Political interests block UN negotiations on the Right to Food
News Release
ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD
ROME - July 10, 2004 – Negotiations on an international strategy for ending hunger and realizing the human right to food ended today in a stalemate brought on by the inflexible political agendas of numerous key participants.
The European Union was unrelenting in its objection to a paragraph suggesting that governments might consider allocating specific amounts of their official development assistance towards social programs, including those programs targeted towards food security. The United States resisted wording related to the protection of access to food in situations of foreign occupation. Developing countries objected to any mention of access to justice for vulnerable groups seeking to claim their right to food and they insisted on significantly weakening a paragraph aimed at protecting human rights defenders.
Despite last minute efforts by the FAO secretariat and the meeting Chairperson to reach consensus, the negotiating session ended without a compromise agreement. The entire process is now deferred to the FAO Committee on Food Security meeting in September.
Highlighting UNICEF figures reporting the deaths of an estimated 280,000 children from hunger worldwide during the week in which the negotiations took place, NGOs including Rights & Democracy called for an end to the political positioning that has stymied a compromise deal. However, despite the frustrating conclusion of this latest round of talks, Rights & Democracy highlighted the vital progress that was made in certain key areas as reason to believe a positive final outcome is possible when negotiations resume in two months.
For More Information
Please contact Steve Smith (ext 255) or Louis Moubarak (ext 261) at Rights & Democracy, 514-283-6073.
