lnternational Secretar¡at Willy-Brandt-Platz 5, 691 15 He¡delberg + 49 6221 653 00 30 rEL +496221 830545F^x fian@f¡an org Germany www.fian.org fì uraH tr e

Organización Internacional por el Derecho Humano a la Al¡mentac¡ón

Mr. Mian Nawaz Sharif Prime Minister Prime Minister House Islamabad, Pakistan Tel: +92 51920 6lll Fax: +92 51 922 1596 E-mail: secretary@cabinet. gov.pk / pspm@pmsectt. gov.pk

Heidelberg (Germany), 2l lll{arch 2Ol 4

The Right to Adequate Food in Tharparkar District in Sindh Province

Dear Mr Prime Minister,

FIAN International, the intemational human rights organisation for the right to adequate food, would like to express its deep concern about the situation in Tharparkar district in Sindh province, where a high number of child deaths caused by malnutrition have been registered over the past months, and urge you to take meaningful and holistic action to address it in a sustainable manner.

The severe drought that has affected the Tharparkar district for several years, and the absence of an irrigation system, have prevented thousands of families, mostly from minority communities, from growing food crops and feeding their livestock, leaving them in a state of extreme vulnerability, hunger and undernourishment. Children and women have been particularly affected; many families have been forced to leave their homes and migrate to other areas in search of water, food and fodder. The situation has been greatly worsened by the lack of adequate health facilities in Tharparkar.

In this context, FIAN International would like to remind the State of Pakistan that, having ratified the Intemational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), it has the legally binding obligation under treaty law to provide the right to adequate food directly whenever individuals or group, including victims of natural disasters, are unable to enjoy it by the means at their disposal. Pakistan is also a State party to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and has adopted a National Action Programme (NAP). Furthermore, Article 38 of Pakistan's Constitution addresses the provision of basic life necessities, including food, for all citizens regardless ofsex, caste, creed or race. The State of Pakistan has reportedly failed to react in time, thus contributing to the exacerbation of the crisis. Even though efforts have been made over the past weeks, including

BankAccounr the establishment of medical camps by the Pakistan Army, health department and other state H & G Bank Hoidelberg, Germany |BAN DE27 6729 0100 0058 0784 09 BIC/SWIFT CODE GENO DE 6,1 HD 3 BLZ 6729O1 00 (Germany) KTO-NB 58078409(Germany) I D- 69012 Address FIAN lnternational PO Box 10 22 43 agencies, undue delays and irregularities have been reported by various sources in the distribution of food, and the situation of families living in remote rural areas remains particularly acute.

While welcoming the measures adopted over the past weeks, FIAN would like to stress the importance and urgency for the government to

o Ensure, as a matter of priority, that sufficient resources are allocated to the swift, transparent and fair distribution of adequate food supplies to communities affected by extreme hunger to prevent further deaths by malnutrition, including in remote rural areas;

o Address the inadequate health facilities in the Tharparkar district of Sindh province, including the lack of suffrcient number of doctors (particularly female), staff and medicine supplies, and ensure that cases of child malnutrition are dealt with effectively;

o Adopt long-term measures to enable families in Tharparkar district to access water and grow food crops and fodder, and thereby feed themselves sustainably and with dignity, including the development of irrigation systems and other drought coping mechanisms; o Ensure the consultation and participation of communities in the development of policies affecting them, so as to ensure that their rights and interests are respected and protected.

Please inform FIAN International about the measures you will take in this regard.

Yours sincerely,

ú lr,Ul4- Rolf Human Rights Director FIAN International

CC

Mr. Syed Qaim Ali Shah Chief Minister Sindh Karachi, Pakistan Fax: +92 21 920 2000 E-mail : pressecy@ cmsindh. gov.pk

Federal Minister of Law and Human Rights Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights Old US Aid building Ata Turk Avenue G-5

2 Islamabad, Pakistan Fax: +92 51 9204108 E-mail : contact@molaw. gov.pk

Dr. Faqir Hussain Registrar Supreme Court of Pakistan Constitution Avenue, Islamabad, Pakistan Fax: +92 51 9213452 E-mail : mail@ supremecourt. gov.pk

Mr. Bilawal Bhutto Zardan Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Media Cell, Bilawal House D-30, Block 3, Clifton Karachi, Pakistan Tel.; +92 21 3583 8101-3 Fax;+9221 3537 ló80-1 E-mail : [email protected]. ors.pk

Mr. SikandarHayat Khan Bosan Federal Minister For National Food Security & Research Tel.: +92 51 9210 088 Fax: r92 51 9205 912 Address: Ministry of National Food Security & Research, 3rd Floor, B-Block, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan E-mail : minister@mnfsr. gov.pk

Chief Justice of Sindh High Court High Court Building Saddar, Karachi, Pakistan Fax: +92 21 9213220 tIN Special Rapporteur on the right to food Mr. Olivier de Schutter [email protected]

UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Ms. Maria Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona srextremepoverty@ohchr. or g

UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health Mr. Anand Grover [email protected]

UN Independent Expert on minority issues Ms. Rita lzsâk minorityissues@ohchr. or g

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