Page 373 - El État de los derechos humanos en el desarrollo sostenible

EL ETAT DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS EN EL DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE

1. FIXING AND DEFINING THE CONTENT OF THE RIGHT TO FOOD AS A
FUNDAMENTAL SOCIAL RIGHT

The Right to Food is considered (in accordance with Article 11 of the International

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) within the right of everyone to have an

adequate standard of living for himself / herself and his / her family. Based on this, it has
been classified as an economic, social and cultural right, whose enforcement is restricted in a

State’s legal systems. Meanwhile, other international bodies and the UN Special Rapporteur

on the Right to Food have defined it as "the right to have regular, permanent and
unrestricted access, either directly or by means of financial purchases, to quantitatively and

qualitatively adequate and sufficient food corresponding to the cultural traditions of the

people to which the consumer belongs" (Naciones Unidas, 1999; Acerca del Derecho a la
Alimentación, s.f.) (Naciones Unidas, 1966) (Naciones Unidas, 1999; Acerca del Derecho a

la Alimentación)

It is necessary that the domestic legal systems and the universal and regional systems of

human rights protection consider the right to food as a fundamental right. This means as a

right that can be enforced with a reinforced protection mechanism because the right to food

is very closely related to other basic rights such as the right to life, health, equality and
human dignity. To do this, it is necessary to recognize the right to food as a constitutional

right, and thus create judicial mechanisms to protect it and reinforce it. We have to clearly

define its content and extent in the domestic legal system as well as widen its protection
through its recognition as a fundamental right and the creation of reinforced protection

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