A/HRC/28/65 two private companies, who claimed ownership of the land. In 2011, the Colombian Constitutional Court delivered its judgment, finding that the actions leading to the eviction of the families of Las Pavas were unlawful and violated the right to a dignified existence, among other rights.19 20. In 2013, a coalition of NGOs Guatemala sin Hambre engaged in strategic litigation to claim the right to food of children suffering from chronic malnutrition and living in conditions of extreme poverty. The judgements were delivered in April 2013 by the Child and Adolescence Court of the Zacapa Department which, based on the facts, found violations of the right to food, the right to life, the right to housing and the right to an adequate standard of living. Specifically with regard to the right to food, the court grounded its reasoning on article 51 of the Constitution, which protects the right to food for children, as well as on article 11 of the Covenant and article 25 of the Universal Declaration. To define the right to food and the obligations that stem from it, the court cited general comment No. 12.20 B. Asia 21. The constitutional jurisprudence of India provides for the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights based on “the right to life”. This constitutional right was central to the case of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (“PUCL”) v. Union of India. In mid-2001, public food and employment programmes failed to provide food to deprived people in the impoverished and drought-stricken State of Rajasthan. The Supreme Court of India was petitioned by PUCL to compel the Government to respond to the hunger emergency. In response to the submissions, the Supreme Court held that the right to food was enshrined in the Constitution under the right to life provision in article 47, which requires that the State undertake measures to improve the nutritional state of the population. The Court handed down a series of resolutions which commenced in 2001 requiring State governments in India to implement food distribution programmes for the most disadvantaged. The Court’s resolution had a considerable impact on the realization of the right to food in India,21 and provides an example of the influential role played by the judiciary in encouraging a legislative body to develop human rights legislation. 22. India has led the way, not only at the regional level, but also globally, in terms of developing jurisprudence on economic, social and cultural rights. Its Constitution provides a strong legal framework for the protection and promotion of human rights, with article 47 noting that “States shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties”. It has also recently joined a select group of countries that are legally obliged to ensure the distribution of subsidized food grains to its people. With the historic passing of its National Food Security Act in September 2013, India has pledged to provide heavily subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of its population.22 The National Food Security Act will amount to the largest food security programme in the world, and aims to reduce malnutrition and improve food security. It also promotes gender-based rights and social inclusion of women, and includes provision for social monitoring and complaint 19 20 21 22 For more information on Las Pavas case, see www.fian.org/what-we-do/case-work/colombia-laspavas/. Ibid. Christophe Golay, The Right to Food and Access to Justice: examples at the national, regional and international levels (FAO, 2009), p. 57. FIAN India, “The National Food Security Act: A long road towards the realization of the right to food”, Right to Food Journal, vol. 8, No. 1 (2013). 7