PRF - The right to food: Many developments, more challenges

Abstract

The right to food (RTF)1has enjoyed growing recognition in the last decade. It has achieved legitimacy and visibility in international governance debates, where it is increasingly perceived as a useful “policy guide” (DeSchutter, 2009). The realization of the right to food is recognized as a goal of the reformed UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), both in its mandate and in its Global Strategic Framework. The reports and interventions of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food have received a lot of attention in recent years. Despite these developments, the RTF is still actively resisted and rejected by some states (notably the U.S. and Canada) on the grounds that economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) are not justiciable and hence not “true” human rights (Anderson, 2008; Chilton, 2009). Yet in many countries, the justiciability of the RTF is firmly established, as demonstrated by some famous court cases in India (school meals program) and South Africa (fisheries) (Courtis, 2007; Golay, 2011).