The Right to Food is a Basic Right, says Archbishop Tomasi
(March 09, 2011) The right to food is a basic right because it is intrinsically linked
to the right to life. Almost a billion people, however, do not enjoy this right, according
to the Holy See. The challenge for the world’s community is “to tackle one of the
gravest challenges of our time: freeing millions of human beings from hunger, whose
lives are in danger due to a lack of daily bread,” said Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi,
Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International
Organizations in Geneva at the 16th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva
on Tuesday. He pointed out that 2.5 billion people in the world are dependent on
agriculture for their daily sustenance and most of these people suffer from malnutrition
and hunger. The Archbishop called on the Council to recognize and strengthen the
central role of agriculture in economic activity; Investments to improve productivity
are required in the areas of seeds, training, sharing of tools for cultivation and
of the means for marketing; the customary right of land ownership may be reconsidered.
He indicated that the current food crises have shown that some regions are facing
serious shortfalls, and in areas that traditionally produce food the stocks are now
exhausted or limited. He added that adequate measures should be taken to protect
farmers against price volatility, such as price control and custom duty exemptions
which has a strong impact on food security. The Prelate hoped that with given the
vast agricultural and pastoral areas to be exploited still a concerted and determined
action sustained by the ethical conviction that the human family is one and must move
forward in solidarity, urban and rural populations together, the right to food can
be implemented for every person.