Permanent Mission of India, Geneva
31st Session of Human Rights Council
(29 February – 24 March 2016)
Clustered ID with Special Rapporteur on Right to Food and
Independent Expert on Foreign Debt
(7 March 2016, 1200hrs-1500hrs)
Intervention by India
Mr. President,
It is an unfortunate reality that women are responsible for more than 50% of all food that is produced globally but they disproportionately account for 70% of the world’s hungry. We appreciate the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food for undertaking a much-needed analysis of the various structural, cultural, and ecological barriers that hinder equal realization of women’s right to food in her latest report to the Council.
2. Despite progress in improving food security at household level, the intra-household gender disparity against women and girl child in terms of food security remains high and has often been ignored. We support the call for greater gender analysis in better understanding the causes of hunger and malnutrition and for mainstreaming a gender perspective in food security programmes, both at the national and international levels.
3. India has taken a number of significant steps to prioritize the realization of women’s right to food. The National Policy on Farmers 2007 accorded high priority to mainstreaming of Women’s role in Agriculture and incorporation of ‘Gender Issues’ in the agricultural development agenda. The newly launched national crop insurance scheme, (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna of January 2016) provides for ensuring maximum coverage of women farmers with budget allocation and utilization to be in proportion to their population in the respective state. A handbook was also launched recently that details all the special provisions and package of assistance which women farmers can claim under various Government of India schemes for boosting agriculture and food security.
4. The landmark National Food Security Act of 2013, which for the first time made the right to food a justiciable right of millions of Indians, also has a strong gender dimension built into it. The act provides that the eldest woman of the household (of age 18 years or above) to be designated as the head of the household for the purpose of issuing ration cards. It also gives preference to women or their collectives in the management of fair price shops for disbursing food grains under the public distribution system. Pregnant women and lactating mothers have special entitlements under the act including cash benefits. It recognizes the important role of women in ensuring accountability and mandates that at least two women are part of the State Food Commissions, which are responsible for monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the act.
5. We acknowledge that many institutional and structural barriers including social norms, constrained roles to domestic work, limited access to resources, lack of education and inadequate employment opportunities all contribute to food insecurity of females. Closing the gender gap in agriculture, improving women’s access to productive assets and enhancing their participation in decision-making have positive effects not only on women and child nutrition but also on overall household food security and general well-being of families and societies.
6. The SR has noted that intellectual property rights in agriculture and changing global economic policies as some of the emerging barriers to the equal realization of women’s right to food. We would like to know more from the SR on what governments can do at the national level to tackle these challenges and how a gender based perspective could help in achieving better policy coherence on these issues at the global level.
Mr. President,
7. We also welcome the Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and thank him for his report as well as the final study on illicit financial flows, human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
8. As the Independent Expert has pointed out, it is worrying to note that the global volume of illicit financial outflows from developing countries is consistently exceeding the combined value of all ODA and FDI flowing into poor nations in the recent years. Such tax evasion and tax avoidance practices mainly by multinational corporations diverts valuable resources away from activities that are critical for poverty eradication and sustainable development, as well as for realizing all human rights including the right to development. In this regard, the inclusion of target SDG target 16.4 on significantly reducing the illicit financial flows by 2030 is a welcome development.
9. The Independent Expert has rightly emphasized the urgent need for greater transparency in taxation issues at the global level, including automatic exchange of tax information, in order to prevent hiding of offshore assets. We also support the emphasis on capacity building in tax administration, particularly in developing countries, and in this regard note the importance of meeting the commitments undertaken in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and target 17.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Independent Expert has come up with many other innovative recommendations as well as some significant structural changes in global tax management for curbing tax related illicit financial flows. They deserve further assessment and due consideration by Member States. We encourage the Independent Expert and other relevant human rights mechanisms to further pursue these issues and provide guidance on their practical implementation.
I thank you Mr. President.
***
