Every human being has the right to adequate food. Reaffirmed by Heads of State and Government at the World Food Summits in 1996 and 2002, the right to adequate food is also enshrined in several international human rights instruments. This right been accepted as a binding obligation by the 159 States that have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. For some decades, divergence and uncertainty reigned with regards to the concrete steps to be taken to make this right a reality for all, until in 2004 FAO Council unanimously adopted the “Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security” (referred to in this Guide as the Right to Food Guidelines).

These Guidelines represent the first attempt by governments to interpret an economic, social and cultural right. They provide practical guidance and advice to states for the establishment of priorities and the implementation of measures to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the right to adequate food at national level.

The Right to Food Guidelines address all states whether rich or poor, regardless of their food security situation. While the Guidelines constitute a considerable advancement in the promotion of the right to food, the technical capacity to integrate a human-rights approach to traditional food security policies is still underdeveloped. This is mainly due to the inherent complexity of the right to food concept which requires legal, economic policy, social and institutional action in line with the human rights principles of transparency, accountability, participation, non-discrimination and the rule of law. In order to support governments in their efforts to implement the Right to Food Guidelines, the Right to Food Unit at FAO has developed a series of reference guides including this guide on How to Conduct a Right to Food Assessment.

A profound assessment of a legal, policy and institutional framework is the starting point for a country to implement the right to food. Such an assessment usually starts with the identification of vulnerable groups and the reasons for their deprivation. An analysis of the country’s laws, policies and institutions helps to understand whether a government is on track in responding to the root causes of hunger and what measures need to be taken to address possible gaps. A distinctive feature of right to food assessment is its focus on assessing duty bearers’ accountability to right holders.

This Guide aims to be highly practical. No recipes are presented, rather, it provides methods and tools to undertake a right to adequate food assessment. The material contained in the Guide draws on lessons learned from FAO-supported country case studies on the right to adequate food. A preliminary version was used and validated in a number of countries. These experiences also enriched the present Guide.

Bibliographic Details

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Publisher: 2009, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Thematic Areas

Right to Food

Online Source(s)

Where possible, links are provided here to the original publication sources. Click on Source Title to open the document, but please note that this redirects you to a different website.

Language	Format	Source Title
English	PDF document	Guide to Conducting a Right to Food Assessment

Case Studies & Reports of Best Practice

These reports describe practical applications of the toolset.

The Human Right to Food in Haiti