[5 March 2010] GENEVA – The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Prof. Olivier De Schutter, presents on March 5th in Geneva the reports of the four country missions he realized in 2009.

Country missions are an important component of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, who had until now primarily presented thematic reports –among others on trade, agribusiness, food aid or land investments, besides his two transversal reports on the reactions to the global food crisis.

The aim of country missions is to assess the efforts of States in the progressive realization of the right to food, to report on his findings and to propose, in a spirit of cooperation and assistance, recommendations to improve situations identified as matters of concern.

The reports on Benin, Brazil, Guatemala and Nicaragua demonstrate the transformative potential of the right to food, which can significantly improve the effectiveness and legitimacy that aim to improve food security. These country reports also illustrate the challenges that lie ahead to further implement the principles established in international human rights law as well as in the 2004 FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the progressive realization of the right to food in the context of national food security. Recommendations are made in each country report. An interactive dialogue with States will take place in the Human Rights Council after the presentation of the Special Rapporteur.

	Report ‘Mission to Benin’ presented to the Human Rights Council [A/HRC/13/33/Add.3], March 2010
	Report ‘Mission to Brazil’ presented to the Human Rights Council [A/HRC/13/33/Add.6], March 2010
	Report ‘Mission to Guatemala’ presented to the Human Rights Council [A/HRC/13/33/Add.4], March 2010
	Report ‘Mission to Nicaragua’ presented to the Human Rights Council [A/HRC/13/33/Add.5], March 2010

For further informations, read the thematic section on national implementation of the right to food and the press releases of country missions.