The Right to Food in the Context of International Trade Law and Policy  

Professor Michael Fakhri, in his capacity as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, presented his first official report, The Right to Food in the Context of International Trade Law and Policy, to the UN General Assembly on October 27. The report was written in the midst of the rising hunger crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In preparation for the report, Fakhri consulted scores of people from the private sector, public sector, and civil society from all over the world. He conveyed to the General Assembly that trade policy has primarily focused on economic frameworks and has either ignored or marginalized people’s human rights concerns. At the same time, human rights policy has provided a powerful sociopolitical critique of trade but does not offer an institutional alternative to the existing regime.  

In the report, he first outlined what the right to food means: The right to food is not just the right to be free from hunger. It is the right for everyone to celebrate life through their meals with each other in communion. Food is what defines people and makes them stronger. In doctrinal terms, the right to food means that everyone is entitled for their food to always be adequate, available and accessible.  

Then, the report outlined the long-standing criticisms of the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) in how it addressed trade in agriculture. The consensus shared by both critics and champions of WTO alike has been that, in practice, the Agreement on Agriculture has neither created a liberal global market nor has it benefited poorer countries, whose economies depend on the agricultural sector. It has instead protected powerful countries and large corporations.  

Finally, the report blended a trade and human rights perspective and presented new principles for trade in food and agriculture, along with an institutional and legal road map of how to enact those principles. Fakhri put forward that newly created International Food Agreements should be built on principles of dignity, self-sufficiency, and solidarity.  

Fakhri concluded his report and presentation to the UN General Assembly with concrete steps on how to reform the International trade regime in food and agriculture.    

The Right to Food in the Context of International Trade Law and Policy is available at: undocs.org/A/75/219.  

By School of Law Communications