Most of us living
in big and action-packed metropolises have a similar
life pattern. All through our lives, we use the
assets and gifts with which the Almighty Has blessed
us without giving anything a second thought. Perhaps,
we have taken everything for granted. Living in
our air-conditioned rooms, we avoid a wrenching
reality that 60% people around the world live
below the poverty line with absolutely no concept
of housing and electricity what so ever. With
education easily accessible to us, we never realize
that only 1 out of 8 children in the world ever
gets to see a school. With our refrigerator and
food supplies at just some steps, we tend to forget
an eye opening and heart shattering fact that
it's just a game of destiny that we are born in
the right part of the world and into the right
social class. If we hadn't, then we might have
gone hungry all our short life, as 800 million
people do, who were born in the wrong place or
wrong conditions or into the wrong social class.
This has to change. With caring and nourishing
our own selves, we need to know and develop a
better understanding of Human Rights and when
do we actually start misusing them.
According to the Declaration of the United Nations,
"Human rights are those basic standards without
which people cannot live in dignity. To violate
someone's human rights is to treat that person
as though she or he were not a human being. To
advocate human rights is to demand that the human
dignity of all people be respected." It also
refers to a concept that all human beings are
free and have universal rights, or status, regardless
of legal jurisdiction, and likewise other localizing
factors, such as ethnicity and nationality, race,
color and family background. This concept is not
very new. The Theory of human rights is based
on the dogma of "Moral Universalism",
initially put forward by Greek philosopher Aristotle.
In "Nicomachean Ethics," Aristotle presents
his argument in support of the existence of "a
natural moral order" and says that such a
"natural" order should be the basis
for all truly rational systems of justice. This
concept of moral universalism implies that morality
is not dependant on social and historical conditions
and applies to all human beings regardless of
place and time, and forms the basis of human rights.
Roman Stoic philosophers such as Cicero and Seneca,
also supported 'moral universalism' and argued
that all moral laws originated in the rational
will of God and the authority of such moral law
transcended all local legal codes. Christianity,
which emerged later, maintained the belief of
a universal moral code in the ensuing centuries.
Islam, one of the most believed and fastest growing
religion of the world also makes a resounding
effort to ensure equal rights to all people. Standing
on these strong historical and religious grounds,
much has been done to date to ensure rights to
every individual living on this planet. United
Nations along with its associate agencies in collaboration
with hundreds and thousands of NGOs is trying
to make this possible. At the same time, a great
emphasis has been given to the fact that all the
rights are inter related and solving one problem
at a time would need to tackle all the other issues.
While U.N.E.S.C.O is working for education and
U.N.I.C.E.F for children, agencies like W.H.O,
F.A.O and W.F.P are dealing with one of the most
intense issues of our world and going every length
to ensure one of the most basic rights to all
humanity.
The Right to Food.
The Center for Economic and Social Right states
"The right to food guarantees all people
the ability to feed themselves. It also obligates
states to cooperate in the equitable distribution
of world food supplies. As part of the more general
right to an "adequate standard of living,"
the right to food contributes to a broader question
of whether people live in basic dignity. People
have a right to the basic amount of food necessary
for survival, but they also have a right to food
of high enough quality and quantity to live in
adequate dignity". This generalizes that
hunger, malnutrition and inaccessibility of food
is not only violation of a very basic human right
but is also an obstacle for attaining social,
political and economic stability and harmony.
It stresses towards a fact that irrespective of
all social, political, economic and geographical
differences, every human being has a birth right
to lead a life with access to adequate supply
of food and water.
Providing adequate food and work has always been
seen as prime moral obligation for the kings and
monarchs with large empires and those ruling the
common men. The only basic difference between
these moral responsibilities and human rights
is that the human rights give the poor and unprivileged
people a claim, which principally is enforceable.
In those times of monarchy, people had no option
other than to revolt against the king or state
that failed to meet this obligation and responsibility
to feed its citizens.
This signifies a fact that the idea of human
right to food is to establish a practical and
legal channel for fulfillment of this basic right
and to seek remedies against authorities which
fail to guarantee access to food. This idea is
barely 200 years old-and not yet legally implemented
in most states even today.
The right to adequate food is a human right and
is well established and recognized on several
premises under the international laws. Just after
three years of the World War II, On December 10,
1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations
adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. Article 25 of this declaration
states that everyone has a right to a standard
of living adequate for the health and well-being
of himself and of his family, including food.
