A/HRC/43/44 climate change creates additional stresses on land, exacerbating existing threats to livelihoods, biodiversity and food security. 57. Youth are leading the call for change, as demonstrated by protests and engagement at the Climate Action Summit, held in New York in September 2019, and at the twentyfifth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Madrid in December 2019. For the first time, “radical transformational change” of food systems was on the agenda at the Madrid conference. The Rome-based agencies organized more than 20 food-related events, including several that promoted agroecology and considered the role of agribusiness, which is responsible for emitting 1.3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions (the world’s third largest emitter). In discussions a shift from unsustainable consumption patterns, such as meat-centric diets, and a reduction in food waste were also called for. IV. Looking to the future: recommendations for key actors to support the realization of the right to food 58. Recognizing the progress achieved and the shortcomings that remain in addressing the barriers to the right to food tells only half the story. Eliminating hunger and malnutrition for all will require the active participation and engagement of a range of stakeholders, predominantly States as the primary duty bearers of the right to food. That requires a holistic, coordinated and rights-based approach to the elimination of hunger and malnutrition with increased attention given to future generations and the planet. The following section highlights the necessary and reasonable expectations of the most influential actors in modern food systems and the steps that must be taken to advance the right to food. A. Formally recognize economic, social and cultural rights in times of peace and conflict 59. States continue to neglect economic, social and cultural rights, particularly the right to food. There are 170 parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, but only about 30 countries have explicitly recognized the right to food in their national constitutions. In countries that explicitly or implicitly recognize the right to food, there is a significant gap between law and implementation. In the United States, which does not formally recognize economic, social and cultural rights, the Government has introduced aggressive roll-backs and cuts to its supplemental nutrition assistance programme over the past year, thus threatening national food security. 60. States are duty bearers and all persons are rights holders, not passive recipients of charity. There exists a fundamental difference between a legal entitlement and a generalized affirmation of charity or moral responsibility. Accordingly, States must ensure that adequate institutions and avenues exist, so that rights holders can hold them accountable for rights violations and secure remedial relief for themselves. The Covenant sets forth certain procedural rights, including participating in decision-making, accountability, transparency and the rule of law, as part of the implementation process. 61. National human rights institutions should be financially well-resourced and have an independent monitoring body. Brazil created a great example of establishing a welldeveloped institutional structure under the rubric of Zero Hunger.58 Unfortunately, this good practice was nearly lost in 2019, when the National Council of Food and Nutrition Security was dismantled. 62. States must also recognize those rights in times of conflict, which are currently driving the most severe food crises. A mandatory approach is necessary to ensure recognition: international legal standards should be developed to reinforce the delineation 58 14 See Jose Graziano da Silva and others, From Fome Zero to Zero Hunger: a Global Perspective (Rome, FAO, 2019).