VI. APPENDIX The right to food: obligations under international law Both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights guarantee the right to food. Adopted in 1948 by the General Assembly, Article 25 of the Universal Declaration couches the right within the broader context of an adequate standard of living that includes health, food, medical care, social services, and economic security.50 In 1991, Zimbabwe acceded to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), which contains specific and detailed provisions about the right to food. Zimbabwe thus recognizes the right of everyone to adequate food, and as a State Party to the Covenant, agrees to “take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right…”51 The Covenant further binds Zimbabwe to work cooperatively with the international community to alleviate hunger within its borders; Article 11 (2) states: The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through international cooperation, the measures, including specific programs, which are needed: (a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources; (b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.52 Article 2(1) similarly states, “Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and cooperation, …, to the 50 Art. 25, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Resolution 217 A (III), December 10, 1948 51 Art. 11 (1), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Resolution 2200 A (XXI), 16 December, 1966. Acceded to by Zimbabwe on May 13, 1991. 52 Art. 11 (2), CESCR. 12