A/HRC/13/32 kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. In article 14(2) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), States agreed to take measures “to eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, that they participate in and benefit from rural development and, in particular, shall ensure to such women the right: [...] to enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications.” 8. In its general comment No.20, on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights defined discrimination as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference or other differential treatment that is directly or indirectly based on the prohibited grounds of discrimination and which has the intention or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of Covenant rights (para. 7). 9. The Committee insisted on the obligation for State parties to eliminate all discrimination, both formally and substantively. For the Committee, eliminating formal discrimination requires ensuring that a State’s constitution, laws and policy documents do not discriminate on prohibited grounds; for example, laws should not deny equal social security benefits to women on the basis of their marital status. In the context of the right to food, it obliges States to revise their legislation, in particular laws dealing with access to food, social assistance or productive resources, to ensure that they do not include any discriminatory provision (see general comment No.12, para. 18). 10. Merely addressing formal discrimination will not ensure substantive equality as envisaged and defined by article 2(2). The effective enjoyment of Covenant rights is often influenced by whether a person is a member of a group characterized by the prohibited grounds of discrimination. Eliminating discrimination in practice requires paying sufficient attention to groups of individuals who suffer historical or persistent prejudice instead of merely comparing the formal treatment of individuals in similar situations. States parties must therefore immediately take the necessary measures to prevent, diminish and eliminate the conditions and attitudes that cause or perpetuate substantive or de facto discrimination; for example, ensuring that all individuals have equal access to adequate food and to the means of its procurement, including women and girl children and persons living in informal settlements and rural areas. 11. The present study on discrimination in the context of the right to food has three main parts. The first part will present examples of discrimination in the context of the right to food, including discrimination in terms of legislation, inequalities between regions and discrimination against the most marginalized and vulnerable groups. The second part will focus on anti-discriminatory policies and strategies, which are or could be pursued in order to address discrimination. The last part addresses good practices that are currently being implemented by States and other actors to address discrimination and inequalities. 4