disturbing that little progress has been made towards that moderate goal and the problem of hunger and malnutrition persists unabated. Clearly, something must change. The WFS.fyl offers an important opportunity to assess the reasons why WFS targets have not been attained and to consider new proposals which have been put forward by both Governments and civil society since 1996.

It is our view, that Canadian leadership could make a difference. As a member of the CAIRNS group, as an influential participant in the current agriculture negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and as host to the upcoming G-8 Leaders meeting immediately following the WFS, Canada is in an important strategic position to influence change.

Rights & Democracy proposes three key areas in which Canadian leadership could make a difference and while being reflective of, and consistent with, our international commitments in the areas of both human rights and trade.

1. Support the International Code of Conduct on the Right to Food

During the WFS.fyl, Canada should support and endorse the growing momentum to develop an International Code of Conduct on the Right to Food which would provide a framework for debate on appropriate rules and regulations at both the national and international levels. Endorsing such a Code, which was first proposed as part of commitment 7 (7.4) of the Rome Declaration in 1996, would not conflict with existing Canadian policy but rather it would comply with Canada's obligations under international treaties already ratified, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Many other UN treaties and declarations to which Canada is party, reaffirm the right to food. Indeed, the Government of Canada sponsored and hosted a seminar in Ottawa in October 2001 which concluded with a recommendation that Canada "should support the right to food in the policy and programs of the FAO" (International Experts' workshop on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, DFAIT-AGH).

Already, there appears to be significant momentum towards the adoption of a code of conduct related to the right to food. A conference organized by the German Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture in Berlin May 22-23, 2002, brought together representatives from many governments, including Canada, with international experts on human rights, trade and agricultural policy. Although a concluding report of the conference is not yet available, delegates report there was general consensus among government delegates that development of a code of conduct on the right to food would be a useful framework for shaping policies and programmes designed to eliminate hunger.

We believe that agreement to adopt a code of conduct on the right to food is an achievable and desirable outcome of the WFS.fyl. Canada's support of this initiative will be an important indicator of its good faith leading into the G8 meeting where emphasis is placed on Africa and the development challenges it faces. As FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf has said, "Öin the presence of hunger, the ability to exercise other human rights is severely hampered".

2. Support Flexibility in the WTO Agreement on Agriculture

The promotion and protection of human rights is enshrined as a Charter obligation by both Articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, signed in 1993 by 171 countries including Canada, stated that "Human rights are the birthright of all human beings; their protection and promotion is the first responsibility of Governments" (emphasis added). In many developing countries, however, the ability of the state to comply with its human rights obligations under the UN Charter and treaties is constrained by conditionalities imposed by the international financial institutions and by trade-related factors such as heavy subsidization and closed markets in the developed world.

In order to mitigate the impacts of such inequities, a proposal for a "development box" within the Agreement on Agriculture has been placed on the WTO agenda and has received wide support among developing country governments. The "development box" is a collection of measures designed specifically to support development objectives in developing countries. It seeks to provide flexibility for developing and least-developed countries, for small farmers in those countries, and for rules governing "food security crops". In this context, food security is defined as crops which are either staple foods or which are the main sources of income for low-income/resource poor farmers.

The authority for a development box proposal is found in the preamble of the Agreement on Agriculture itself which commits signatories to consideration of the "particular needs and conditions of developing country Members" and the "possible negative effects of the implementation of the reform programme on least-developed and net food-importing developing countries". Article 20 of the AoA permits WTO members to take the non-trade concerns of developing-country Members into account within its negotiations and the Marrakesh Decision which was appended to the AoA at the conclusion of the Uruguay Round provided assurances of compensation for possible negative impacts of the AoA.

Measures such as a "development box" are supported by the majority of Canadians, as revealed by recent poll conducted by Environics Research Group for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). It indicates that a majority of Canadians (more than 94%) would support special measures to address the needs of poor countries in areas such as food security.

Following discussions in Doha, nine developing countries put forward a proposal on the "development box" during the February 2001 Special Session on agriculture negotiations. A substantive debate on what would be included in such a "box" is expected during the Committee on Agriculture's special session on cross-cutting issues scheduled to take place in November. The WFS.fyl is a critical step in building momentum towards that debate. Canada should therefore, support the "development box" proposal as a concrete response to objectives 4.2 and 4.3 of the Rome Declaration.

3. Systemic issues, Multi-stakeholder Dialogue and WFS Monitoring Office

Notwithstanding all of the above, it must be understood that even if adopted, the Code of Conduct on the Right to Food and the Development Box on their own, will not solve the problem of food security in developing countries. As noted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in its recent publication Managing the Invisible Hand, other basic elements of food production must also be addressed. These include issues such as land reform, regional infrastructure development, conditions for migrant and other farm labour, food processing and access to markets, all of which will require both political and financial support from the developed world via many different multilateral processes.

This was recognized at the recent Financing for Development Conference (FfD) in Monterrey, Mexico. There, for the first time, under UN auspices, several UN agencies, the WTO and the Bretton Woods institutions came together in an effort, among other things, to address consistency between their various policies. The concluding FfD document, the Monterrey Consensus, called upon these institutions to take steps aimed at increased coherence, coordination and cooperation (para 69.b). To fulfil this objective, it recommended a series of multi-stakeholder processes which would include both NGOs and the private sector.

In Canada, NGOs have called for a similar commitment to a holistic approach through inter-departmental cooperation. In a letter dated April 19, 2002 to International Development Minister Susan Whelan and copied to your office, a coalition of Canadian NGOs noted that FfD follow-up would be viewed as continual process leading from Monterrey to the Rome Food Summit and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The NGOs suggested that a small inter-department group be created as a consultative mechanism between government and interested Canadian civil society representatives and we are waiting for a response to that request. Would you please inform me as to when I can expect a reply?

The objective of such processes both at the multilateral and national levels, is not only to debate policy issues but also to monitor progress towards commitments already made in an effort to identify obstacles and develop effective remedies. For this reason, non-governmental organizations have suggested that the FAO expand its follow-up capacity through the creation of an office for WFS monitoring. Such an office would respond to the problems associated with implementation of the Rome Declaration and would work in close cooperation with the Trust Fund, already established to improve food access in developing countries. Rights & Democracy fully supports this recommendation as a practical means of ensuring that the Rome Declaration becomes more than simply another UN document.

In a recent Rights & Democracy publication entitled Unequal Harvest, Wurku Eunetie Mekonnen, a farmer from Ethiopia states , "I see a big difference between my children's life and the time when I was young. Children now are affected by a lack of food and no change of clothes. My work barely supports the family. It is hand to mouth... it is not enough for all the family members. We do not have enough food."

Agricultural policy affects the day to day lives and survival of millions of people. Farmers and human rights activists around the world are pressing national governments and international organizations such as the FAO, to fulfil their human rights obligations even as they pursue a rules-based system for the international trade of agricultural products. The Government of Canada has a crucial role to play in this effort and we encourage you to act in the interests of those in the greatest need.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Mahoney
Acting President
Rights & Democracy

cc: Hon. Bill Graham, Minister, DFAIT
Hon. Pierre Pettigrew, Minister, International Trade
Hon. Susan Whelan, Minister, CIDA