ISSER makes case to get right to food enshrined in constitution

The Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER) is calling on government to develop a clear-cut policy framework that will enshrine and enforce the right to food.

According to the institute, the call has become necessary due to the lack of a specific legal provision that enshrines the right to food as a fundamental human right in the 1992 constitution.

The right to food which is derived from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has been enshrined by 160 state parties as of May 2012.

The right to food will protect the right for people to feed themselves in dignity, implying that sufficient food is available, that people have the means to access it, and that it adequately meets the individual’s dietary needs.

Legal practitioner and a member of the ISSER research team, Peter Atupare, says this is critical to ensuring food security. He made the call on the sideline of a dissemination workshop on the commercialization of lands in Ghana.

“If you are talking about food security then you need to look at it from the legal perspective. There is no law in Ghana, which enshrines the right to food. The right to food as a matter of explicit position does not exist in the constitution,” he lamented.

He noted rather regrettably that this right was missing under Articles 5 and 6, which talk about fundamental human rights. He advised government to put in place measures that will support the protection of the already existing rights, to promote development.

“Basically government of Ghana will have that kind of obligation to promote the protection of the basic rights, in order to ensure economic growth and human resource development,” he stated.