What role can social protection play in realizing the right to food?
Health care, unemployment insurance, food aid, disability benefits: all of these services aim to ensure the right to an adequate standard of living for everyone. They are part of what is commonly known as social protection, social insurance or social security.
Social protection contributes not only to securing adequate food for all, but aims also to make poor people less vulnerable and marginalized, and to provide the stability and resources needed to develop capabilities and to make choices about their lives and futures. In developing countries the measures aimed at fulfilling these goals often include cash transfers or direct in-kind benefits such as food.
In October 2012 the Special Rapporteur co-authored a briefing note with Magdalena Sepúlveda, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, on how to finance and facilitate social protection for all, and has subsequently contributed to many international fora on the issue.
| Read | La Revue du Projet - Mediapart (Intl) — "Vers un Fonds mondial pour la protection sociale" (26-06-2013) |
| Read | 21/05/2013: 'Grounding development priorities in human rights: incentives to improve equality, social security and accountability' - Statement by special procedure mandate-holders of the human rights council on the post-2015 development agenda (21 May 2013). |
| Read | 09/10/2012: "Underwriting the Poor: a Global Fund for Social Protection", Briefing Note 7, by the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food and the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. See also executive summary and note to CFS |
| Read | 09/10/2012: Executive Summary of the Special Rapporteur's briefing note: 'Underwriting the Poor: a Global Fund for Social Protection' |
| Read | The Equal Times (Intl) — A Global Fund to take the risk out of food security (15-10-2012) |
| Read | 03/07/2012: The SR's comments on the HLPE report on social protection for food security and CFS decision box on social protection for food security. |
| Read | 09/10/2012: Note to Committee on World Food Security (CFS) on the Special Rapporteur's briefing note: 'Underwriting the Poor: a Global Fund for Social Protection' |