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The right to food and Zimbabwe: Human Rights Bulletin Number 42
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
Jul 21, 2009

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The last decade has been characterized by different periods of food crises in Zimbabwe. A food crisis can be broadly defined as the occurrence of serious food shortages across a country but where hunger deaths are rare and the incidences of chronic malnutrition are significant, where the country is still unable to achieve food self-reliance and is significantly dependent on international aid. Cases of hunger and malnutrition have been recorded in Zimbabwe over the past years and these are consequences of lack of access to adequate food. A combination of factors ranging from poor government policies, adverse weather, lack of timely availability of inputs and severe economic constraints to underutilization of land have contributed to these episodic food crises in Zimbabwe. These food crises have grossly undermined the right to adequate food for most people both from the urban and rural settings in Zimbabwe. This edition of the Human Rights Bulletin focuses on the right to food in Zimbabwe. It discuses what the right to food entails, the Government of Zimbabwe's obligations in the realization of this right, how previous government policies have undermined the realization of this right and recommendations on what measures the Inclusive Government of Zimbabwe can take in order to respect, protect and fulfill the right to food.

The right to food explained

The right to adequate food is a basic right and is a binding obligation enshrined under international law, recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as well as a number of other instruments. According to Article 25(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

"Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control"

Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that:

"The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing. Moreover, article 11(2) recognizes the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger"

The right to food has been well defined in General Comment No.12 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). This defines the right to food as:

"the right of every man, woman and child alone and in community with others to have physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement in ways consistent with human dignity."

At the crux of the right to food is the issue of access to adequate food which must be adequate in terms of quality and quantity. Although there are precise medical indicators that are used to measure adequacy of food through daily nutrient, calories and protein intake, these indicators are not always necessary in determining whether people have access to adequate food. Practical indicators such as non-availability of food in the shops, long queues for basic foodstuffs and occasional food riots are normally used to determine food shortages in a country. The 1998 food riots and the recent food shortages in the retail outlets of Zimbabwe are a clear indication that access to adequate food has been severely compromised in Zimbabwe.

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