A/HRC/28/65 sectoral legislation will ensure that States adequately address various sectors that impact significantly on various dimensions of food security. 16. Over the last few years, there has been an important increase in the number of States that have adopted provisions containing explicit recognition of the right to food or freedom from hunger.13 The following section will provide an overview of some recent examples of case law in relation to the justiciability of the right to food at the domestic and regional level. A. Latin America 17. Latin America has shown itself to be the region of the world that has made the most progress in terms of developing legal frameworks that promote the right to food. With more than eight countries possessing specific laws aimed at promoting and protecting the right to food and a number of bills pending in National Assemblies for consideration, 14 the right to adequate food is also referred to or explicitly recognized in several constitutions, including those of Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua and Paraguay. 15 In some cases, the constitutional provisions refer directly to the right to food, and its applicability to the whole population.16 In other cases, the right is directed at specific groups,17 while State signatories of the Covenant provide that it be applied directly through the constitution. The following cases are examples of where the right to food has been used as a legal argument to protect social rights. 18. In a 2013 decision,18 the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of El Salvador admitted a habeas corpus writ petition against the penitentiary administration in relation to a claimant in detention suffering from diabetes and hypertension. The applicant argued that the failure to provide him with adequate food and an appropriate diet violated his right to health and physical integrity. While the detainee’s petition was rejected on the grounds that medical evidence did not support the claim, the case demonstrates the willingness of the court to consider the protection of economic, Social and cultural rights under habeas corpus procedures. The judgment handed down in this case is significant on two counts: firstly, it demonstrates that all human rights are interconnected and indivisible; and, secondly, even though medical evidence was insufficient, the court makes the connection between those suffering from diabetes and their need for adequate and healthy food, which creates an important precedent for future cases. 19. Judicial protection of land as a source of livelihood can be seen in judgments by the Constitutional Court of Colombia. One such significant case involves the community of Las Pavas, whose members occupied unused land in 1997 and began farming activities to feed themselves. Over the years, the community had been repeatedly subjected to various forms of intimidation and harassment, including attacks by paramilitary groups and the destruction of crops and food. A formal eviction order was issued in 2009 at the request of 13 14 15 16 17 18 6 For a full list, see FAO, Legal developments in the progressive realization of the right to food (2014), http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3892e.pdf, or refer to FAOLEX, an online database of national legislation related to food and agriculture (available from http://faolex.fao.org). Ibid. Ibid. Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama and Suriname. Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. José Alberto Preza Hernández v. Director General de Centros Penales y la Directora de la Penitenciaría Central “La Esperanza”, Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of El Salvador, decision HC 12-2012 (2012).