Human Rights and Food Security

A PAPER ON Human functions and aliment certification _______________________________________ PRESENTED BY SHASHANKA KUMAR NAG LL. M- THIRD SEMESTER HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY RAIPUR, CHHATTISGARH greet Shashanka Kumar Nag LL. M (Third Semester) Boys Hostel, B- Block, Room No. F-32 Hidayatullah outlet faithfulness University Uparwara Post, Abhanpur recent Raipur 493661 (C. G. ) Mobile 09804513485, 08817104782 E-mail- emailprotected com DECLARATION I decl be that the work submitted by me for this seminar is a result of my own effort.I affirm that there is no plagiarism and copying, either parti ally or entirely, from someone elses works, without giving proper credit and ack directlyledgment to the source(s)/author(s). INTRODUCTION in that location argon people in the world so hungry, that God dismiss non appear to them except in the form of bread. Mahatma Gandhi Human the pay off ways atomic number 18 commonly on a lower floor(a)stood as inalienable funda mental amends to which a somebody is inherently empower simply beca subprogram she or he is a benevolent being. Human goods argon thus conceived as universal (applicable everywhere) and egalitarian (the said(prenominal) for everyone). These refines may exist as sufferlike rights or as effectual rights, in two issue and world(prenominal) law. The doctrine of kind-hearted rights in world broad practice, inside concealnational law, global and regional institutions, in the policies of alleges and in the activities of non- regimenal organizations, has been a cornerstone of globe policy around the world.Many of the rudimentary ideas that shake the human rights movement developed in the after(prenominal)math of the Second adult male War and the atrocities of The Holocaust, culminating in the adoption of the Universal resolution of Human accountabilitys in Paris by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The antiquated world did non possess the opinion of un iversal human rights. past societies had elaborate transcriptions of duties conceptions of justice, policy-making legitimacy, and human flourishing that sought to realize human dignity, flourishing, or wellnessful-being entirely independent of human rights.The modern concept of human rights developed during the early Modern period, alongside the European secularisation of Judeo-Christian ethics. The true forerunner of human rights discourse was the concept of natural rights which appe ard as part of the medieval Natural law tradition that became declamatory during the Enlightenment with much(prenominal) philosophers as John Locke, Francis Hutcheson, and Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, and featured prominently in the political discourse of the Ameri end Revolution and the French Revolution.The Universal Declaration of Human slumps (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, partly in response to the atrocities of World War II. Although the UDHR was a non-bindi ng resolution, it is now considered by some to down acquired the force of international customary law which may be invoked in trance circumstances by national and opposite judiciaries. The UDHR urges member nations to elevate a number of human, civil, frugal and hearty rights, asserting these rights as part of the foundation of granting immunity, justice and peace in the world. The declaration was the stolon international licit effort to limit the deportment of states and press upon them duties to their citizens following the model of the rights-duty duality. The right to nourishment, and its variations, is a human right defend the right for people to feed themselves in dignity, implying that sufficient nourishment is available, that people beat the convey to access it, and that it fitly meets the individuals dietetic needs. The right to feed protects the right of all human beings to be free from hunger, forage in credential and mal living.The right to viands do es not imply that regimes have an obligation to hand out free nutrition to everyone who wants it, or a right to be fed. However, if people argon deprived of access to diet for reasons beyond their control, for example, because they are in detention, in propagation of war or after natural disasters, the right requires the political relation to nominate sustenance directly. Right to regimen and right to be free from hunger are the human rights which are protected under non-homogeneous international human rights and humanitarian laws.Right to nutrient is explicitly mentioned in the hold 25(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and the oblige 11 of International engagement on stinting, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966. It is likewise recognised in the Convention on the Rights of the electric shaver 1989 and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Right to forage of indigeneous people is understood in the IL O Convention No-169 which is approved by 17 countries. Approximately 20 countries in the world have incorporated the Right to forage for their people. THE creation OF FOOD trade protectionWorld Development Report (1986) defined provender security schema as access by all people at all multiplication to enough nutrient for an active, healthy life. According to nourishment and Agri ethnic physical composition (FAO) of the UNO, solid food security exists when all people at all times have access to sufficient and nutritious nourishment to meet the dietary needs and forage preference for an active and healthy life. Staatz (1990) defined nutrition security as The expertness to assure, on a long verge basis, that the sustenance system provides the total population access to a timely, accredited and nutritionally becoming affix of food. Thus food security may be of short- shape or sustainable. In pillow slip of short-term food security we consider food security of the pre sent population only. unless(prenominal) in sheath of sustainable food security we consider the food security not only of the present generation but overly of the future generation as well. According to Swaminathan, Sustainable food security means enough food for everyone