Geneva - New York: Europe and the Arabs
The Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, said that countries are vulnerable to hunger and famine because food systems are not designed to serve people. He warned most countries in the world that if they do not change their food systems today, their risk of hunger and famine will increase. According to the UN Daily News Bulletin, a copy of which we received this morning, Wednesday, which added, "This came in his speech yesterday, Tuesday, to present his report, entitled "The Right to Food, Financing, and National Action Plans," before the 58th regular session of the Human Rights Council held in Geneva.
The Special Rapporteur said that when the COVID-19 pandemic ended, governments had not learned the right lessons during the pandemic. They implemented temporary measures that somewhat alleviated hunger, but "instead of turning these programs into permanent policies, governments ended these programs, which made the food crisis worse."
Fakhri added that "every major or powerful country, and every permanent member of the Security Council, directly or indirectly supports starvation as a weapon." He warned that if food systems are not changed today, "we will see food increasingly used as a weapon of war in the future."
He added, "In Palestine, we are witnessing the fastest starvation campaign in modern history." In Sudan, the largest number of people in modern history are facing hunger and famine.
He pointed out that hunger is not a result of natural causes, adding, "Over the past 100 years, we know for certain that hunger is always the result of political failure or institutional flaws."
Debt Crisis
Addressing his remarks to States, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food stated that what he presents in his report is a progressive understanding of the right to food in a way that "makes you look at your current spending as an opportunity to transform your food system so that you don't have to borrow large sums of money and take on more debt."
He also spoke about how to transform food systems in light of existing realities, including the debt crisis.
Fakhri said, "Countries face a terrible choice. Either they pay their debts, leaving people even hungrier and poorer, or they take care of their countries, meet the social needs of their people, satisfy their hunger and address their poverty, and risk financial instability.
He pointed out that food systems are dominated by corporations and governed by international financial institutions, adding that "reliance on and dominance of the US dollar makes trade-dependent countries vulnerable to the political economy of the United States."
He also pointed out that governments have withdrawn investments from agriculture and social spending, while leaving investment in food systems to corporations and financial institutions. This means that corporations and financial institutions are extracting wealth from the food system, which makes people poorer and hungrier.
He also explained that climate change is increasing borrowing costs for low-income countries.
"An Important Opportunity"
He pointed to important events this year, the first of which is the Collaborative Dialogue on Governance, hosted by the Committee on World Food Security on April 5, with the theme of Financing for Food Security and Nutrition.
Fakhri said: "This is an important opportunity for countries, international organizations, and civil society to meet and discuss all the different options and risks. and potential ways to address the issue of financing, food security, and nutrition."
The Special Rapporteur also referred to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which will be held in Spain from June 30 to July 3, as well as the Food Systems Summit, which will be hosted in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, from July 28 to 29.
Fakhri said, "What I encourage all of you to do at all these events is to ensure that the debt crisis is on the agenda during discussions on financing."
The 58th session of the Human Rights Council will be held in Geneva from February 24 to April 4. During the session, special rapporteurs and experts will present their reports to the Council, and interactive events and dialogue sessions will be held on a number of key human rights issues.
It is worth noting that special rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, an international body responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights around the world. The rapporteurs and experts are tasked with examining human rights situations and submitting reports to the Human Rights Council. It should be noted that this position is honorary, as these experts are not considered UN employees and do not receive remuneration for their work.