A/HRC/16/40 66. The Task Force on Hunger has recommended that breast-feeding be continued until the age of two as one of the three pillars expected to reduce malnutrition in children under the age of five.72 The State obligation to fulfil the right to food includes the essential component of education and provision of education. Governments are thus bound to develop information strategies and campaigns explaining the advantages of breast-feeding. 67. School meals programmes in developing countries constitute a recommended strategy that provides better nutrition and improves access to education for children. F. Legal and social protection of other vulnerable groups 68. Until recently, the only international instrument offering specific protection to indigenous people was the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (no. 169) of the International Labour Organization. Addressing the continued vulnerability of indigenous people, the Human Rights Council adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was subsequently adopted by the General Assembly in September 2007. The Declaration is particularly relevant to the right to food. It recognizes that indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination and rights over land and resources, acknowledging the historical injustices of colonization but also addressing the contemporary threats posed by economic globalization, offering protection of traditional knowledge, biodiversity and genetic resources, and setting limits to the activities of third parties on the territories of indigenous communities without their consent. This new instrument, even if it is not a treaty, represents an important tool that indigenous peoples can use to claim their rights, including their right to food, and seek appropriate remedies in the event of violations. Since its adoption in 2007, the Declaration has inspired new constitutions in Bolivia (Plurinational State of) and Ecuador. All or parts of it have been incorporated into national laws. 69. The ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the national level would represent a step forward in acknowledging the needs of persons with disabilities and realizing their right to food. V. Good practices A. People working in rural areas 70. The global fight against hunger has mobilized various relevant actors and has touched upon different aspects of the work in the rural areas. La Via Campesina (see paragraph 58 above) defends the rights of peasants and rural women by “promoting gender parity and social justice in fair economic relations; the preservation of land, water, seeds, and other resources; food sovereignty; and sustainable agricultural production based on small- and medium-sized producers.”73 Legal groups such as the Permanent People’s Tribunal on the Right to Food and the Rule of Law in Asia investigate the protection of food and water rights.74 71. The Food and Cash Transfer programme of Concern Worldwide distributed packages to recipients in rural Malawi, half in cash and half in food, the food package being provided given that supply shortages in local markets had made food inaccessible to cash72 73 74 18 Sanchez and others, Halving Hunger: It Can Be Done (see footnote 34). See “The international peasant’s voice”, La Via Campesina, available from www.viacampesina.org. See www.foodjustice.net/about.