The right to adequate food in South Sudan

Abstract

The human right to adequate food is a central part of the idea of a hunger-free world, where every infant, young or adult, female or male can supply himself or herself with sufficient food to live in dignity. It is accepted in international human rights regime in several documents including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in Article 25(1), and in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The new Republic of South Sudan entered the international arena in ecstatic celebration in July 2011, despite being one of the least developed countries in the world. South Sudan, a landlocked East African country, should respect the rights already recognised by the Republic of Sudan before the South‟s independence, including the ICESCR fundamental human right to adequate food. The right to food in South Sudan is particularly being affected by the following factors: 1) inter-ethnic violence; 2) poverty (South Sudan faces intertwined problems when poverty exacerbates violence, but violence, in turn, is one of the primary causes of poverty); 3) absence of a clear demarcated border, that produces conflict among communities and blockages by the government of (North) Sudan; 4) IDP resettlement and the return of over 315,000 southerners who have previously residing in the north, and many more to come. These returnees put a strain in the meagre availability of resources; and 5) Land grabbing by foreign investors. A thorough analysis of these factors will help us prove to what extent the South Sudanese government is adhering to its obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food as enshrined in international treaties, and consequently, propose possible recommendations to the Government and other actors to achieve as soon as possible the fulfilment of the right to adequate food for all South Sudanese people.