at present plus the ability to provide enough food in future as well. In the long-run sustainable food security is very important. ELEMENTS OF FOOD SECURITY nutrition security is a state of being.Like literacy or good health, food security is a state that everyone wants to enjoy. Governments have decreed that every someone has an inalienable right to food. The fundamental purpose of economic activity is to realise adequate access to food for oneself and ones family. The primacy of food security as an objective for human activity is reflected in the frequency with which the term food security appears in UN declarations and NGO advocacy efforts. The World cunning Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture ac knowledges the legitimacy of food security concerns.South Africa, Brazil and Norway have all enshrined the right to food in law. There are basically three principle elements of Food warrantor. These are total Global food ware has by and large kept up with or exceeded demand over the past century. The application of new technologies to agriculture, including motored vehicles to till, plant and harvest crops improved seed and breeding stock and the use of herbicides, pesticides and inorganic fertilizers, has vastly increased productivity.At the same time , one threesome or more of agricultural land used to be utilize to growing fuel (wood to burn) or feed for the animals that provide muscle for loony toons and production (hay for horses and oxen). Much of that land is now available to grow food for humans instead, adding to the total overall supply. Distribution Distribution depends on such things as markets, transportation, infrastructure, relative purchasing causality and t he source and nature of the supply.Where the food is traded commercially , the volume and type of food traded is related to purchasing power and the ease with which the trader can reach a market. Access Food security is about individuals , families and communities, not about regional and national aggregates. That is why, supply is only one piece of the food security puzzle. Only seldom does a whole agricultural face hunger or famine. Rather, when the food supply is insufficient, those with greater purchasing power get food turn those without sufficient income or entitlement go hungry.CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS FOR ENSURING FOOD SECURITY In India there is a deeply rooted tradition of respect for food it stresses the importance of growing and sharing food. Sharing or offering food is a universal tradition shared by all spiritual entities that have roots in the Indian soil. Accordingly, in 1950, India adopted a very progressive Constitution aimed at ensuring all its citizens social, economic and political justice, equality, and dignity. Therefore any law to be valid in Indian Territory must be within the implicit in(p) framework.Like in legion(predicate) countries of the World the The Right to Food in Indian Constitution is not recognized as a Fundamental Right. Therefore, there is no constitutional mandate to have a claim over it. Regarding right to food, one has to look for relevance in term 21 of the Constitution, entitled Protection of life and own(prenominal) emancipation and oblige 47 calling of the state to bring on the take aim of nutrition and the quantity of living as well as in discriminatory interventions of the dogmatic Court and various Acts, which have cumulatively strengthened the right to food in India.Knowing the constitutional and legislative framework in India regarding the right to food is crucial for identifying right to food violations and buy ating victims in realizing their right to food. Indian Constitution grammatical c onstituent III, Article 21 Protection of life and personal liberty No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except to procedure naturalised by law. The phrases Protection of life and personal liberty have called several times for interpretation. A series of judicial interventions and interpretations have deepened the normative content of this fundamental right.Indian Constitution Part IV Directive Principles The right to food or in general the economic, social, and cultural rights are defined in Part IV of the Constitution as Directive Principles of recount Policy, which are guidelines to the central and State Governments for framing laws and policies. The alimentation are not enforceable by any court, but the principles dictated down therein are considered as fundamental in the plaque of the country. There are several Articles under the Directive Principles offer international relevance for the right to food, but the clearest statement regarding the right to food is provided by Article 47.Article 47 Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health. The State shall regard the face lift of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties and, in particular, the State shall endeavor to shoot down about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs, which are injurious to health.Putting together Article 21 and 47 and various interpretations of the peremptory Court of one can safely say that the Government of India has a constitutional obligation to paying back appropriate measures to find a ennoble life with adequate food for all citizens. The right to food can be regarded as a fundamental right by virtue of interpretation. NATIONAL MEASURES TO ENSURE FOOD SECURITY There has been a continous appealingness to the Government for passing a legisla tion on food security.The government is likely to accept most of the recommendations of Sonia Gandhi-led content Advisory Council (NAC) on the proposed food security law despite warnings that the suggestions would add to premium burden, increase dependency on imports and distort the countrys food economy. The food ministry has set out plans that are in line with the NACs proposal to widen the background of the legislation, which seeks to provide profound guarantee of subsidised grains to the poor.Several experts have warned that the NAC recommendations would force the government to substantially raise its grain procurement, which in turn would lead to a