Sovereign Debt and the Right to Food

Sovereign debt and the measures imposed on indebted nations, in conjunction with trade liberalisation under the WTO or other similar regimes have forced many countries to forego traditional food security schemes, particularly through state subsidies. As a result, price fluctuations in staple commodities as well as currency fluctuations have forced poorer nations to effectively surrender their food sovereignty in favour of their multilateral trade obligations, investment obligations and debt repayment agreements with both private and public lenders, particularly through the facilitation of multilateral development banks. This chapter traces the roots of food insecurity as a result of sovereign debt-related measures, policies and effects. It does so through particular paradigms, especially through the work of pertinent UN mandates. It examines in what manner the right to food, as enshrined in the ICESCR, may be fulfilled as well as how food security can co-exist alongside trade liberalisation.