Initiatives of Food and Agriculture ­­Organization (FAO)

A meeting was held in the Conference room of the Commission at 11 A.M. on 6th May 2008, under the Chairmanship of Member, NHRC, Mr. Justice G.P. Mathur, to discuss the Food and Agriculture Organization initiative to prepare a Guide on Legislating Right to Food.
Justice Mathur, appreciated FAO's initiative for preparing guidelines on framework of legislation on Right to Food. Referring to the WHO preamble, Article 25 of UDHR and Article 11 of ICESCR, he stated that right to free from hunger is a fundamental right to every individual. He observed that hunger is one of the main causes of poverty. He said, Right to life and personal liberty guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution includes Right to Food, as interpreted by the Supreme Court of India. He referred to fair price system to prevent hoarding in India and said, there is no such provision in the FAO's guide on Right to Food. In this connection, he drew attention to different provisions under Essential Commodities Act, 1995. Commenting on provisions relating to land tenure in the proposed draft, Justice Mathur mentioned that different kinds of land tenure systems are prevalent and in India every state has enacted legislation in this respect. As such inclusion of provisions on this issue in the proposed guidelines need to be relooked. He said, it will be difficult to have a common provision about this in all the countries as each of them has their own histo-geographical settings and considerations. Similar is the case with labour laws. Justice Mathur said, a uniform provision cannot be applicable for all the Member States having regard to their social problems.
Mrs. Marget Vidar, FAO Representative said, FAO is concerned about food and agriculture situation in the world. She said, there is a need for social, structural and political changes to ensure a hunger free society.
Ms. Dubravka Bojic Bultrini also representing FAO said, the main purpose of the guide on legislating Right to Food is to provide practical information and guidelines to the national policy makers and stakeholders.
Mr. A.K. Jain, Secretary General, NHRC, appreciated FAO's initiative. He said, since the decade of 50s, India has been conscious of food scarcity and enhancement in food production. The constitution and the Supreme Court rulings provide the framework for legal enforcement of Right to Food in India. However, the issue is to get quick legal remedy at affordable cost. He said, NHRC can also play the role of an independent agency to monitor the issue.
Mrs. Aruna Sharma, Joint Secretary, NHRC, noted that India has been quoted at 12 places in the document. She greeted FAO for this initiative to draft the document. However, Dr. S.K. Dubey, Director (Administration), NHRC, pointed out that Indian system seems to have been wrongly portrayed at two places in the document of FAO. The constitutional remedy is available under Article 32 and 226.
Mr. K.R. Venugopal, Member, Core Group on Right to Food, NHRC suggested that the framework law should incorporate every detail including standards.
Mr. Raj Kumar Sharma, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Supplies & Consumer Welfare Department, Government of Orissa and Member, Core Group on Right to Food, NHRC, suggested that the provisions of law should be simple and specific. Penal clauses should be incorporated for any violation. He suggested that there should be annual review of PDS list. The entitlement under PDS should be per capita and not per family.
Member, Core Group on Right to Food, NHRC, Dr. Mangala Rai stated that availability and access to quality food is essential for realization of right to food. He stated that there should be focus on increase of production in agriculture at regional, national and international level. He stated that Government of India is very alive on this issue as a result of which the production in U.P. and Bihar has increased.
Dr. Amrita Rangasami another Member, Core Group on Right to Food, NHRC stated that intervention of international community is essential in supplementing the capabilities of member states and they should not overlook their own obligations. She said, Right to Food should be recognized not only as an individual right but also a group right and penalty should be imposed on States for starvation death. She suggested that the guide should include mechanism for international accountability.