A/HRC/4/30 page 7 and to improving their livelihoods and access to food.1 About 41 per cent of Bolivia’s population, the majority indigenous people in rural areas, suffer from poverty and do not have access to adequate food each day.2 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 15. Access to land for the landless peasants has greatly improved during the reporting period. The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has distributed more than 3 million hectares of land to farmers, and provided credit to more than 3 million farmers, as part of its land reform programme. This started in 2001 with the enactment of the Law on Land and Agricultural Development, and continued in 2003 with a presidential decree creating the Plan Zamora, aimed at redistributing land to small and medium-sized producers and supporting sustainable agricultural development with a view to achieving food security and economic self-sufficiency.3 Mission Mercal, which was launched in 2003, is aimed at creating subsidized grocery stores through a State-run company called Mercal, to help communities to become self-sufficient by replacing food imports with products from local farmers, small businesses and cooperatives. In 2005, 11.36 million Venezuelans benefited from Mercal food programmes on a regular basis. Mission Mercal food distribution sites are spread throughout Venezuela, and 4,543 metric tons of food are distributed each day. These programmes were intensified in 2006. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the attention of the Ombudsperson’s office and the Government to the case of peasants, particularly in the border areas of Apure and Tachira, who have been facing violence and abuses on a daily basis from paramilitary groups.4 South Africa 16. South Africa continues to be one of the best examples in the world of the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to food and the right to water, with positive impacts on the life of millions of people. The South African Bill of Rights, which is incorporated into the 1996 Constitution, explicitly provides that every person in South Africa has the right to access to sufficient food and water (sect. 27, para. 1 (b)), and that the State shall respect, protect and fulfil the realization of these rights (sect. 7, para. 2). It also gives powers to the South African Human Rights Commission to monitor the progressive realization of the right to food. To ensure the right to food, the Government has produced a National Food Security Draft Bill, with the active participation of the civil society, particularly active through the “Right to Food Campaign”. The Special Rapporteur encourages the national Parliament to adopt this National Food Security Draft Bill as soon as possible. 1 BBC News, “Bolivia passes land reform bill”, 11 November 2006, and Economist.com, “Land battles”, 21 September 2006. 2 Unidad de Análisis de Politicas Sociales y Económicas, Progreso de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio, 2003-2004. 3 Global Exchange, Land Reform in Venezuela, 2003. 4 Cadena Global, “Defensor del pueblo denuncia violaciones en el campo”, 15 May 2006.