NIGER: Children's rights in the Special Procedures' reports

Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of the UN Special Procedures. This does not include reports of child specific Special Procedures, such as the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which are available as separate reports.

Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.

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• UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (2006)
• UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (2005)
• UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (2002)

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UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
Mr. Jean Ziegler
(E/CN.4/2006/44)

Report published: 16 March 2006

Malnutrition: Hunger and malnutrition have severe effects on both physical and mental health. According to UNICEF, more than 90 million children suffer from an acute stage of malnutrition , and most of them are born underweight. Undernourishment in the womb condemns these children to a life of stunted mental and physical development, a life in which they will not be able to concentrate even if they can go to school, a life in which they are condemned to be the poorest of the poor even when they become adults. Régis Debray has called these children "crucified at birth". More than 400 million children also do not have access to clean drinking water, leaving them so vulnerable to water-borne disease, that many do not live to see their fifth birthday. Many girls never get to go to school because the are forced to spend the whole day walking long distances to collect water for their families. (Paragraph 5)

In Africa today, the situation is terrifying. During 2005, famine and food crises hit Niger, the Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Zimbabwe, Mauritania and Ethiopia, which all suffered from critical food emergencies as the rains failed and locust swarms destroyed crops, exacerbating the political and economic causes of hunger. Mali and Burkina Faso were also badly affected. At the time of writing this report, the Special Rapporteur received reports of a growing crisis in the Horn of Africa pushing millions of people to the brink of starvation. At least 11 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia are in urgent need of food and assistance. UNICEF has warned that the lives of at least 1.2 million children under the age of 5 are in danger of malnutrition and disease. With the World Food Programme (WFP) issuing warnings of the worst drought to hit the region in a decade, humanitarian disaster is imminent in the pastoral regions of northern and eastern Kenya, yet no food aid is arriving. In the face of so much urgent need, it is clear that the permanent Global Emergency Fund, proposed by the United Nations, must be fully implemented and supported by all United Nations Member States to allow a rapid, effective response to food emergencies. (Paragraph 6)

Famine and food crises are not inevitable. In Africa, a new study by the well-respected International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has shown that chronic food insecurity in Africa has been increasing since 1970, with the number of malnourished people in sub-Saharan Africa soaring from 88 million to 200 million in 1999-2001. Chronic food insecurity means that as soon as drought strikes, it can quickly turn into catastrophic famine. Yet the IFPRI study shows that hunger could be reduced by investing in development and reducing dependence on rain-fed agriculture. Investments in simple water-harvesting technologies, agricultural extension, education and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment would dramatically reduce the percentage of malnourished children in Africa. This would put African countries on course to meeting the Millennium Development Goals and help prevent recurrent famine. (Paragraph 8)

Every five seconds one child under the age of 5 dies from hunger or malnutrition-related disease. Every four minutes, one person loses his or her eyesight for lack of vitamin A. More than 852 million people do not get enough food each day to sustain a normal life. This is a shame on humanity. It is time to enforce the right to food. (Paragraph 52 k)

Famine: Niger is a proud country inhabited by some of the greatest civilisations of humanity – the Songhai, the Djerma, the Hausa, the Tuareg, the Peul - courageous and hardworking men and women of great dignity. During his mission however, the Special Rapporteur witnessed the gravity of the situation. Almost one third of the population, around 3.6 million people, including 800,000 children, were facing acute malnutrition, and in some regions vulnerable people, in particular infant children, were already dying from starvation. According to government reports, in July 2005 the food situation was satisfactory in only 19 out of 106 zones; it was critical in all others. During visits to Ouallam and Tondikiwindi, the Special Rapporteur saw evidence of thousands of farmers being reduced to subsisting on seeds, roots and poisonous fruits. He also visited the Saga Emergency Feeding Center operated by the Mother Theresa Sisters on the outskirts of Niamey, where he received reports that undernourished children were dying from hunger every week. (Paragraph 14)

The United Nations appeal for funds in May 2005 prompted a limited response from the international community, with contributions of only US$ 3.8 million in July 2005 compared to estimated requirement of US$ 16.2 million to cover basic essential needs. Despite its status as one of the world's poorest countries, Niger receives comparatively little emergency or development aid and investment compared with other countries. Even in normal years, one out of every four children in Niger dies before the age of 5 as a result of hunger or malnutrition-related disease and more than 80 per cent of the population are food insecure (see E/CN.4/2002/58/Add.1). The lack of development and investment in agriculture (even low-cost investment such as rainwater harvesting) has left the people of Niger with few resources in the event of drought. Although the immediate causes of the crisis were drought and locusts, the root causes are the lack of development, withdrawal of the State from agricultural and pastoral extension services (after privatisation) and pervasive chronic food insecurity, which means that any crisis quickly turns into catastrophic famine. (Paragraph 15)

