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Summer Course "The Human Right to Food and Nutrition Principles and Policies"

22 July-2 August 2002

The purpose of this course is to develop an understanding of the human right to adequate food and nutrition, and to develop skills in applying that understanding. The conceptualization of the human right to food and nutrition has advanced rapidly in recent years. However, as in most other human rights work, emphasis has been placed on the obligations of national governments to people living under their jurisdictions. In this course, we will give special attention to the international implications of nutrition rights, to clarify the obligations not only of nation states but also of other parties such as international agencies, transnational corporations, and international nongovernmental organizations.

The goals of this course include learning about: the nature of rights systems generally; the content and character of the international human rights system, in the framework of international law; the historical foundations of the human right to food and nutrition; the meaning of the human right to food and nutrition as it has been clarified since the World Food Summit of 1996; the application of the nutrition rights approach in various contexts, e.g., in specific countries, and in relation to refugees, infants, drinking water, prisons, etc.; the role of pedagogy in building shared understandings about human rights. And, with these foundations, participants will build skills in: analyzing concrete situations to identify violations of the human right to food and nutrition; formulating proposals for policy and legislation that would operationalize the realization of the human right to food and nutrition in specific contexts; preparing teaching materials to support school or university based teaching, community-based education, and political lobbying work.

Each participant will be expected to carry out a project on the ways in which a selected agency’s work might be adapted to conform more closely with human rights law and principles.

The first module of the course is organised via distance learning from 1-19 July 2002. An optional third module via distance learning will take place from 26 August-12 December 2002. Module One will be devoted primarily to introductions, orientation, and an introduction to human rights generally. In Modules Two and Three, the course will generally follow the structure of the text on Nutrition Rights: The Human Right to Adequate Food and Nutrition.

Course Director: George Kent, University of Hawaii, USA

Level: professional

Location: Budapest, Hungary

Participants: University teachers and professionals in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Applications are invited from all countries, especially from emerging democracies. Applicants must have a university degree, and hold a teaching position at a university or college or work as an administrator or professional. Applicants must demonstrate a strong command of English, and must have regular access to email.

Tuition, fee, lodging: Successful applicants from developing countries will have their participation fully funded by the Central European University. Application forms (Word document) have to be submitted by 15 January 2002.

Contact Information:
Summer University Office
Central European University
1051 Budapest, Nádor u. 9.
HUNGARY
Tel.: +36-1 327-3811
Fax: +36-1 327-3124
E-mail: summeru@ceu.hu (for information and general correspondence)
sunreq@ceu.hu (for requesting application forms)
Web: http://www.ceu.hu/sun/index.htm