Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food

Please, read the general remarks about the special procedures first.

Rights and Intended Situations

Created in 2000, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has the objective to respond fully to the necessity for an integrated and coordinated approach in the promotion and protection of the right to food.

His work is based on the right to adequate food (Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), completed by General Comment No. 12 (1999) in which the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights affirmed “that the right to adequate food is indivisibly linked to the inherent dignity of the human person and is indispensable for the fulfillment of other human rights enshrined in the International Bill of Human Rights and is also inseparable from social justice, requiring the adoption of appropriate economic, environmental and social policies, at both the national and international levels, oriented to the eradication of poverty and the fulfillment of all human rights for all”.

Implementation of the Procedure

Filing a Complaint

The complaint must at least contain the following information:

• Identity of the person(s) or organization(s) submitting the inquiry;
• Full name, age, sex and place of residence or origin of the supposed victim;
• Indication of as many details as possible (name, age, sex and place of residence or origin) if it refers to a group or community;
• Date and place of the incident (approximately, if the exact date is unknown)
• Detailed description of the circumstances of the incident under which the presumed violation took place;
• Identity of the suspect(s) (name if known, title/position, presumed motivation);
• As the case may be, measures taken at the national level (for example, if the police had been informed, in case that other national authorities are involved, as well as a possible position of the government);
• As the case may be, measures taken at the international level (for example, if other mechanisms have been called up)

Information and complaints can be submitted (specifying the pertinent special procedure) to:

Consequences of the Complaint

Once the Special Rapporteur received credible information concerning restrictions of the right to food, he can address a communication, generally in form of a letter submitted by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to the concerned government asking it to give information concerning the allegation and to take preventive measures or to initiate an investigation.

The communications can deal with cases of individuals, groups or communities, the general trends and development of human rights violations in certain countries as well as draft law or law in force subjected to apprehension. The communications are generally made in form of “urgent appeals” or “letters of allegation”. When there are multiple mandates for one case, the Special Rapporteur can submit joint communications.

“Urgent appeals” are used to provide information concerning current or imminent violations. They are submitted to inform the competent authorities as quickly as possible so that these can intervene to stop the human rights violation or to prevent it.

“Letters of allegation” are used to provide information concerning violations which have already taken place and which have had irreversible consequences for the supposed victim. This type of communication is used, for example, when the Special Rapporteur receives information on violations which have already been committed.

With both types of communication, the Special Rapporteur asks the government concerned to take all appropriate measures to investigate and remedy the alleged violations and to submit the results of its intervention. According to the response, the Special Rapporteur can decide to pursue the investigation or to give recommendations.