Adopted on 16 November 1974 by the World Food Conference convened under
General
Assembly resolution 3180 (XXVIII) of 17 December 1973; and endorsed by
General
Assembly resolution 3348 (XXIX) of 17 December 1974
Convened by the General Assembly of the United Nations and
entrusted with developing ways and means whereby the international community,
as a whole, could take specific action to resolve the world food problem within
the broader context of development and international economic co-operation,
Adopts the
following Declaration:
UNIVERSAL
DECLARATION ON THE ERADICATION OF HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION
Recognizing that:
(a) The grave food
crisis that is afflicting the peoples of the developing countries where most of
the world's hungry and ill-nourished live and where more than two thirds of the
world's population produce about one third of the world's food - an imbalance
which threatens to increase in the next 10 years - is not only fraught with
grave economic and social implications, but also acutely jeopardizes the most
fundamental principles and values associated with the right to life and human
dignity as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
(b) The elimination
of hunger and malnutrition, included as one of the objectives in the United
Nations Declaration on Social Progress and Development, and the elimination of
the causes that determine this situation are the common objectives of all nations;
(c) The situation of
the peoples afflicted by hunger and malnutrition arises from their historical
circumstances, especially social inequalities, including in many cases alien
and colonial domination, foreign occupation, racial discrimination, apartheid
and neo-colonialism in all its forms, which continue to be among the greatest
obstacles to the full emancipation and progress of the developing countries and
all the peoples involved;
(d) This situation
has been aggravated in recent years by a series of crises to which the world
economy has been subjected, such as the deterioration in the international
monetary system, the inflationary increase in import costs, the heavy burdens
imposed by external debt on the balance of payments of many developing countries,
a rising food demand partly due to demographic pressure, speculation, and a
shortage of, and increased costs for, essential agricultural inputs;
(e) These phenomena
should be considered within the framework of the on-going negotiations on the
Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, and the General Assembly of
the United Nations should be urged unanimously to agree upon, and to adopt, a
Charter that will be an effective instrument for the establishment of new
international economic relations based on principles of equity and justice;
(f) All countries,
big or small, rich or poor, are equal. All countries have the full right to
participate in the decisions on the food problem;
(g) The well-being of
the peoples of the world largely depends on the adequate production and
distribution of food as well as the establishment of a world food security
system which would ensure adequate availability of, and reasonable prices for,
food at all times, irrespective of periodic fluctuations and vagaries of weather
and free of political and economic pressures, and should thus facilitate,
amongst other things, the development process of developing countries;
(h) Peace and justice
encompass an economic dimension helping the solution of the world economic
problems, the liquidation of under-development, offering a lasting and
definitive solution of the food problem for all peoples and guaranteeing to all
countries the right to implement freely and effectively their development
programmes. To this effect, it is necessary to eliminate threats and resort to
force and to promote peaceful co-operation between States to the fullest extent
possible, to apply the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs
of other States, full equality of rights and respect of national independence
and sovereignty, as well as to encourage the peaceful co-operation between all
States, irrespective of their political, social and economic systems. The
further improvement of international relations will create better conditions for
international o-operation in all fields which should make possible large
financial and material resources to be used, inter alia, for developing
agricultural production and substantially improving world food security;
(i) For a lasting
solution of the food problem all efforts should be made to eliminate the
widening gaps which today separate developed and developing countries and to
bring about a new international economic order. It should be possible for all
countries to participate actively and effectively in the new international
economic relations by the establishment of suitable international systems,
where appropriate, capable of producing adequate action in order to establish
just and equitable relations in international economic co-operation;
(j) Developing
countries reaffirm their belief that the primary responsibility for ensuring
their own rapid development rests with themselves. They declare, therefore,
their readiness to continue to intensify their individual and collective
efforts with a view to expanding their mutual co-operation in the field of
agricultural development and food production, including the eradication of
hunger and malnutrition;
(k) Since, for
various reasons, many developing countries are not yet always able to meet
their own food needs, urgent and effective international action should be taken
to assist them, free of political pressures,
Consistent with the
aims and objectives of the Declaration on the Establishment of a New
International Economic Order and the Programme of Action adopted by the General
Assembly at its sixth special session,
The Conference
consequently solemnly proclaims:
1. Every man, woman
and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in
order to develop fully and maintain their physical and mental faculties.
Society today already possesses sufficient resources, organizational ability
and technology and hence the competence to achieve this objective. Accordingly,
the eradication of hunger is a common objective of all the countries of the
international community, especially of the developed countries and others in a
position to help.
2. It is a
fundamental responsibility of Governments to work together for higher food
production and a more equitable and efficient distribution of food between
countries and within countries. Governments should initiate immediately a
greater concerted attack on chronic malnutrition and deficiency diseases among
the vulnerable and lower income groups. In order to ensure adequate nutrition
for all, Governments should formulate appropriate food and nutrition policies
integrated in overall socio-economic and agricultural development plans based
on adequate knowledge of available as well as potential food resources. The
importance of human milk in this connection should be stressed on nutritional
grounds.
