A/HRC/13/33/Add.4 country, allowing the immediate purchase of food through the Ministry of Finance, outside the normal procedures. The state of calamity has been extended since.16 15. While the present report does not focus in detail on this crisis, the Special Rapporteur notes with concern that information about the drought and its impact was available at least as early as May 2009.17 This indicates that the Government could possibly have taken action more swiftly. As discussed further below, the failure to intervene in timely fashion may be linked to implementation gaps in the legal framework governing food and nutritional security, in particular in so far as the State has failed to set up and consolidate an effective early warning system. IV. The obligation to respect the right to food 16. The Special Rapporteur was generally impressed by the level of commitment of the government towards the realization of the right to food. A large number of measures have been taken since the current administration took office in order to improve the situation of the poorest segments of the population. A non-exhaustive overview of these measures will be presented and discussed below under the obligation to fulfil the right to food. 17. Before turning to these measures, however, this section will first review relevant issues falling under the obligation to respect the right to food. As part of this obligation, Guatemala must abstain from the adoption of any measure that could result in depriving people of access to their existing means of producing food. In particular, this means that people should not be evicted from the land they depend on for their livelihoods, unless certain conditions are complied with; and trade agreements entered into by the State should not affect the existing enjoyment of the right to adequate food. A. Forced evictions 18. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur received information from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) about forced evictions of peasant communities in different parts of the country, allegedly executed by State or private security forces, and mostly linked to the production of sugar cane and palm oil, as well as mining exploration and exploitation. Some violent evictions reportedly took place in the weeks prior to and during the mission, in particular in the Peten and Pacific coast areas. In some cases, crops and houses were destroyed, the families being left with nothing, and leaders of peasant organizations were held by the police or threatened. 19. In relation to these evictions, the Special Rapporteur recalls the obligation of all States parties under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, inter alia, to control strictly the circumstances under which evictions may be carried out and to ensure legal remedies or procedures are available to those affected by eviction orders, and adequate compensation is provided.18 To the extent that evictions of peasant 16 17 18 Two additional decrees were issued in October and November 2009 to extend the state of calamity. Only the first two had been approved by the Congress at the time of writing. In May 2009, SESAN issued the 2009 Food Contingency and Emergency Plan, which predicted an early and prolonged drought, which should be monitored, and could result in crop losses. In April 2009, MFEWS/MAGA (Mesoamerican Food Security Early Warning System/Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación) published reports announcing below average rainfall, which would have a negative impact on the harvesting of the crops and subsequently on food reserves. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 7 (1997) on the right to adequate housing (art. 11 (1) of the Covenant): Forced evictions, para. 13. 7