Right to Food
A Project by
Centre for Child and the Law,
National Law School of India University, Bangalore
The human right to adequate food, as enshrined in Art. 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), entails the duty of states parties to enact legislation in order to progressively realize these substantive rights. India as a state party to this Covenant is duty-bound to these provisions. Indian judiciary interprets the right to food as part of the right to life, which is a fundamental right in the Indian constitution. However, in spite of its obligations in constitutional and international law, the process of implementation leaves much to be desired. With the debate happening currently in the country over the proposed food security bill, it becomes even more important and urgent to bring the child rights agenda on the forefront so that the issue of the right to food for children is adequately addressed in the national legislation, especially in a given situation in India where nearly half of all Indian children are undernourished.
CCL, utilizing the expertise of its multidisciplinary team, over the past couple of years, has evolved a programme on Right to Food through which an attempt is being made to look at the status of right to food for children.
