UN rapporteur warns of worsening food crisis

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-04-2008 08:11

The UN is again warning that the global food crisis is worsening. At least 100 million people will be affected by the crisis.

Access to adequate food should be considered a basic human right, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food said during a news conference at the UN in New York on Friday.

Olivier de Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur

Olivier de Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur said "We are losing from five to ten years in poverty reduction strategies. According to the World Bank, 100-million persons are threatened by food insecurity given the current crisis."

Rising prices and under-funding have forced the UN to stop providing emergency food aid to those in need.

The skyrocketing cost of food staples, stoked by rising fuel prices and unpredictable weather, has already sparked protests in the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia.

Olivier de Schutter wants a special session organized by the Human Rights Council to label the right to adequate food a basic human right.

Olivier de Schutter said "The request is that the Human Rights Council convene a special session on the global food crisis and that this special session will provide the Human Rights Council with an opportunity to speak with one single voice, to bring in to the debate the human right to adequate food, which for the moment has been totally absent."

De Schutter listed six avoidable causes for the rapid increase in global food prices, which include the promotion of bio-fuels like ethanol. He said any new investment in first-generation agro-fuels should be frozen immediately.

Other causes he mentioned included trade restrictions, speculative investing in commodities like wheat, soybean, and corn, which are driving up prices, and the reduction of agricultural funding in the developing world.

Editor:Xiong Qu