IV. The violation of the right to food
Ocean grabbing in the form of illegal fishing or even
fisheries agreement that perpetuate unsustainable use of marine resources,
deprive fisherfolks of their mean of subsistence. By doing so, they also
deprive those communities of their right to food. The right to food is
universally recognized both at a global level by international organizations
through various documents and at national level in Sierra Leone through the
constitution.
1. The concept of right to food: a comprehensive
definition
Usually interpreted as the `right to feed oneself', the right
to food is a fundamental human right established by the United Nations more
than 50 years ago and globally recognized by most countries. The violation of
the right to food occurs when economic interest surpasses the respect of
fundamental human right (Golay et Ozden 2005).
The definition of right to food was shaped by former special
rapporteur on the right to food Jean Ziegler who build on the definitions
present in the International Bill of Human Rights37 drafted
more than 50 years before. Jean Ziegler understands the right to food as:
37 International Bill of Human Rights is a document
produced by the UN General Assembly in 1948 through the Resolution 217. It
includes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) with its two Optional
Protocols.
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« the right to have regular, permanent and free
access, either directly or through purchase, to quantitatively and
qualitatively adequate and sufficient food, that is in line with the
cultural traditions of the people» (Ziegler, Golay et Mahon, The
Fight for the Right to Food: Lessons Learned 2011)
In addition to the access to food he also considers the access
to any kind of resource that can benefit the people and insure their
subsistence. Hence, the right to food includes but is not restricted to, the
access to land, clean water, technology, the guarantee of property or
traditional fishing areas for fisherfolks who depend on it for their
subsistence (Ziegler, Golay et Mahon, The Fight for the Right to Food: Lessons
Learned 2011).
The right to food therefore includes two main components:
availability and access to food. Food must be available
directly, becoming a source a food or through natural resources being sold in
order to generate income that will then be used to purchase food. Access to
food is both physical and economic. Everyone should have access including
vulnerable people to `sufficient and adequate food'. The access to food and
people's diet should not be limited by their income. The spending of an
individual, a household or a community should not be limited by the proportion
they have to allocate to food leading to a lower level of health, education or
housing. Be as we mentioned before poor households in Sierra Leone allocate
more than two thirds of their income in food items. This is especially true in
coastal communities whose income are becoming more uncertain with time. The
link between the right to food and food security comes from shared components.
The right to food incorporates all the components of food security and combines
them to accountability (Ziegler, Golay et Mahon, The Fight for the Right to
Food: Lessons Learned 2011).
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