In Europe and Central Asia, realizing the right to adequate food is increasingly critical—not only to address hunger but also to ensure access to nutritious, diversified diets, tackle diet-related health challenges, and support sustainable food systems. While overall food availability in the region is sufficient, many populations face growing barriers to healthy and affordable diets due to rising food prices, income pressures, widening inequalities, and changing dietary patterns.
The right to food is enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and was further clarified through General Comment No. 12 (1999). It has been operationalized through the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines on the progressive realization of the right to adequate food, endorsed by the FAO Council in 2004. These frameworks provide legal and practical guidance for countries seeking to ensure food security as a human right.
On 28 January 2026, a regional technical session convened under the United Nations Issue-Based Coalition on Sustainable Food Systems provided practical guidance for UN Country Teams in Europe and Central Asia. Hosted online at the request of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the event focused on translating normative commitments on the right to food into actionable, country-level strategies. Elisabeth Türk, Director of Economic Cooperation and Trade at the UN Economic Commission for Europe, emphasized that realizing the right to food requires systemic action across policies, institutions, and food systems.
FAO expert Claire Mason presented the legal foundations of the right to food, clarifying states’ obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill this right. The session highlighted the paradox facing the region: while food availability is adequate, access to nutritious and affordable food is increasingly fragile. Rising prices, stagnant incomes, higher energy and housing costs, worsening diet quality, and corporate concentration are reshaping food insecurity, making governance, affordability, and equitable access the central challenges rather than production.
Juan Echanove from FAO shared practical tools for integrating the right to food into national policies, strategies, and programs. Drawing on experiences from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, and Spain, he demonstrated how a rights-based approach can strengthen policy coherence, accountability, and food systems transformation across agriculture, health, social protection, and trade. The approach encourages moving from fragmented, crisis-focused interventions to coordinated, preventive, and obligation-driven actions.
WHO’s Stephen Whiting highlighted the connection between the right to food and the right to health, emphasizing the importance of rights-based food policies in reducing diet-related non-communicable diseases and improving public health outcomes across the region. The session reinforced that integrating food and health rights is key to promoting healthier, more sustainable diets.
Participants emphasized the need for ongoing technical support and stronger interagency collaboration through the Issue-Based Coalition on Sustainable Food Systems. The discussions underscored that the right to adequate food is not only a legal obligation but also a practical framework for better governance, social justice, and human dignity. Advancing this right can contribute to more equitable, resilient, and sustainable food systems across Europe and Central Asia.
