A/HRC/10/5 page 20 V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 41. While the contributions of donor States to the realization of the right to food in the partner countries are generally made on a purely voluntary basis, this does not exempt donors from complying with the principles of non-retrogression, non-discrimination, and of predictability in the provision of aid. Where States have made commitments to provide certain levels of assistance, as is the case under the FAC and under the Marrakesh Decision, those commitments should be complied with. To the fullest extent possible, such commitments should be to meet objectively assessed needs, so that assistance will be detached from commercial or strategic interests of the donors. Defining international aid as an instrument to fulfil the human right to adequate food could contribute to this shift. 42. Human rights can help complement the principles of aid effectiveness stipulated in the Paris Declaration, and help make them more operational because they provide a framework which is grounded in the international obligations of both donors and recipient States, and because they emphasize the values of participation and accountability. As donors and their partners seek to clarify how to implement these principles, a reference to human rights may provide a focal point on which those discussions can be based. Realizing the first Millennium Development Goal to halve the proportion of people suffering from hunger by 2015, without grounding the policies we develop to fulfil this objective on the human right to adequate food, would lead to policies which were less well informed, less sustainable in the long term, and whose legitimacy would be more easily contested. The recommendations presented in this report are based, not only on the idea that Governments must respect their obligations under international law, but also on the idea that relying on the right to adequate food is useful and operational, and truly adds value to development policies. We ignore the potential of the right to food at our own peril. 43. The Special Rapporteur recommends that: (a) Donor States should: • Make measurable progress towards contributing to the full realization of human rights by supporting the efforts of Governments in developing countries, by maintaining and - to the maximum of available resources - increasing levels of aid calculated as ODA as a percentage of GDP • Provide aid on the basis of an objective assessment of the identified needs in developing countries • Respect their commitments to provide certain levels of aid at a specific time and in a given period, ensuring adequate justification when commitments are not complied with • Support the implementation of the FAO Guidelines in partner countries and their use as a binding reference framework for development cooperation, especially in the field of rural development and concerning advisory services for development strategies such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs)