Philippines: UN rights expert to assess food and nutrition
security challenges
GENEVA (18 February 2015) – The United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, will undertake an official visit
to the Philippines from 20 to 27 February 2015 to gather first-hand information
on the realization of the right to food in the country. She will assess the efforts being made to achieve
food and nutrition security and the obstacles faced both at the national and
international level in this regard.
“Despite encouraging development progress made in recent
years, access to sufficient and nutritious food is still reportedly limited by
poverty and income levels, with the devastating impact of typhoon Haiyan
placing already vulnerable communities in a precarious situation,” Ms. Elver
noted.
This is the first visit to the country by an independent
expert on the right to food assigned by the UN Human Rights Council to report
on initiatives to ensure the full realization of the right to food.
Ms. Elver, who visits the country at the invitation of the
Government, will engage with the authorities to identify the main obstacles
hindering the full realization of the right to food and propose strategies for
tackling these obstacles and improving the enjoyment of rights by the most
vulnerable in society.
During her seven-day visit, the rights expert will meet with
senior Government officials, as well as representatives from the UN system,
international agencies, the development community, civil society, the National
Commission on Human Rights and individual communities in various locations
throughout the country.
Ms. Elver will hold a press conference to share the
preliminary findings of her visit at 12:00 p.m. on Friday 27 February 2015, at
the Holiday Inn Hotel, Glorietta, Makati City, Manila. Access to the press
conference will be strictly limited to journalists.
The Special Rapporteur’s observations and recommendations
will be reflected in her final report, which will be presented to the UN Human
Rights Council in March 2016.
ENDS
Hilal Elver (Turkey) was appointed Special Rapporteur on the
Right to Food by the Human Rights
Council in 2014. She is a Research Professor, and co-director of the Project on
Global Climate Change, Human Security, and Democracy housed at the Orfalea
Center for Global & International Studies at the University of California,
Santa Barbara. She has a law degree, a Ph.D. from the University of Ankara Law
School, and SJD from the UCLA Law School. She started her teaching career at
the University of Ankara Faculty of Law. Learn more:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Food/Pages/FoodIndex.aspx
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that
address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of
the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
OHCHR Country Page – Philippines: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/PHIndex.aspx
For more information and press inquiries, please contact:
Teresa Debuque (Manila): + (632) 3367720 to 22 /
debuque@un.org
Orlagh McCann (Geneva): +41 22 917 9215 (before and after
the visit) /
+41 79 201 0119.
(mobile number in the Philippines) / srfood@ohchr.org
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917
9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
UN Human Rights, follow us on social media:
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