A/HRC/43/44/Add.5 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food on her visit to Italy I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, conducted an official visit to Italy from 20 to 31 January 2020, at the invitation of the Government. The main objective of the visit was to assess the enjoyment of the right to adequate food, good practices and challenges, and to engage in a constructive dialogue with all stakeholders. It was also aimed at providing useful and practical recommendations to the Government. 2. The Special Rapporteur would like to express her gratitude to the Government of Italy for its openness and support in facilitating her visit and engaging with her in an open and constructive manner. She is especially grateful to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for its instrumental support both before and during the visit in smoothly coordinating the preparation of the official programme and organizing all the meetings requested. 3. During her 11-day visit, the Special Rapporteur visited Rome, the capital, as well as selected cities within the regions of Lazio, Lombardy, Tuscany, Piedmont, Apulia and Sicily. She spoke at length with local authorities, representatives of civil society organizations, academics, migrant workers, traders, food producers, small-scale farmers and agricultural workers. She also talked with people who are food insecure and vulnerable. 4. The Special Rapporteur expresses her deepest gratitude to everyone who took the time to meet with her and who shared their personal experiences. Their testimonies and contributions were vital to the success of this visit and helped the Special Rapporteur to understand the situation of the implementation of the right to food in Italy. II. Legal and policy structure of the right to food A. International level 5. The right to adequate food was first recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Article 25 establishes the right to food as a vital element for people’s health and well-being. Since then, the right to adequate food was reiterated in article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 6. Italy has signed and ratified almost all international treaties in the area of human rights, including the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. However, it still needs to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, despite the position of the European Union not to comply with it. 7. As a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights since 1978, Italy has made a commitment to undertake the appropriate steps, with due consideration given to its available resources, to ensure the realization of the right to an adequate standard of living, including access to adequate food, as set out in articles 2 (1) and 11 of the Covenant. 8. As an active member of the Human Rights Council, Italy issued a standing invitation to all special procedures in 2001 and, since then, it has facilitated several visits of special rapporteurs. Italy also went through three cycles of the universal periodic review, in 2010, 2014 and 2019. 9. Italy has demonstrated its commitment and active role in engaging with international human rights mechanisms, which is commendable. 2