Role of NGOs in the Food Rights Agenda

The right to adequate food is articulated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – which is a treaty. A treaty is a law as agreed upon by nations. So what do non – governmental organizations like FIAN Uganda have to do with this arrangement? Part of the role of Non-Governmental Organizations is to advocate on behalf of the masses, hold States accountable for violations, providing technical input for government policies and programs, and – in some instances – making actual interventions. However, scholars such as Karen Rideout have argued that the proliferation of charitable interventions by NGOs has shifted the focus of policy from human rights obligations to benevolence. Thus, charitable organizations have turned out to be part of the problem they initially sought to address. Whatever role CSOs choose to play, whether advocacy or direct implementation of programs and charity, there must be a deliberate effort to prompt the states in the right direction.