Malawi: International human rights mission to study hunger emergency
An international fact-finding mission arrives in Malawi next week to address the ongoing hunger emergency in the southern African country. The mission, comprised of human rights experts from Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, Canada and Germany, is co-organized by Rights & Democracy (Canada) and FIAN International (Germany). The week-long inquiry, which takes place from April 17 to 23, supports an ongoing initiative by a broad coalition of Malawian civil society organizations working to ensure that both donor countries and the Government of Malawi respect commitments outlined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including those related to the human right to food.
Malawi: International human rights mission to study hunger emergency
Press Release
MONTREAL – April 13, 2006 – An international fact-finding mission arrives
in Malawi next week to address the ongoing hunger emergency in the southern African country. The mission, comprised of human rights experts from Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, Canada and Germany, is co-organized by Rights & Democracy (Canada) and FIAN International (Germany).
The week-long inquiry, which takes place from April 17 to 23, supports an
ongoing initiative by a broad coalition of Malawian civil society
organizations working to ensure that both donor countries and the
Government of Malawi respect commitments outlined in the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including those related
to the human right to food.
The mission comes at a time when a massive food crisis has again taken hold
across Malawi, leaving almost five million people hungry and in desperate
need of assistance. Despite the implementation of various policies and
programmes over the past decade – many externally imposed - the food crisis in Malawi persists and threatens to become an annual hardship in a country already struggling to survive amidst endemic poverty and the HIV/AIDS crisis.
While in Malawi, the members of the fact-finding mission will meet with a
variety of stakeholders, including representatives of civil society,
government officials and international donor organizations. The mission
delegation will also conduct site visits to various communities and food
distribution centers. The mission's preliminary conclusions will be
released at a press conference in Lilongwe on Friday, April 21 and
recommendations will be made public in a final report.
* For further information please contact Steve Smith (x 255) or Louis
Moubarak (x 261) at Rights & Democracy in Montreal, (514) 283-6073
* Rights & Democracy is a non-partisan, independent Canadian institution
created by an Act of Parliament in 1988 to promote, advocate and defend the
democratic and human rights set out in the International Bill of Human
Rights. In cooperation with civil society and governments in Canada and
abroad, Rights & Democracy initiates and supports programmes to strengthen laws and democratic institutions, principally in developing countries.