Experts from governments, civil society, national human rights institutions and the agricultural sector on the continent will be meeting in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe from today (Wednesday) until Thursday to discuss measures on how to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food in the sub-region.
Experts from Belgium, Norway, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and other UN agencies will also attend, according to a press statement.
Malawi hosts the meeting amid pockets of food shortages and skyrocketing maize prices. At least two million people were food insecure until this harvest season.
The Regional Office for Southern Africa UNHCHR is convening the meeting in close cooperation with the Government of Malawi, the UN Team in Malawi, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, with the financial support of the Flemish Government (Belgium) and the Royal Norwegian Embassy, says a statement from the UN information centre in Pretoria, South Africa.
“The objective of the seminar is to facilitate an exchange of experiences and lessons learnt related to the implementation of the right to food, and to increase awareness of the right to food and of existing implementation tools in the sub-region.
“The seminar is in follow-up to the recommendations made at a sub-regional expert seminar on economic, social and cultural rights held in Maputo, Mozambique in December 2011, and takes into account the findings of the expert consultations on the right to food convened by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food in Nairobi, Kenya, in April 2012,” states the statement.
The regional seminar seeks to pool experiences and build knowledge on the implementation of the right to food and human rights-based approaches to tackling hunger and food and nutrition insecurity in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, adds the statement released on Thursday.
