CFS Policy Convergence Products Database

When redistributive reforms are being considered, States may, if so desired, conduct assessments on the potential positive and negative impacts that those reforms could have on tenure rights, food security and the progressive realization of the right to adequate food, livelihoods and the environment. This assessment process should be conducted consistent with the principles of consultation and participation of these Guidelines. Assessments may be used as a basis to determine the measures needed to support beneficiaries and improve the redistributive programme.

States should ensure that redistributive land reform programmes provide the full measure of support required by beneficiaries, such as access to credit, crop insurance, inputs, markets, technical assistance in rural extension, farm development and housing. The provision of support services should be coordinated with the movement on the land by the beneficiaries. The full costs of land reforms, including costs of support services, should be identified in advance and included in relevant budgets.

States may consider land ceilings as a policy option in the context of implementing redistributive reforms.

States should provide access through impartial and competent judicial and administrative bodies to timely, affordable and effective means of resolving disputes over tenure rights, including alternative means of resolving such disputes, and should provide effective remedies and a right to appeal. Such remedies should be promptly enforced. States should make available, to all, mechanisms to avoid or resolve potential disputes at the preliminary stage, either within the implementing agency or externally. Dispute resolution services should be accessible to all, women and men, in terms of [...]

States should cooperate, in the framework of appropriate mechanisms and with the participation of affected parties, in addressing tenure issues related to land, fisheries and forests which traverse national boundaries. States should ensure that all actions are consistent with their existing obligations under national and international law, and with due regard to voluntary commitments under applicable regional and international instruments. In States where transboundary matters related to tenure rights arise, parties should work together to protect such tenure rights, livelihoods and food [...]

States may consider using implementing agencies to resolve disputes within their technical expertise, such as those responsible for surveying to resolve boundary disputes between individual parcels within national contexts. Decisions should be delivered in writing and based on objective reasoning, and there should be a right to appeal to the judicial authorities.

In providing dispute resolution mechanisms, States should strive to provide legal assistance to vulnerable and marginalized persons to ensure safe access for all to justice without discrimination. Judicial authorities and other bodies should ensure that their staff have the necessary skills and competencies to provide such services.

States may consider introducing specialized tribunals or bodies that deal solely with disputes over tenure rights, and creating expert positions within the judicial authorities to deal with technical matters. States may also consider special tribunals to deal with disputes over regulated spatial planning, surveys and valuation.

States should strengthen and develop alternative forms of dispute resolution, especially at the local level. Where customary or other established forms of dispute settlement exist they should provide for fair, reliable, accessible and non-discriminatory ways of promptly resolving disputes over tenure rights.

Spatial planning should take duly into account the need to promote diversified sustainable management of land, fisheries and forests, including agro-ecological approaches and sustainable intensification, and to meet the challenges of climate change and food security.

States and other parties should contribute to the understanding of transboundary tenure issues affecting communities, such as with rangelands or seasonal migration routes of pastoralists, and fishing grounds of small-scale fishers, which lie across international boundaries.

States should endeavour to prevent corruption in dispute resolution processes.

Align humanitarian and development policies and actions and enhance resilience, by: i) Responding flexibly to evolving situations on the basis of assessed need and vulnerability, shared country-led objectives, and comprehensive understandings of risk and livelihood systems; ii) Coordinating actions, including through existing mechanisms, that support national policies and actions promoting food security and nutrition; iii) Understanding, using, and supporting the existing capacities, knowledge, practice, and experience of affected households and communities as entry points for policies [...]

Strive to ensure the protection of those affected or at risk in protracted crises, underscoring the importance of upholding Human Rights obligations and International Humanitarian Law as applicable, by: i) Promoting the safety and dignity of members of affected and at risk populations, vulnerable and marginalized groups, as well as people living in vulnerable situations to allow them to receive essential assistance and secure their livelihoods; ii) Protecting against all forms of gender-based violence, and sexual exploitation and abuse, particularly towards refugees and IDPs, to allow [...]

Improve the nutritional status of members of affected and at risk populations, vulnerable and marginalized groups, as well as people living in vulnerable situations, over the short, medium and long term, by: i) Paying particular attention to nutritional needs during the first 1,000 days after conception, and of pregnant and lactating women, women of reproductive age and adolescent girls, infants, children under five, the elderly and people with disability; ii) Supporting nutrition-specific policies and actions, in particular exclusive breastfeeding up to six months where possible, and [...]

Enable the provision of food and nutrition assistance and livelihood support, by: i) Promoting and facilitating unimpeded, safe and rapid access to affected communities in order to provide humanitarian food and livelihoods assistance in all situations of conflict, occupation, terrorism, or man-made and natural disasters; ii) Following the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence to promote and facilitate unimpeded access; iii) Promoting the safety and security of people providing humanitarian assistance and livelihood support; iv) Supporting the [...]

States are encouraged to set up multi-stakeholder platforms and frameworks at local, national and regional levels or use such existing platforms and frameworks to collaborate on the implementation of these Guidelines; to monitor and evaluate the implementation in their jurisdictions; and to evaluate the impact on improved governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests, and on improving food security and the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security, and sustainable development. This process should be inclusive, participatory, [...]

