international food program, which already provided food aid to millions of
Zimbabweans.
The CESCR also binds donor countries and international humanitarian organizations.
The General Comments specifically forbid conditioning food assistance on political
issues. More specifically, although the primary responsibility for securing the right to
food rests with the Zimbabwean government, the international community is also
obligated to do its utmost to ensure sustainable access to adequate food, which includes
providing agricultural inputs as well as food aid. (For further information please refer to
the Appendix, The Right to Food: Obligations under International Law.)
Although the government has stated that Zimbabwe does not require general food aid
from the international donors in 2004-5, it has agreed that they can continue to provide
targeted feeding. Donors should provide targeted feeding to all Zimbabweans in need,
including those in the resettled areas. Donors should also provide agricultural inputs
strictly on the basis of need throughout Zimbabwe.49
49
Donors provided farmers in the communal areas with a total of U.S. $19 million in agricultural inputs (cereal
seeds, legumes, tubers and vegetables, and fertilizers) for the 2003-4 season. U.N. Relief and Recovery Unit
(now known as Humanitarian Support Team), “Zimbabwe Humanitarian Situation Report,” May 18, 2004.
11