larger subsidy burden on its already stretched finances. The council had proposed legal subsidised food entitlements for at least 72% of the countrys population in Phase-I by 2011-12. The NAC had excessively proposed legal subsidised food entitlements for 75% of the countrys population, covering the priority (below the poverty line) and general (above the poverty line) households, in Phase-II by 2013-14. National Food Security Bill, 2011The government has fetchd the much anticipate National Food Security Bill a legislation aimed at shoring up the UPAs support base in Parliament. The landmark social legislation result guarantee grain at extremely twopenny rates to more than half of the population. Food minister KV Thomas, who introduced the measuring stick in the Lok Sabha amid thumping of desks by intercourse members led by troupe president Sonia Gandhi, said that it would visualise that all Indians live a life with dignity. The bill marks a shift in start to the problem of food security from the current wel distante paradigm to a rights-based approach.The proposed legislation confers eligible beneficiaries the legal right to receive grain at highly subsidised expenditures. The National Food Security Bill, 2011, considered to be the worlds largest experimentation in ensuring food security to poor, has been a key project of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The bill brings under its purview 63. 5% of the countrys population 75% of rural households and 50% of urban households. The bill classifies all entitled households as general and priority. At least 46% of rural households and 28% of urban households would be designated as priority.Every person be to a priority household result be provided with 7kg of grain per calendar month, comprising rice, chaff and large-grained grain. Rice will be provided at Rs 3, wheat at Rs 2 and coarse grain at Rs 1 per kg. Others belonging to the general phratry would be entitled to not less than 3kg of grain per month at a rate not exceeding 50% of the minimum support price. Once passed, the food subsidy bill is expected to rise to Rs 95,000 crore. sign estimates pegged the increase in subsidy at nearly Rs 28,000 crore.However, on Thursday, the government made a downward revision of the superfluous burden on the central government between R 21,000 crore to R 23,000 crore. The bills fiscal chronicle estimates the total annual expenditure on food subsidy under the targeted public dissemination system at about Rs 79,800 crore. The estimate of food subsidy is however dependent, among early(a) things, upon economic cost, central issue of price of grain, number of beneficiaries covered and quantities of grain allocated and lifted, and therefore subject to change with changes in any or all of the variables affecting food subsidy, the memorandum states.Experts keep that the annual increase would be to the tune of Rs 27,500 crore. However, Thomas said an additional amount of not more than about Rs 20,000-21,000 crore annually would be inevitable by way of subsidy. The minister argued since the food bill merges many current programmes meant for women, chelaren and the poor, there would be no additional financial burden. The total financial liability to apply the law is expected to be Rs 3. 5 hundred thousand c rore, with funds being required to raise agriculture production, create transshipment center space and publicity.A sum of roughly Rs 1,11,000 crore would be required to boost levy output with grain requirement increasing, on account of this intervention, from 55 zillion tonne to 61 million tonne annually. Thomas stressed that this Rs 1,10,600 crore is not an additional burden. We need to invest in agriculture to boost production anyway. The proposed law entitles every pregnant woman and lactating puzzle to meal free of cost during pregnancy and six months after childbirth. coin benefits of Rs 1,000 per month to meet increased food requirements of pregnant women would be provided for the first six months of pregnancy.At Rs 1,000 per month and covering 2. 25 crore women, an expenditure of nearly Rs 13,500 crore has been estimated. This will be borne by the central government and the states. Schemes to Ensure Food Security There are also certain central food projects and other as sistance programmes for the poor in India. These are * Targeted mankind Distribution outline * Antyodaya Anna Yojana * Mid-day meal system * Annapoorna Yojana * Integrated Child Development Services * National family benefit plan * National maternity benefit intrigue and National old age pension scheme. The Public Distribution System (PDS) Public Distribution System (PDS) is an Indian food security system. Established by the Government of India under Ministry of Consumer Af lovelys, Food, and Public Distribution and managed jointly with state governments in India, it distributes subsidised food and non-food items to Indias poor. Major commodities distributed include staple food grains, such as wheat, rice, sugar, and kerosene, by means of a network of Public distribution shops (PDS) established in several states across the country.Food Corporation of India, a Government-owned corporation, procures, maintain and issue food grains to the state. Distribution of food grains to poo r people throughout the country are managed by state governments. As of date there are about 4. 