Stressing the importance of reversing the continuing decline of official
development assistance devoted to agriculture, both in real terms and as a share of
total official development assistance,
Welcoming the theme “The right to food”, chosen by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations to mark World Food Day on 16 October 2007,
Taking note of the Final Declaration adopted at the International Conference
on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations in Pôrto Alegre, Brazil, on 10 March 2006,
1.
Reaffirms that hunger constitutes an outrage and a violation of human
dignity and therefore requires the adoption of urgent measures at the national, regional
and international levels for its elimination;
2.
Also reaffirms the right of everyone to have access to safe and
nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of
everyone to be free from hunger, so as to be able to fully develop and maintain his or
her physical and mental capacities;
3.
Considers it intolerable that more than 6 million children still die every
year from hunger-related illness before their fifth birthday and that there are about 854
million undernourished people in the world and that, while the prevalence of hunger
has diminished, the absolute number of undernourished people has been increasing in
recent years when, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, the planet could produce enough food to feed 12 billion people, twice the
world’s present population;
4.
Expresses its concern that women and girls are disproportionately
affected by hunger, food insecurity and poverty, in part as a result of gender
inequality and discrimination, that in many countries, girls are twice as likely as boys
to die from malnutrition and preventable childhood diseases, and that it is estimated
that almost twice as many women as men suffer from malnutrition;
5.
Encourages all States to take action to address gender inequality and
discrimination against women, in particular where it contributes to the malnutrition of