Thank you, Chairperson,
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom welcomes the focus which the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food has put in his report on the obligation of the State.
The Special Rapporteur identified a wide range of tools which States have at their disposal. States can strengthen the position of smallholders in the unequal regional and global trade, through capacity building and protective measures. To ensure the Right to Food for those smallholders, States need to allocate sufficient resources.
The Right to Food is a vital part in ensuring human security, which can broadly be defined as the safety of individuals from hunger, violence, socio-economic and political inequity. It requires a shift of economic and human resources away from the narrow paradigm of national security guarded by a military approach.
Article 26 of the UN Charter reminds us that for the establishment and maintenance of security, UN Member States should diverse the least human and economic resources into armaments.
In the world today, 1464 Billion Dollars in total or 216 Dollars per person are spent every year on weapons and military infrastructure. This continual arms build-up not only fosters the notion of security as military strengths, but also holds up resources needed for improved protection of human rights.
When a State decides to buy an F-16 Jet Fighter, it cannot provide for over 205 million meals for starving people.
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom calls on the State to see disarmament as a way to fulfill the state obligation towards the Right to Food.
Thank you, Chairperson.