NHRC to hold food justice conference on Feb 6-7

Under the auspices of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) will organise an international conference on food justice from a human rights perspective on Feb 6-7.
The conference is organised in partnership with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), the Office of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the League of Arab States.
At a press conference held Monrday, HE the NHRC Vice-Chairman Dr Mohamed bin Saif al-Kuwari stated that the upcoming event aims to provide a global platform to exchange knowledge and experiences, build capabilities, review legislation, policies, plans and programmes concerned with food justice from a human rights perspective, as well as set frameworks and foundations from which those working in the field can proceed with.
Dr al-Kuwari said that the conference will see the participation of about 400 representatives of governmental and non-governmental organisations with international and regional experience, 600 local experts, in addition to a number of human rights advocates, relevant special rapporteurs, heads of contractual and regional human rights mechanisms and national human rights institutions.
The conference will additionally include policymakers, academic circles, media outlets, social media influencers, research centers, companies, businesses, international organisations, the UN, international and regional organisations, national bodies concerned with food justice from a human rights perspective, in addition to a large number of experts and academics concerned with the topic at the international, regional and national levels.
He explained that the conference comes at a sensitive time regarding human rights, especially the right to food. He noted that the number of people facing hunger in the world reached about 811mn in 2023, an increase of 76mn compared to 2022.
He also pointed out that 17% of food is wasted according to estimates and reports related to food at the stage of harvest, production and distribution. Food waste in residential and commercial areas amounts to millions of tonnes according to estimates by waste treatment centers in the world. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 1bn people around the world suffer from obesity with excessive food intake being the main cause of it.
Dr al-Kuwari said that the issue of food shortages in the Gaza Strip and blocking the delivery of food aid to the Palestinians who are in dire need of it as a result of the three-months-long war will be the forefront topic during the conference, especially with the availability of the aid, but the difficulty of delivering it. He stressed that human rights organisations cannot stand on the sidelines during this difficult humanitarian disaster.
Dr al-Kuwari explained that most of the people who are facing hunger are from developing, least developed, and island countries that need support from international organisations, the international community, and the UN in order to develop strategies and plans for these countries that suffer from poor distribution in the food provision process, thus the issue requires further addressing to understand it fully.
He said that the global food crisis does not stem from the lack of food resources, but rather from the crisis of access to food resources as confirmed by the Secretary-General of the UN (UN) in 2021, and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, as well as a number of international and regional organizations concerned with food systems stating that hunger and famine are not the result of low productivity, but rather a man-made problem, explaining that organized violence and armed conflict are the main causes of food insecurity and the lack of human access to their right to food.
Regarding the general program of the conference, Al Kuwari noted that the conference agenda will feature opening speeches by key speakers as HE Minister of Municipality Abdullah bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Attiyah will speak at the conference after the opening speech by the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee and Chairperson of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, followed by a speech by the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN Nada Al Nashif, and the Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Jassim Mohammed Al Budaiwi.
He added that the Assistant Secretary-General for the Social Affairs Sector of the League of Arab States Ambassador Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Biplove Choudhary, head of the UN Development Program Office in the State of Qatar and the representative of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will also speak at the conference, in addition to a speech by Dr. Michael Fakhri, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
On the conference sessions, he revealed that the first day of the conference will have three sessions on: International and regional conventions and their effectiveness in achieving the right to food and food justice, and the efforts of the State of Qatar aimed at advancing the food production sectors, responding to famine and food insecurity, and highlights of the International Horticultural Exhibition (Expo 2023 Doha: Green Desert, Better Environment), as well as discussing the role of mechanisms, organizations, programs, agencies and commissions of the UN, the Global Alliance of National Institutions and the League of Arab States in implementing the right to food based on rights and best practices.
The second day of the conference, Al Kuwari said, will have three different workshops, the first of which will be under the title food justice as a global and national response in order to build food systems based on a human rights-based approach to achieve equality and enable everyone to access adequate and sustainable food. The second will discuss building an international trading system directed at implementing food justice, while the third workshop will address the role of national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations, civil society and stakeholders in implementing the right to food and food justice according to a human rights-based approach, he noted.
Al Kuwari said that the organization of the international conference in Doha comes within the framework of Qatar's efforts to advance the food production sectors after it was ranked first among the Arab countries and 24th globally in the Global Food Security Index for 2021, in addition to the international humanitarian assistance it has provided and will provide to address hunger and food shortages through cooperation with the UN system, stemming from its commitment to its humanitarian responsibility to respond to famine and food insecurity and awareness of what can contribute to maintaining world peace and addressing the causes of conflicts.