This universal declaration of human rights sets
a common and realistic standard of achievement
for all people and nations. Keeping this Declaration
constantly in mind, states and nations shall strive
to achieve the common global goal and emancipate
their respective people from the curse of hunger,
malnutrition and starvation. Nearly 20 years later,
the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (1966) developed these concepts
more fully, stressing "the right of everyone
to adequate food" and specifying "the
fundamental right of everyone to be free from
hunger". The Universal Declaration on the
Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition (1974)
and the World Employment Conference (1976) also
pressed to this fact asking for an inalienable
right of food for all humans in order to develop
their physical and mental faculties. Conferences
and declarations such as The International Conference
on Nutrition (ICN), World Declaration on Nutrition
(1992), the Rome Declaration on World Food Security
(1996) and the Plan of Action of the World Food
Summit (1996) all stressed up to ensure right
to food throughout the world. Agencies working
under the United Nations such as Food and Agriculture
Organization (F.A.O), World Health Organization
(W.H.O) and World Food Program (W.F.P) are taking
all considerable and necessary steps to eradicate
the nuisance of hunger and starvation from the
entire humanity. "Achieving food security
for all" is the main point of focus of F.A.O's
efforts. And to make sure people have regular
access to enough high-quality food to lead active,
healthy lives. F.A.O's mandate is to raise levels
of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity,
better the lives of rural populations and contribute
to the growth of the world economy. They also
provide assistance to those nations who need to
increase their crop yields but lacks technical
skills. With a staggering budget of $765.7 million,
F.A.O aims to achieve its goals on community,
national and international levels. On the other
hand, the largest international food aid organization,
World Food Program, combats hunger in underdeveloped
nations of the world with severe shortage of food.
This hard and strenuous fight has been carried
out through plan action of Rescue, Rapid Reaction
and Rehabilitation. Expanding its activities into
78 countries around the world and with direct
expenditure of US$ 2.9 billion, W.F.P is distributing
food to 87.8 million poor people in the world
which is the largest relief and aid operation
of its kind ever since the dawn of human history.
Most recent relief operations of W.F.P include
earth quakes of Pakistan in 2005, floods in Bangladesh
of 2004 and recent famine in Saharan and sub-Saharan
Africa. Moreover, every year on 16th October,
World Food day is celebrated to re-think and re-plan
the strategies for present and future.
But despite the fact that the international community
and UN has frequently reaffirmed the importance
for the right to adequate food and launched multitudes
of operational projects, a disturbing gap still
exists between the standards set and the situation
prevailing in many parts of the world. The target
of reducing world hunger by the year 2015 which
was set in World Food Summit in 1996 still appears
a far cry. Statistics show that since 1990, the
number of hungry and underfeed people is constantly
and unceasingly increasing. In developing countries
spread across 5 continents, it has started to
increase at a rate of almost four million per
year. By the advent of 21st century, the total
number of undernourished people worldwide has
risen to 854 million (14% of the world's total
population): 820 million in developing countries,
25 million in countries in transition and nine
million in industrialized countries. Today, only
one out of seven people do not get enough food
to lead an active and healthy life which is the
birth right of everyone. According to a research
conducted by F.A.O about the state of food insecurity
in the world in 2006, 25,000 lives are lost everyday
due to poverty and hunger. In the developing world,
every second a child dies due to hunger and malnutrition.
Moreover, 27 percent of children under 5 are moderately
to severely underweight. In 2005, about 10.1 million
children died before they reached their fifth
birthday. Almost all of these deaths occurred
in developing countries, 3/4 of them in sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia, the two regions that also
suffer from the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition.
Today, one in nearly seven people does not get
enough food to lead an active and healthy life
which is the birth right of everyone. Adding to
this, malnutrition and undernourishment leads
to many chronics and deficiencies leading to physical
and mental restraints which they effected carry
all through their lives. All these numbers and
statistics lead us to the loop poles in international
working bodies and their incomplete strategies
and approach in dealing with these intense issues.
At the same time, it indicates the presence of
many other factors and causes that are still making
hunger, malnutrition and violence of right of
food the number one risk to health worldwide with
greater number of victims annually than AIDS,
malaria and cancer combined.
In order to understand the factors of this prevailing
state of hunger and violence of the right to food,
one needs to understand that inadequate food access
can be due to two prime reasons: There is absolutely
no food available, or the food is available but
far from the access of deprived and unprivileged
people. Stereotypically all importance and emphasis
has been given by the states and the welfare organizations
on the overall food availability and it has been
thought that mainly through increasing food production
and quality, hunger and malnutrition can be overcome
and target of ensuring food rights to all can
be achieved. Such a strong emphasis is only reasonable
when the production of food by the poor is for
themselves. But there is another view point to
this situation. According to different experts,
adequate quantity of food is available or can
be produced with the current resources almost
in every country of the world. Many of the countries
considered poor, produce food enough for not only
their domestic markets but for export as well.
Nonetheless, hunger and malnutrition still persists.
It may surprise us but according to the annual
report presented by F.A.O in 2004, only 10% of
the total hunger death is due to famine and malnutrition.