3. Food problems must
be tackled during the preparation and implementation of national plans and
programmes for economic and social development, with emphasis on their
humanitarian aspects.
4. It is a responsibility
of each State concerned, in accordance with its sovereign judgement and
internal legislation, to remove the obstacles to food production and to provide
proper incentives to agricultural producers. Of prime importance for the
attainment of these objectives are effective measures of socio-economic
transformation by agrarian, tax, credit and investment policy reform and the
reorganization of rural structures, such as the reform of the conditions of
ownership, the encouragement of producer and consumer co-operatives, the
mobilization of the full potential of human resources, both male and female, in
the developing countries for an integrated rural development and the
involvement of small farmers, fishermen and landless workers in attaining the
required food production and employment targets. Moreover, it is necessary to
recognize the key role of women in agricultural production and rural economy in
many countries, and to ensure that appropriate education, extension programmes
and financial facilities are made available to women on equal terms with men.
5. Marine and inland
water resources are today becoming more important than ever as a source of food
and economic prosperity. Accordingly, action should be taken to promote a
rational exploitation of these resources, preferably for direct consumption, in
order to contribute to meeting the food requirements of all peoples.
6. The efforts to
increase food production should be complemented by every endeavour to prevent
wastage of food in all its forms.
7. To give impetus to
food production in developing countries and in particular in the least
developed and most seriously affected among them, urgent and effective
international action should be taken, by the developed countries and other
countries in a position to do so, to provide them with sustained additional
technical and financial assistance on favourable terms and in a volume
sufficient to their needs on the basis of bilateral and multilateral
arrangements. This assistance must be free of conditions inconsistent with the
sovereignty of the receiving States.
8. All countries, and
primarily the highly industrialized countries, should promote the advancement
of food production technology and should make all efforts to promote the
transfer, adaptation and dissemination of appropriate food production
technology for the benefit of the developing countries and, to that end, they
should inter alia make all efforts to disseminate the results of their research
work to Governments and scientific institutions of developing countries in
order to enable them to promote a sustained agricultural development.
9. To assure the
proper conservation of natural resources being utilized, or which might be
utilized, for food production, all countries must collaborate in order to
facilitate the preservation of the environment, including the marine
environment.
10. All developed
countries and others able to do so should collaborate technically and
financially with the developing countries in their efforts to expand land and
water resources for agricultural production and to assure a rapid increase in
the availability, at fair costs, of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and
other chemicals, high-quality seeds, credit and technology. Co-operation among
developing countries, in this connection, is also important.
11. All States should
strive to the utmost to readjust, where appropriate, their agricultural
policies to give priority to food production, recognizing, in this connection
the interrelationship between the world food problem and international trade.
In the determination of attitudes towards farm support programmes for domestic
food production, developed countries should take into account, as far as
possible, the interest of the food-exporting developing countries, in order to
avoid detrimental effect on their exports. Moreover, all countries should
co-operate to devise effective steps to deal with the problem of stabilizing
world markets and promoting equitable and remunerative prices, where
appropriate through international arrangements, to improve access to markets
through reduction or elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers on the
products of interest to the developing countries, to substantially increase the
export earnings of these countries, to contribute to the diversification of
their exports, and apply to them, in the multilateral trade negotiations, the
principles as agreed upon in the Tokyo Declaration, including the concept of
non-reciprocity and more favourable treatment.
12. As it is the
common responsibility of the entire international community to ensure the
availability at all times of adequate world supplies of basic food-stuffs by
way of appropriate reserves, including emergency reserves, all countries should
co-operate in the establishment of an effective system of world food security
by:
Participating in and
supporting the operation of the Global Information and Early Warning System on
Food and Agriculture;
Adhering to the
objectives, policies and guidelines of the proposed International Undertaking
on World Food Security as endorsed by the World Food Conference;
Earmarking, where
possible, stocks or funds for meeting international emergency food requirements
as envisaged in the proposed International Undertaking on World Food Security
and developing international guidelines to provide for the co-ordination and
the utilization of such stocks;
Co-operating in the
provision of food aid for meeting emergency and nutritional needs as well as
for stimulating rural employment through development projects.
All donor countries
should accept and implement the concept of forward planning of food aid and
make all efforts to provide commodities and/or financial assistance that will
ensure adequate quantities of grains and other food commodities.
Time is short. Urgent
and sustained action is vital. The Conference, therefore, calls upon all
peoples expressing their will as individuals, and through their Governments,
and non-governmental organizations, to work together to bring about the end of
the age-old scourge of hunger.
The Conference
affirms:
The determination of
the participating States to make full use of the United Nations system in the
implementation of this Declaration and the other decisions adopted by the
Conference.
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Copyright 1997 - 2000
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland