Today is an exciting day for the human rights world, marking the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR). This is an important step towards creating greater accountability for economic, social and cultural rights – including the right to …
Happy World Water Day! “Water,” said Leonardo da Vinci, “is the driving force in nature.” Water is also the driving force in agriculture. We can’t grow food without it. As we’ve discussed, water is intricately connected to the right to food. Some people even argue that land grabs are in fact …
For over a century, the world has celebrated International Women’s Day. From its roots in socialist activism, the day has been transformed into a national holiday in countries throughout the world. During this period, progress has been made: in many countries, women are now political leaders and business leaders (though still …
Global hunger and food insecurity are complicated, messy issues. And although the right to food is a human right grounded in international law, lawyers and activists struggle when trying to document violations of that right. Too many reports lack nuance or a human rights framework, arguing simplistically that people in …
Last week, I briefly sketched the origins of the right to water in international law. But what does the right to water encompass? And what is its relationship to the right to food? The Right to Water: Freedoms and Entitlements The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (“the Committee”) …
Land is essential for food production, but it’s virtually worthless without water. This need for water helps to explain the recent global rush to acquire land: as the non-profit GRAIN has pointed out, “behind every land grab is a water grab.” And water grabs are serious. Already, one-third of the …
On this site, I’ve explained briefly what the right to food is and what it is not. (Hint: it’s grounded in international law and creates governmental obligations, but it’s not the right to be fed.) Yet I’m occasionally asked to provide more details about the right to food: its definition, …
Union leaders are beautiful speakers. Their voices reel you in with words that crest and fall, sonorous, resonant, exciting, inciting. You may never hear as many good speakers in one room as at a congress of an international federation of unions. In mid-May, I was an observer at the International …
Is there any country in the world with a more complex relationship to food than India? It is the site of the original Green Revolution, yet has some of the worst levels of child malnutrition in the world. Its rising middle class is often blamed, along with their Chinese counterparts, …
I never thought I’d hear an official of a major corporation admit publicly that capitalism was broken, but perhaps that’s what corporate leaders do when speaking to a room full of union leaders. I was thus surprised on Thursday to hear Miguel Pestana, Vice-President for Global External Affairs of Unilever, …