The obligation to fulfil (facilitate and provide) means that the Government must take positive actions to identify vulnerable groups and to implement policies to ensure their access to adequate food by facilitating their ability to feed themselves. The obligation to fulfil is a positive obligation, as this means that the Government must actively seek to identify vulnerable groups and implement policies to improve those people's access to adequate food and their ability to feed themselves. That could mean improving employment prospects by introducing an agrarian reform programme for landless groups or promoting alternative employment opportunities. It could also include, for example, free milk programmes in schools in order to improve child nutrition. The further obligation to provide goes beyond the obligation to facilitate, but only comes into effect when people's food security is threatened for reasons beyond their control. As a last resort, direct assistance may have to be provided by means of safety nets such as food voucher schemes or social security provisions to ensure freedom from hunger. The Government would violate that obligation if it let people starve when they were in desperate need and had no way of helping themselves. An appeal by a State for international humanitarian aid, when it is itself unable to guarantee the population's right to food, also comes under this third obligation. States that, through neglect or misplaced national pride, make no such appeal or deliberately delay such appeals are violating their obligation. (Paragraph 24)

Access to water: Water is essential to human life. More than 400 million children do not have regular access to clean drinking water, leaving them vulnerable to disease and early death. Water must therefore be maintained as a common good and the right to water considered as a human right. All Governments must respect the human right of every person to have regular, healthy and unobstructed access to an amount of water adequate in quality and quantity to sustain life; (Paragraph 52 j)

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UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
Mr. Jean Ziegler
(A/60/350)

Country visit: 8 July – 12 July 2005
Report published: 12 September 2005

Hunger/malnourishment: Despite the promise made by Member States to halve hunger in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals, the shocking news is that globally, hunger is continuing to increase. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), in The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2004, reports that hunger has increased in 2004 to 852 million of people gravely undernourished children, women and men, up by 10 millions since 2003. Although important recent progress has been made in some countries, the overall trend is one of regression, rather than the progressive realization of the right to food. In fact, it appears that hunger has increased every year since the World Food Summit in 1996. (Paragraph 2)

The situation in Africa is particularly disturbing. At the time of writing of the present report, Niger, the Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Zimbabwe, Mauritania and Ethiopia were suffering from critical food emergencies. Mali and Burkina Faso were also affected. A new study by the well-respected International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) found that chronic food insecurity in Africa has increased substantially since 1970, with the number of malnourished people in sub-Saharan Africa soaring from 88 million to 200 million in 1999-2001. The study also concluded that if investments were increased in water-harvesting technologies, agricultural extension, education and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, the percentage of malnourished children in Africa could come close to meeting the proposed Millennium Development Goal target by 2015. It is possible to reduce hunger, but only if there is serious investment to address the underlying chronic malnutrition and pervasive poverty. (Paragraph 3)

In the view of the Special Rapporteur, it is scandalous that in a world richer than ever before so many people struggle to survive. He calls on the General Assembly to take urgent action to fight famine everywhere, but also to fight chronic, debilitating malnutrition. It is unacceptable that more than five million infant children are killed by malnutrition and related diseases every year,4 but it is also unacceptable that hundreds of millions of children do not eat enough to sustain a normal life, leaving them mentally and physically stunted for the rest of their lives. This is absurd in a world that is entirely capable of eradicating hunger. According to FAO, the planet could produce enough food to provide 2,100 kcals per person per day to 12 billion people, that is, twice the existing world population. Hunger and famine are not inevitable. They are a violation of human rights. (Paragraph 5)

The current crisis is the result of both unfavourable economic trends and structural shortcomings. Its immediate causes are the drought and the locust invasion that destroyed many crops in 2004, impeding pasture and cereal production; but its more profound causes are the pervasive food insecurity which heightens vulnerability to food crises. Of a population of 12 million, more than 3.6 million people suffer from chronic malnourishment, with 80 per cent suffering from food insecurity and 61 per cent living in extreme poverty (see E/CN.4/2002/58/Add.1). Even in normal years, one out of four children dies before the age of five. Despite being the second poorest country in the world, Niger receives very little development aid or investment compared to other countries and has few resources to invest in agriculture and irrigation necessary in its arid climate. The Special Rapporteur also believes that the market-based paradigm of development, largely imposed by IMF and the World Bank, has been harmful to food security for the most vulnerable. Cost-recovery policies in health centres, for instance, mean that many poor children are not being treated for malnutrition. During his visit in 2001, the Special Rapporteur also found that the privatisation of Government support services, including the logistics and distribution system OPVN (Office des Produits Vivriers du Niger) and the veterinary services, had limited access to essential extension services, exacerbating food insecurity amongst small- scale farmers and pastoralists (see E/CN.4/2002/58/Add.1). (Paragraph 15)