99 lakh Fair Price Shops (FPS) across India. Annapoorna Yojana This scheme was started by the government in 1999-2000 to provide food to senior citizens who cannot take business of themselves and are not under the targeted public distribution system (TPDS), and who have no one to take care of them in their village.This scheme would provide 10kg of free food grains a month for the eligible senior citizens. The allocation for this scheme as off 2000-01 was Rs coke crore. Antyodaya Anna Yojana Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) is an Indian government sponsored scheme for ten millions of the poorest families. It was launched by NDA government in December 2000. It is on the lookout for the poorest of the poor by providing them 35 kilos of rice and wheat at Rs. 2 per kg. Mid-Day Meals Scheme The Midday Meal Scheme is the favorite name for school meal programme in India which started in the sixtie s.It involves formulation of lunch free of working days. The key objectives of the programme are protecting children from classroom hunger, increasing school enrollment and attendance, improved socialization among children belonging to all castes, addressing malnutrition, and social empowerment through provision of employment to women. The scheme has a long history, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu. The scheme was introduced statewide by the then Chief Minister K. Kamaraj in the 1960s and later expanded by the M. G. Ramachandran government in 1982.It has been adopted by most Indian states after a landmark direction by the Supreme Court of India on November 28, 2001. The success of this scheme is illustrated by the dire increase in the school participation and completion rates in Tamil Nadu. Status of the Food Schemes in India The framework of the right to food is one of the basic economic and social rights that are essential to execute the economic democracy without which po litical democracy is , at best, incomplete. The right to food is nowhere being realized in India.The schemes introduced by the Government are well designed, yet their executing has been poor. In India, food security exists at the macro level in terms of physical access to food. Economic access is far from satisfactory, two at the micro as well as the macro level. The statement that economic access to food is far from satisfactory is confirmed by the fact that a significant dimension of the society lives in poverty and is malnourished. This section of the society is underprivileged and has less voice. INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS TO ENSURE FOOD SECURITYThe right to food imposes on all States obligations not only towards the persons living on their national territory, but also towards the populations of other States. These two sets of obligations complement one another. The right to food can only be fully realized where both national and international obligations are complied with. CO NSTITUTION OF FAO, 1965 Preamble The Nations accepting this Constitution, being determined to promote the common welfare by furthering separate and collective action on their part for the purpose of raising levels of nutrition and standards of living and thus nsuring humanitys freedom from hunger. WORLD FOOD SUMMIT PLAN OF ACTION, 1996 Commitment Seven We will implement, monitor and follow-up this Plan of Action at all levels in cooperation with the international community. Objective 7. 4 To clarify the content of the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, as declared in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other germane(predicate) international and regional instruments, and to ease off particular attention to implementation and full and progressive fruition of this right as a means of achieving food security for all.To this end, governments, in partnership with all actors of civil society, will, as a ppropriate a. Make every effort to implement the provisions of Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Covenant) and relevant provisions of other international and regional instruments b. Urge States that are not yet Parties to the Covenant to adhere to the Covenant at the earliest contingent time c. charm the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to give particular attention to this Plan of Action in the framework of its activities and to get across to monitor the mplementation of the specific measures provided for in Article 11 of the Covenant d. Invite relevant treaty bodies and appropriate specialized agencies of the UN to consider how they might contribute, within the framework of the coordinated follow-up by the UN system to the major international UN conferences and summits, including the World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna 1993, within the scope of their mandates, to the further implementation of this right e. Invite the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in computer address with relevant treaty bodies, and in collaboration with relevant specialized agencies and programmes of the UN system and appropriate intergovernmental mechanisms, to better define the rights related to food in Article 11 of the Covenant and to propose ways to implement and realize these rights as a means of achieving the commitments and objectives of the World Food Summit, taking into account the misadventure of formulating voluntary guidelines for food security for all. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, 1948Article 25 Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and eudaemonia of himself and his family, including food INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS, 1966 Article 11 1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food. The States Parties wi ll take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international cooperation based on free consent. 2.The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, one at a time and through international cooperation, the measures, including specific programmes, which are needed a. To improve methods of production, saving and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to carry out the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources b.Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in singing to need. Article 2 1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and cooperation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures.UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD, 1989 Article 24 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. States Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is deprived of his or her right of access to health care services. 