Doha, February 07 (QNA) - The Doha Declaration on Food Justice called on states and other relevant stakeholders to work together to use the right to food as a transformative framework for the transition to sustainable, people-centred food systems by utilizing comprehensive and integrated approaches such as agroecology and regenerative agriculture as an essential means of adaptation at the same time with climate change and the realization of the right to food.
The recommendations of the International Conference on Food Justice from a Human Rights Perspective called for the development and strengthening of legal frameworks that explicitly recognize and protect the right to food and harmonize national policies with international human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Human Rights, and to support the progressive realization of the guiding principles on the right to adequate food.
In this context, HE Chairperson of Qatar National Human Rights Committee Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah said that the conference was an opportunity to strengthen old partnerships cherished by the National Human Rights Committee and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, as well as to build new partnerships that they seek to consolidate. Over the course of two days of intense work, a topic that affects the life and survival of every human being was discussed, an obligation that everyone should work on to free them from hunger and enable them to have their right to obtain adequate and sustainable food.
During the closing session of the conference, Al Attiyah appreciated the importance of thinking about the results of implementing the recommendations of this conference in practice, as they will bring an added value and a milestone in international efforts for achieving food justice, especially since we live in a stage characterized by uncertainty coupled with the outbreak of wars, conflicts and crises that threaten our lives, our human values, and our common principles.
She stressed that the recommendations reached by the conference participants establish fair, healthy and sustainable food systems that are based on upholding human dignity, protecting the most vulnerable groups of people, adopting agroecology, going beyond the issue of producing more food to the issue of access and entitlement, and providing the conditions for fair and stable markets that do not give priority to the concepts of "growth" and "profit" over human rights, as well as accelerating the transition to economies characterized by efficient use and sustainability of resources, stopping waste and depletion that lead to environmental, climate and social disasters, and achieving net zero emission of greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
In commencing our work for food justice, we must work first to prevent violations of justice anywhere in the world, given the impact this has on preventing gross violations of human rights. Today we are witnessing the suspension of humanitarian aid funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), on which the continuation of the life of the Palestinians and their enjoyment of the rights to food, health and education depend, in addition to the duty of the United Nations to fulfill its obligations towards the Palestinian people and their just cause, she said.
She called on the countries that suspended their funding of UNRWA to retract their decision, not only in response to the call of the United Nations and its specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other international and regional organizations in this field, but also in response to the order of the International Court of Justice that called for providing more humanitarian aid. It should also be in line with their duty in respect of the right to humanitarian assistance which shall not be suspended based on political conditions or linked to bilateral negotiations; and this is in order to prevent an imminent humanitarian catastrophe that undermines the rules of international law in protecting civilians and securing their humanitarian needs.
In addition to preventing collective punishment of millions of Palestinians, which is prohibited by law, it should be in line with their declared positions regarding respect for United Nations resolutions regarding the right of the Palestinian people to establish their state, self-determination, and the return of refugees to their homes, as well as in line with the achievement of stability and peace in the region, which requires strengthening and protecting the capabilities of UNRWA and sustaining its work, she said.
HE Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Committee Sultan bin Hassan Al Jamali said that the international conference highlighted the importance of following a human rights-based approach to addressing successive global food crises as well as identifying promising practices for the State of Qatar, actors and other partners, including governments, United Nations, international organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and companies. They developed recommendations to enhance cooperation to support actions aimed at realizing the right to food around the world, especially in the Middle East and North Africa region.
During his reading of the final statement, Al Jamali explained that the discussion panels and working groups held on the sidelines of the conference addressed a wide range of issues related to measures aimed at implementing the right to food, noting that the participants stressed that there are many human rights instruments and mechanisms available to ensure the implementation of the right to food, but there remains a significant gap between the implementation of the instruments and the prevailing situation of food insecurity, malnutrition, hunger and famine in the world.
He continued by saying that the participants pointed to strengthening coordination and cooperation between States, international and regional organizations, United Nations agencies, human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector to implement these instruments at the national level.
He said that the participants unanimously agreed that violence and armed conflicts, climate change, poverty, loss of biodiversity, food loss and waste, global economic crises, sanctions, and the use of food as a weapon are the root causes of hunger and malnutrition that must be addressed through a radical transformation.
The recommendations of the conference called for protecting the right to food by developing strong and effective regulations to reduce over-concentration in agri-food systems, prohibit food speculation, hold companies accountable for violating the right to food, and ensure access to justice and effective redress.
They stressed the importance of addressing the structural economic and social challenges faced by food systems by implementing a human rights-based economy where economic, social and cultural rights, in particular the right to food, are respected by governments, businesses and consumers.
In this regard, states should create fiscal space and strengthen trade and tax policies that contribute to improving the affordability of food prices, while protecting the right of small producers to an adequate standard of living.
The recommendations noted the importance of strengthening the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Workers in Rural Areas, in order to implement the economic, social and cultural rights of peasants, small-scale farmers, fishermen and other people, especially women, who work in rural areas, and to implement agricultural reforms that guarantee equitable access to land, credit and seeds for all rural workers and marginalized communities in line with the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security.
They also stressed the need to take measures to protect food-related rights and knowledge, which include the traditional knowledge and practices of indigenous peoples, peasants and local communities, in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, noting the importance of adopting mitigation measures in food systems that address past and present injustices and discrimination, based on historical responsibilities, in line with the principles of climate equity and justice, and that those in charge of pollution will bear the cost of pollution.
The conference called for strengthening comprehensive social protection systems that cover social, economic, environmental and climate risks and impacts, promoting sustainable and resilient livelihoods and promoting decent work, including in the agri-food sector, ensuring that food subsidies support the realization of the right to food at the national and global levels, and ensuring the provision of school meals as one of the basic components of comprehensive social protection systems.