The Special Rapporteur would make the following recommendations: Finally, it is unacceptable that the world, which is richer than ever before, can let five million infant children die every year from malnutrition and related diseases, and that 852 million people do not get enough to eat every day. The right to food is a human right. (Paragraph 55 h)

Famine: During his mission, the Special Rapporteur witnessed the gravity of the situation. Almost a third of the population, around 3.6 million people, including 800,000 children, were facing acute malnutrition, and in some regions vulnerable people, in particular infant children, were already dying from starvation. According to the Government's surveillance of the hunger situation in July 2005, only 19 out of 106 zones were in a satisfactory food situation, the situation in all other zones being critical or extremely critical. During visits to Ouallam and Tondikiwindi, the Special Rapporteur saw evidence that thousands of farmers were reduced to subsisting on seeds gathered from termite mounds and roots and poisonous fruits called Anza. Most men had left the fields to try to find work and their undernourished wives were too weak to work in the fields, threatening the next harvest of millet that is not due before October, and only then if the rains come. The Special Rapporteur also visited the Saga Emergency Feeding Center operated by the Mother Theresa Sisters on the outskirts of Niamey, where he received reports that undernourished children were dying from hunger every week. (Paragraph 10)

The Special Rapporteur met with the President and the Prime Minister, as well as with the directors of the Food Crisis Unit, the Office for Food Production in Niger and the Early Warning System. He found that the Government had already taken action to address the emergency situation, selling food reserve stocks at reasonable prices, promoting the use of grain banks, and providing fodder to farmers. The Special Rapporteur urged the Government to begin free distribution of food aid to vulnerable groups, especially children, pregnant women and elderly people, and to guarantee free access to health units for undernourished children, as cost-recovery policies did not make sense in an extreme emergency. The Government agreed that it would do this as far as possible with its limited resources. The Special Rapporteur found that the role of the United Nations agencies (including UNICEF, FAO, WFP, UNDP, WHO, UNFPA, and the World Bank) and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (MSF, Action against Hunger, Oxfam, World Vision, Plan International) was also critical, although their resources were limited. (Paragraph 12)

Indigenous children: A study undertaken by the Inter-Agency Support Group for the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues shows that despite widespread awareness of the vulnerability of indigenous peoples, there is a lack of disaggregated data on the situation of indigenous peoples and therefore often little information available about the exact extent of hunger and malnutrition. The general lack of information gathering often reflects the reluctance of Governments to recognise the issues faced by their indigenous populations. Only recently has data started to be collected. In Guatemala for instance, where the Government has made important efforts to disaggregate statistics, it is clear that indigenous peoples face much higher levels of poverty and malnutrition than the rest of the population. While half of all Guatemalan children under the age of five are stunted, malnutrition is much higher amongst indigenous children, with 70 per cent stunted in their growth compared to 36 per cent of non-indigenous children. (Paragraph 20)

Right to adequate food: All human beings have a right to live in dignity, free from hunger. The right to food and the right to freedom from hunger are human rights protected under international human rights and humanitarian law. The right to adequate food is recognised in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and has been authoritatively defined in general comment No. 12 (1999) in the following terms: "The right to adequate food is realised when every man, woman and child, alone or in community with others, has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement" (para. 6). Based on the general comment, the Special Rapporteur summarises the definition of the right to food as follows:

"The right to food is the right to have regular, permanent and unrestricted access, either directly or by means of financial purchases, to quantitatively and qualitatively adequate and sufficient food corresponding to the cultural traditions of the people to which the consumer belongs, and which ensures a physical and mental, individual and collective, fulfilling and dignified life free of fear". (Paragraph 6)

Of special importance to the right to food of indigenous peoples is common article 1 of both human rights covenants, which recognises the rights of all peoples to self-determination and the right to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Moreover, paragraph 2 of that article also stipulates that in no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence. The prohibition of discrimination, contained in article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is also of crucial importance for indigenous peoples. Non- discrimination sometimes requires affirmative action and measures in favour of indigenous peoples to compensate or redress traditional imbalances and marginalisation. Other human rights instruments protecting women and children are also relevant to indigenous peoples. Control over and preservation of plant and animal genetic resources is today crucial for the economic interests of indigenous peoples and their long-term food security. Article 8 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in conjunction with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture provide a legal framework for the protection of those rights. (Paragraph 30)

