[afro-nets] Food for a misguided thought

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Food for a misguided thought
----------------------------

Human Rights Reader 140

Many still think Human Rights are about political prisoners and
street demonstrations.

1. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. This
notion ignores the all important economic, social and cultural
rights. Let us take examples from health and nutrition you can
use to demonstrate to others why the notion above is a fallacy.

2. In the case of health, equality refers to equal health for
all --something the human rights-based approach (HRBA) does
certainly not strive for. On the other hand, equity --something
the HRBA actively pursues-- is about tackling the preventable
(avoidable and unfair) factors that lead to inequality. The HRBA
contends that equity is indispensable in the pursuit of long-
term prosperity for society as a whole.

3. In our context, we look at inequalities that denote
differences in which disadvantaged/discriminated social groups
(e.g., poor persons, minorities) systematically experience worse
health or greater health risks than more advantaged social
groups. Pursuing health equity means pursuing the elimination of
such health disparities/inequalities  --including those that are
the responsibility of the agents active in the production of
health and those that flow from the social determinants of
health. (Adapted from P. Braveman and T. Pogge)

4. [But beware that we tend to overlook or ignore clear, but
more hidden inequality traps in those social determinants. For
instance, it has been estimated that, should current trends
continue, households earning half the national average income
can, in many countries, expect to take up to five generations to
reach the average].

5. In the case of nutrition, the realization of the right to
adequate food and nutrition (RTF) within each country is (as
much as health) influenced by international policies and events
that provide the environment in which national efforts either
succeed or fail. Issues such as international assistance and
cooperation, external debt, emergency food aid and international
trade rules and policies are instrumental to the realization of
the RTF in each country. Key to this realization is changing the
non-HR-based-objective-of-Food-Security to a full-focus-on-the-
Right-to-Adequate-Food-and-Nutrition. Although an attempt was
made in 2004 to change this objective, FAO's 'Voluntary
Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the RTF'
(FAO, 2005) can certainly not be recognized as a masterpiece-of-
political-will. This, despite the Herculean efforts of civil
society organizations from the world-over to make the language
of the Guidelines more binding.

6. So now, the main challenge civil society is left with is to
make effective use of existing HR instruments (primarily at
national and sub-national level), using them as codes of
behavior to be monitored and to be set right if not being
followed.

7. But a split and disarrayed civil society has too often proved
unable to influence both processes and outcomes in such HR work.
We have insisted in this Reader on the need of NGOs to revision
and remission themselves to fully adopt the HRBA.

8. Ultimately, the key role we expect civil society to play is
to progressively achieve political change --especially in the
areas of economic, social and cultural rights-because, where
governments lack political will, other drivers of change, i.e.,
civil society organizations, need to step in.

To begin with, countries should start by designating a HR-focal-
point that may well be an already remissioned civil society
organization.

Claudio Schuftan in Ho Chi Minh City
mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn

--
Mostly adapted from D+C, Vol. 33, No.5, May 2006, F+D (IMF),
Vol. 42, No.4, Dec. 2005 and SCN News (UN Standing Committee on
Nutrition), No.30, mid 2005.