The Committee on World Food Security should be the global forum where all relevant actors learn from each other's experiences, and assess progress toward the implementation of these Guidelines and their relevance, effectiveness and impact. Therefore, the Secretariat of the Committee on World Food Security, in collaboration with the Advisory Group, should report to the Committee on World Food Security on the progress of the implementation of these Guidelines, as well as evaluate their impact and their contribution to the improvement of tenure governance. Such reports should be universal [...]

Development partners, specialized agencies of the United Nations, and regional organizations are encouraged to support voluntary efforts by States to implement these Guidelines, including through South-South cooperation. Such support could include technical cooperation, financial assistance, institutional capacity development, knowledge sharing and exchange of experiences, assistance in developing national tenure policies and transfer of technology.

All parties, including civil society organizations and the private sector, are encouraged to use collaborative efforts to promote and implement these Guidelines in accordance with national priorities and contexts. All parties are encouraged to disseminate information on responsible tenure governance in order to improve practices.

States may also wish to entrust a specific institution with overall responsibility for overseeing and coordinating the application of these guidelines, bearing in mind the Declaration and Programme of Action of the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights and taking due account of existing agriculture conventions and protocols. In order to ensure transparency and accountability, the functions and tasks of this institution would need to be clearly defined, regularly reviewed and provision made for adequate monitoring mechanisms.

To this end, States may wish to ensure the coordinated efforts of relevant government ministries, agencies and offices. They could establish national intersectoral coordination mechanisms to ensure the concerted implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, plans and programmes. States are encouraged to involve relevant communities in all aspects of planning and execution of activities in these areas.

States should endeavour to establish well functioning internal marketing, storage, transportation, communication and distribution systems, inter alia, to facilitate diversified trade and better links within and between domestic, regional and world markets, as well as to take advantage of new market opportunities

States will take into account that markets do not automatically result in everybody achieving a sufficient income at all times to meet basic needs, and should therefore seek to provide adequate social safety nets and, where appropriate, the assistance of the international community for this purpose.

States, where appropriate, should assess the mandate and performance of relevant public institutions and, where necessary, establish, reform or improve their organization and structure to contribute to the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security.

States should strive to ensure that food, agricultural trade and overall trade policies are conducive to fostering food security for all through a non-discriminatory and market-oriented local, regional, national and world trade system

States may wish to adopt measures to ensure that the widest number of individuals and communities, especially disadvantaged groups, can benefit from opportunities created by competitive agricultural trade

States should ensure that relevant institutions provide for full and transparent participation of the private sector and of civil society, in particular representatives of the groups most affected by food insecurity

States should take into account the shortcomings of market mechanisms in protecting the environment and public goods

States are encouraged to involve all relevant stakeholders, in particular communities and local government, in the design, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation of programmes to increase the production and consumption of healthy and nutritious foods, especially those that are rich in micronutrients. States may wish to promote gardens both at home and at school as a key element in combating micronutrient deficiencies and promoting healthy eating. States may also consider adopting regulations for fortifying foods to prevent and cure micronutrient deficiencies, in particular [...]

States are encouraged to cooperate with all stakeholders, including regional and international consumer organizations, in addressing food safety issues, and consider their participation in national and international fora where policies with impact on food production, processing, distribution, storage and marketing are discussed.

Developed countries are encouraged to provide technical assistance to developing countries through advice, credits, donations and grants for capacity building and training in food safety. When possible and appropriate, developing countries with more advanced capabilities in food safety-related areas are encouraged to lend assistance to less advanced developing countries

States may wish to disseminate information on the feeding of infants and young children that is consistent and in line with current scientific knowledge and internationally accepted practices and to take steps to counteract misinformation on infant feeding. States should consider with utmost care issues regarding breastfeeding and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on the basis of the most up-to-date, authoritative scientific advice and referring to the latest WHO/ UNICEF guidelines

If necessary, States should take measures to maintain, adapt or strengthen dietary diversity and healthy eating habits and food preparation, as well as feeding patterns, including breastfeeding, while ensuring that changes in availability and access to food supply do not negatively affect dietary composition and intake

States are invited to take parallel action in the areas of health, education and sanitary infrastructure and promote intersectoral collaboration, so that necessary services and goods become available to people to enable them to make full use of the dietary value in the food they eat and thus achieve nutritional well-being.

States should take appropriate measures to promote and encourage breastfeeding, in line with their cultures, the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent resolutions of the World Health Assembly, in accordance with the WHO/UNICEF recommendations.

States are encouraged to take steps, in particular through education, information and labelling regulations, to prevent overconsumption and unbalanced diets that may lead to malnutrition, obesity and degenerative diseases.

States should address the specific food and nutritional needs of people living with HIV/AIDS or suffering from other epidemics.

States reaffirm the obligations they have assumed under international humanitarian law and, in particular, as parties to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and/or the 1977 Additional Protocols thereto with respect to the humanitarian needs of the civilian population, including their access to food in situations of armed conflict and occupation, inter alia, Additional Protocol I provides, inter alia, that '[t]he starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited' and that '[i]t is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the [...]

In situations of occupation, international humanitarian law provides, inter alia: that to the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; that it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the Occupied Territory are inadequate; and that if the whole or part of the population of an Occupied Territory is inadequately supplied, the Occupying Power shall agree to relief schemes on behalf of the said population, and shall [...]