Lastly, IMF and the World Bank have argued that they do not have responsibilities in the field of human rights because they are organisations and not States, and in that capacity have not ratified the respective human rights treaties. It would therefore follow that as IMF, the World Bank and WTO have not ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, they would not be bound by obligations in respect to the right to adequate food. However, such an argument overlooks the widely recognised view that human rights find their source not only in treaties but also in customary international law. The obligation to realise the right to adequate food has become today part of customary international law, given the almost universal ratification of treaties that contain it (in particular the International Covenant and the Convention on the Rights of the Child) and the constant practice of States in reaffirming the right to food and the fundamental right to be free from hunger at the World Food Summits in 1996 and 2002 and other international conferences, as well as in the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights. There is no reason to assume that international economic organisations are not bound by general international law on the right to food and other human rights. Furthermore, as in the case of the European Union, international organisations are bound by general principles of law recognised by civilised nations, which can be drawn from national legal systems. Many national constitutions recognise the right to food or require the interpretation of their provisions to be in accordance with international human rights law where the right to food is fully recognised. Finally, most member States of these international economic organisations have ratified at least one human rights treaty in which the right to food is contained. Clearly, international organisations cannot be free to do what their constituents are not permitted to do. (Paragraph 48)

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UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
Mr. Jean Ziegler
(E/CN.4/2002/58/Add.1)

Country visit: 27 August - 3 September 2001
Report published: 23 January 2002

Food insecurity: Nonetheless, Niger suffers from chronic food and nutrition insecurity. Food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition are closely linked to poverty, which heightens vulnerability to food crises. The country is a vast and landlocked area of 1.2 million km2. Much of its land is desert or semi-arid; only 3 per cent is totally cultivable. It is the second poorest country in the world, barely above wartorn Sierra Leone in the UNDP Human Development Index, and getting poorer. Of a total population estimated to be around 11 million people, 4.2 million people suffer from chronic malnourishment, 80 per cent suffer from food insecurity and 61 per cent live in grinding poverty. Almost 50 per cent of Niger's children under five are underweight and nearly one out every three children suffers from chronic malnutrition. The mortality rate for children under 5 is 28 per cent, the third highest in the world. This terrible statistic means that one out of every four children dies before the age of 5.  (Paragraph 8)

Deficiencies in micronutrients, especially vitamin A, iron and iodine, have severe consequences for the growth and potential of Niger's children, women and men. According to a government statistical survey of the nutritional state of the population, malnutrition increased between 1992 and 1998, particularly in the department of Maradi.3 The average vitamin A clinical deficiency rate is 2.6 per cent for each child (much worse than the threshold of 1 per cent recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO)) and the rate of blindness is 2.2 per cent. Rural areas are more severely affected than urban areas – severe malnutrition in children is twice as high in rural areas. Both health and education also remain challenges - 85 per cent of the population is illiterate and even this figure disguises considerable gender disparity as 92 per cent of women are illiterate compared with 77 per cent of men. There are also gender disparities in access to and rights over food and water for women. In terms of access to water, the Ministry of Water Resources informed the Special Rapporteur that 52 per cent of the urban population and 90 per cent of the rural population do not have access to treated water. (Paragraph 9)

Most people are therefore affected by food insecurity, especially in rural areas. Most people experience seasonal hunger during the soudure, the period between June and September before the harvest, after the previous year's harvest has run out and when cereal prices are at their highest. Most people do not receive adequate food, in terms of quantity and quality, on a daily basis, which results in stunted physical and mental development, emaciation and low resistance to diseases, particularly amongst children. Finally, most of the people of Niger are vulnerable to food insecurity which can develop into generalised famine as a result of natural catastrophes, such as drought, which occur frequently. Most people also suffer from nutrition insecurity, given the nutritional deficiencies and the lack of consumption of fruit, vegetables and protein, particularly amongst the poorest. It is the combination of all these kinds of food and nutrition insecurity that results in chronic malnourishment and food insecurity across Niger. (Paragraph 11)