This leads us to re-examine and arrive at some
more obvious causes. Lack of food isn't the only
cause of malnutrition and hunger but is also due
to social injustice and political, economic and
social segregations. There are almost one billion
people around the world who earn less than $1
a day. These poor people are deprived of the rights
to have their resources while the rich and those
in power monopolize these resources for their
own luxury and comfort. Billions of people all
around the globe in their respective countries
are never given opportunity to have a secure economic
life and hence have food security. This statement
is well proved by the facts like the total assets
of the three wealthiest men in the world constitute
47% of the world's total monetary assets, and
all three of them belong to the United States
of America. On the other side, most food productions
whether agricultural products or food obtained
from oceans or rivers, goes towards feeding livestock
whose meat and by-products are consumed mainly
in the countries of the industrialized North.
The other reason for this number of deaths is
global debt-trap. The World Bank has admitted
that today, the developing countries pay $13 in
debt as repayment for every $1 it receives in
grants. Due to this, tens of billions of dollars
which can be used to improve infrastructure, development
of rural communities, education and health care
are just being wasted in paying those debts to
the World Bank. Thus, it would be rational to
say that "Global Capitalism" and "Unequal
distribution of resources" are the main monsters
under the disguise of hunger and food shortage
which are responsible for the massacre of human
lives on such a massive scale.
Today, in order to bring hunger and malnutrition
to an end and make access to food possible for
all, long term attempts should be made on International,
National and Individual grounds. Globally, the
world has to re-realize a fact that right to adequate
food is inherently linked to the dignity of humanity
and is inseparable from the fulfillment of all
human rights for all. Eradication of poverty,
ensuring equal rights, education, employment,
better and fast ways of transportations and better
facilities for health would also improve food
security. Necessary steps should be taken to ensure
economic democracy and micro- finance should be
made available on local level to reduce the global
dominance of big industries on agriculture sector.
Internationally, accumulation of wealth should
be reduced by massive redistribution of wealth
and other resources. This also includes cancellation
of debts to the Western banks and increased investment
in rural and under-developed sectors. The West
and those belonging to the industrialized and
developed world should join hands today and try
to improve the infrahuman conditions in many parts
of the world such as Africa, South America and
South Asia. At the time of a natural calamity,
the welfare organizations and NGOs should establish
a check and balance system to make sure that all
the aids go to the deserving and those in need.
As declared by the Economic and Social Council,
"The role of the United Nations agencies,
including through the United Nations Development
Assistance Framework (UNDAF) at the country level,
in promoting the realization of the right to food
is of special importance. Coordinated efforts
for the realization of the right to food should
be maintained to enhance coherence and interaction
among all the actors concerned, including the
various components of civil society. The food
organizations, FAO, WFP and the International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in conjunction
with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP),
UNICEF, the World Bank and the regional development
banks, should cooperate more effectively, building
on their respective expertise, on the implementation
of the right to food at the national level, with
due respect to their individual mandates."
On national level, the state government should
design and adapt a national strategy based on
human rights principles to ensure food security
for all its citizens. It should formulate policies
and take all necessary steps to make sure that
everyone is free from hunger and can enjoy his
right to adequate food. It should also identify
the resources available to meet the objectives
and the most cost-effective way of using them.
The national strategy should give particular attention
to prevent discrimination in access to food on
different aspects such as color, caste, creed,
gender, financial standing and geographical location.
Moreover, the state government should take all
necessary measure to ensure transparency and accountability
in all aspects of food system including production,
processing, distribution, marketing, food safety
and nutritional value. Adding to this, those who
suffer the violation of the right to food should
have full access to the judicial system of the
country and all necessary steps for compensation
and prevention for any further cases should be
taken.
Denver Catering : Denver event catering services.
Denver Private Dining rooms : Best restaurant in Denver
Visit top Indian restaurants in London : Want to visit top Indian restaurants in London? Come to Cinnamon Club and relish evolved Indian cuisine.
Catering services in Bangalore : Sgr catering offering the best catering services in bangalore, Caterers in bangalore, Bangalore caterers, Bangalore catering, catering services.
Long Term Food Storage : Browse our online store for all dehydrated, long term survival, freeze dried foods and get a great discount on all food products. Order Online Now 800-719-7650.
Freeze Dried Food Storage : Survivalcavefood provides emergency preparedness food and also supply wide range of best freeze dried food including canned beef, canned chicken and other long term storage food at very competitive prices.
whipped cream chargers : Use any of our whipped cream chargers to make fresh and delicious whipped cream. We carry a wide selection of whipped cream makers to suit your needs. Call us today.
send cakes to chennai : India Cakes is one of the biggest online delivery flowers and cake shop delivering cakes and flowers all over to india.
panko crumbs | marijuana seeds |single seeds | cannabis seeds | chandler medical clinics
|