It pointed out the importance of setting regional standards to increase public investment and spending on the agricultural sector in order to gradually realize the right to food, individually and through international assistance and cooperation to the maximum extent available resources allow, noting that in this regard developed countries should fully implement their commitments related to development assistance to achieve the goal of allocating 0.7 percent of gross national income to official development assistance to developing countries.
The recommendations stressed the need to refrain from using starvation as a weapon of war and to take steps to facilitate the entry of sufficient, reliable, sustainable and unhindered aid and basic goods into Gaza in a manner commensurate with the needs of the civilian population, and to facilitate their distribution to any place where the locations of civilians are identified, and to provide water, food and medical supplies to the population, in line with its obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
They underscored the importance of respecting and protecting the right to food in Gaza, including by maintaining funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is the largest humanitarian organization in Gaza, in addition to respecting its obligations under international law.
With regard to the Palestinians in Gaza, the recommendations emphasized that the occupying state must take all measures in its power to prevent all acts that fall within the scope of the Genocide Convention, in line with the order of the International Court of Justice.
They called on national human rights institutions to monitor and implement the right to food within their countries and report on it, including monitoring the impact of climate change, economic crises, conflicts and sanctions on the right to food, in addition to cooperation at the regional and global levels on exchanging best practices and experiences to improve the implementation of the right to food, as well as providing advice and building the capacity of government agencies and other stakeholders to implement and incorporate the right to food into their laws, plans, policies and programs.
According to the recommendations, national human rights institutions will be required to support the design of public policies and the preparation of national strategies on food security and the promotion and protection of the right to food, in addition to following up on the implementation of recommendations issued by international human rights mechanisms, noting the importance of identifying national human rights indicators and standards to measure and monitor the gradual implementation of the right to food, in collaboration with government agencies, regional actors, civil society organizations and other stakeholders.
The Doha Declaration called on the UN agencies and human rights mechanisms to cooperate with the international financial institutions to give a top priority to the protection of the right to food in lending policies and credit agreements and international measures to handle the debt crisis, in addition to providing technical assistance and building the capabilities of developing countries to negotiate investment and trade agreements, in addition to ensuring that these agreements do not adversely affect the right to food.
It noted the importance of ensuring that the policies, practices and food products and beverage industry around the globe are consistent with the right to food, including the right of women and children.
On the recommendations submitted to the business sector, the Doha Declaration called for respecting the right to food, increasing transparency in the food value chains, such as labeling, refraining from considering food as a commodity, by adopting and implementing human rights due diligence, as recognized in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to ensure that potential negative impacts on the right to food are identified and addressed, including impacts of climate change, throughout the value chain.
In this respect, the recommendations underscored the significance of aligning with the United Nations Global Compact, upholding their core responsibilities to people and planet, integrating the principles of the compact into their strategies, policies and actions, establishing a culture of integrity, as well as strengthening partnership with other stakeholders to achieve sustainable and resilient food systems.
Regarding the recommendations presented to civil society organizations, the declaration emphasized that civil society organizations should advocate for the right to food at all levels and help small farmers and fishermen develop community-led solutions towards sustainable food systems and food sovereignty, in addition to engaging with international and regional human rights mechanisms through monitoring and reporting on the right to food and by sharing information on alleged human rights violations, including retaliation against the human rights defenders.
The Doha Declaration called on organizations to invoke strategic litigation to pursue accountability of governments and companies in national, regional, and international human rights bodies to ensure food justice.
Regarding final practical suggestions and recommendations, the conference decided to explore opportunities to submit its findings at the 56th session of the Human Rights Council and the 52nd plenary session of the Committee on World Food Security and to consider organizing future meetings on this subject, including facilitating the exchange of good practices on the realization of the right to food.
The ANNHRIs will work to promote and support capacity building of stakeholders and members in 2024 and in its new strategic plan in partnership with regional and global actors, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Development Program and the League of Arab States.
The conferees decided to form a committee to follow up on its recommendations and develop a four-year implementation plan. The committee will be made up of conference organizers and will start to operate in 2024 along with governments, regional actors, and relevant stakeholders to develop an action plan towards realizing the right to food in line with conference recommendations and in coordination with the follow-up committee of 2023 conference on human rights and climate change on the common links between climate change and the right to food.
Chaired by HE Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Committee Sultan bin Hassan Al Jamali, the International Conference on Food Justice from a Human Rights Perspective under the theme "Challenges of Reality and Future Stakes." reviewed the outcomes and recommendations of the workshops held on the second day, during which the participants presented the most important outcomes and recommendations made by them.
The participants stressed the need for cooperation between all three parties - governments, national human rights institutions, and civil society institutions - in making this right a reality for all peoples, pointing out the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in alleviating the severity of crises and disasters and the necessity of linking food crises to climate change.
The participants stressed the importance of cooperation between all three parties - governments, national human rights institutions, and civil society institutions - in realizing this right for all peoples, along with the importance of AI in ameliorating the severity of crises and disasters and the necessity of linking food crises to climate change.
They pointed out that the northern part of the Earth is characterized by its wealth and the waste of large quantities of food, and that it is possible to benefit from these wasted foods, underscoring in the results of their recommendations the importance of creating spaces for research and encouraging institutions that produce foods.
One of the workshops came up with a recommendation stating the imperative of stipulating the right to food in state constitutions in a way that gives this right a legal sanctity, and not just mentioning it among cultural and social rights, which would support the existence of national laws that address this right and help people whose rights are violated resort to litigation. (QNA)