Early marriage/childbirth: The most vulnerable groups are subsistence farmers with inadequate, low quality land and no livestock, herders with fewer than three animals, pastoralists who have lost their herds and become shepherds of other people's small animals, agro-pastoralists in the process of sedentarisation who have limited land and few animals, and households headed by women. Other particularly vulnerable groups include the handicapped who line the streets of Niamey. The Special Rapporteur was particularly concerned to hear about extremely vulnerable women, repudiated by their husbands, who lie hidden in hospices because of a condition called obstetrical fistula (often the result of early marriage and childbirth at an immature age, which compounded with malnutrition, can lead to serious complications, including the loss of control over their bodily functions). The Special Rapporteur did not have the time to look at issues of discrimination against particular groups, ethnic, religious or otherwise, in Niger, but this could also be a source of vulnerability, and he will examine this issue in the future. (Paragraph 14)

Relevant International Obligations:

The Government has also committed itself to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in September 1990. Under this convention, the Government promises, amongst other things:

(a) To take appropriate measures to combat disease and malnutrition, including through the provision of nutritious foods and drinking water (art. 24 (2) (c));

(b) To ensure that parents and children are informed about child health and nutrition, the advantages of breastfeeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation (art. 24 (2) (e));

(c) To recognise the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical development (art. 27 (1)) by providing material assistance with regard to nutrition (art. 27 (3)). (Paragraph 18)

Contaminated drinking water: The Special Rapporteur met with the President and other members of the Commission and was encouraged by the strength of the Commission's mandate. Economic, social and cultural rights have priority over civil and political rights. Anyone whose rights have been violated can submit a complaint to the Commission for remedy, which means that economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to food, are theoretically justiciable. Important investigations into human rights violations have been initiated following appeals made by human rights organisations. These include the initiation of one investigation relevant to the right to food - the case of the 425 children in Tibiri who became handicapped as a result of drinking contaminated tap water (see details below). The Commission has also established a subcommission to deal with issues under economic, social and cultural rights, and members expressed an interest in working on the right to food. The President of the Commission asserted that part of the work of the Commission would be to integrate economic, social and cultural rights into the work of the government ministries involved in development. The Commission has experienced problems in securing adequate finance and establishing its independence from governmental authorities, both of which are vital if the Commission is to be effective. (Paragraph 29)

With regard to specific cases of violations, the Special Rapporteur's attention was drawn particularly to the case of the tragic poisoning by tap water of hundreds of children in Tibiri, 720 km from Niamey. This is a violation of the obligation to respect the right to food. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur also includes examining the nutritional aspects of water, given the close interdependence between water and food. As a result of the poisoning, it has been documented that 425 children have contracted skeletal fluorosis, a disease which causes terrible deformities of the bones and leaves children paralysed. They are disabled for life and every movement is painful. This is owing to extremely high levels of fluoride in the water provided by the national water company, the Société nigérienne des eaux (SNE), since 1984. The water is said to contain 4.77-6.6 milligrams of fluoride per litre, far over the maximum of 1.5 milligrams per litre recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This case is being taken to court by the Niger Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ANDDH) to seek compensation for the children from the SNE. The national Human Rights Commission has also said that it will be pursuing an investigation into this case. The Special Rapporteur considers it important to reduce impunity in these kinds of cases and to allow for remedy to be sought in the courts. (Paragraph 50)

Infant mortality: The fast growth of the population in Niger is also a concern: with a high annual rate of 3.3 per cent, the population increased from 4.8 million in 1975 to approximately 11.2 million in mid-2001. However, in Niger, population growth should be understood within a context of extremely high infant mortality - one out of every four children dies before the age of 5. Moreover, large families are often believed to be one of the best ways of ensuring food security, as it widens the networks of social support and access to resources. However, the increase in population has put further pressure on land and other resources. (Paragraph 59)

Harmful traditional practices: With poverty and social tensions increasing, the Special Rapporteur also noted a worrying trend towards Islamic fundamentalism. Niger is 95 per cent Muslim and has long been an Islamic country, but the modern form of Islam in Niger has generally been a tolerant one and the State is secular. However, the influence of Islamists is increasing, which the Special Rapporteur believes is having negative effects in terms of, for example, discrimination against women. There are clear tensions between traditional Islamic norms and international human rights standards - this is recognised around the world. Traditional practices such as unilateral repudiation or divorce by the husband, polygamy and child marriage are practised in Niger. However, in many other Muslim countries these practices are disapproved of and legal reforms have been instituted. Given the role of women in ensuring food and nutrition security of the family, any form of discrimination should not be allowed to persist. The Special Rapporteur was encouraged to hear that a law to penalise early marriage is in preparation, and a law criminalising female genital mutilation is now before the Assembly. (Paragraph 61)