2. States Parties shall watch over full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures c. o combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, the application of readily available techn ology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods. d. to ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and children, are informed, have access to education and are supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition. Article 27 States Parties, in consent with national conditions and within their means shall in case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition.Apart from these the Right to Food has also been recognized in many specific international instruments as varied as the 1948Genocide Convention(Article 2), the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees(Articles 20 and 23),the 1989Convention on the Rights of the Child(Articles 24(2)(c) and 27(3)), the 1979Convention on the Elimination of all in all Forms of Discrimination Against Women(Articles 12(2)), or the 2007Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(Articles 25(f) and 28(1)). JUDICIAL INTERPRETATIONS 1.KISHE N PATTNAYAK VS. STATE OF ORISSA, In this petition, the wooer wrote a letter to the Supreme Court bringing to the courts notice the extreme poverty of the people of Kalahandi in Orissa where hundreds were last due(p) to starvation and where several people were forced to sell their children. The letter prayed that the State Government should be directed to take immediate steps in order to ameliorate this miserable condition of the people of Kalahandi. This was the first case specifically taking up the issue of starvation and lack of food.In this judgement, the Supreme Court took a very pro-government approach and gave directions to take macro level measures to address the starvation problem such as implementing irrigation projects in the state so as to reduce the drought in the region, measures to ensure fair selling price of paddy and appointing of a Natural Calamities Committee. None of these measures truly directly affected the immediate needs of the petitioner, i. e. to preven t people from dying of hunger. More importantly, the Supreme Court did not recognise the specific Right to Food within this context of starvation. . PUCL VS. UNION OF INDIA, This is a landmark case relating to Right to Food and food security. This case, technically known as PUCL vs due north of India and others (Writ Petition Civil No. 196 of 2001), is handled by an advisory group consisting of a a few(prenominal) members from the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), former support group of the RIght to Food Campaign and other active individuals in the campaign. Supreme Court hearings have been held at regular intervals since April 2001, and the case has attracted wide national and international attention.Although the judgment is still awaited, significant interim orders have been passed from time to time. For instance, the Supreme Court has passed orders directing the Indian government to (1) introduce cooked mid-day meals in all primary scho ols, (2) provide 35 kgs of grain per month at highly subsidized prices to 15 million destitute households under the Antyodaya component of the PDS, (3) double resource allocations for Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (Indias largest rural employment programme at that time, now superseded by the Employment Guarantee Act), and (4) universalize the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). . CHAMELI SINGH VS. STATE OF U. P. , In this case, it was held that right to life guaranteed in any civilized society implies the right to food, water, decent environment, education, medical care and shelter. The method in which the constitutional social rights or the DPSP have been enforce or made justifiable by the Supreme Court has been through an expansion of the existing fundamental rights, particularly the Right to Life guaranteed in Article 21. CONCLUSION Starvation deaths and high prevalence of hunger intelligibly show that India needs to wake up.The judiciary cannot monitor the implemen tation of the schemes forever. The government needs to review policy from time to time and take tonic measures for effective implementation of different schemes and programmes, establish effective mechanisms of accountability and ensure the right to food for all. As the problem of food insecurity relates to both the demand and supply of food, a solution could be to empower people towards greater purchasing power, as well as addressing the inadequacy of the distribution system, and checking corruption and leakages.Awareness among the people with regard to their right to food can come out the process of equitable distribution and thus help to realize the right to food for all citizens. The right to food is not just a basic human right, it is also a basic human need. It basically requires the state to ensure that at least people do not starve. Implementation of the right to food does not imply that impossible efforts be undertaken by the states. The obligation to protect and respect the people compels the state to implement the right to food effectively, without recourse to extensive financial means. 2 . Food Crisis and Sustainable Food Security in India by Jaydeb Sarkhel 3 . Right to Food- Reforms and Approaches, 2007, The Icfai University Press, pp5-6 4 . Dev, S. M, and R Evenson (2003) Rural Development in IndiaRural, Non-farm and mitigation severe combined immunodeficiency disease Working Paper No. 187. 5 . hold back available at http//socialissuesindia. wordpress. com/2010/08/05/human-rights-to-food-in-indian-constitution/ 6 . See available at http//articles. economictimes. indiatimes. com/2011-05-23/news/29574365_1_nac-recommendations-food-security-law-food-entitlements 7 . See available at http//articles. economictimes. ndiatimes. com/2011-12-23/news/30550903_1_food-subsidy-national-food-security-bill-grain 8 . Right to Food- Reforms and Approaches, 2007, The Icfai University Press, p. 230 9 . As amended in 1965. 10 . Adopted by the World Foo d Summit, capital of Italy, 13 to 17 November 1996. FAO. 1997. Report of the World Food Summit, Part One. Rome 11 . Adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 1948. UN doc. A/811. 12 . General Assembly Resolution 2200 A (XXI), Annex, of 16 December 1966. 13 . General Assembly Resolution 44/25, Annex, of 20 November 1989. 14 . AIR 1989 SC 677. 15 . 2001. 16 . (1996) 2 SCC 549.