LEGAL ISSUES Free trade and the human right to food: The need to re- theorise and review international agricultural trade regulation Dr Shelton Mota Makore, Professor Patrick Osode and Dr Nombulelo Lubisi ver the last fifty years or so, countries. Despite these different For the three researchers, the trade across international points of view, the idea that liberalising ideological thinking underpinning Oborders has increasingly agricultural trade should comply with the liberalisation of agricultural been freed from constraints as a obligations related to the human trade is problematic on a number result of globalisation. However, right to food is gaining momentum of counts especially when evaluated concerns about food security have led in multilateral agricultural trade against the human right to food. to questioning of this liberalisation of negotiations. Their study therefore argues that trade especially in the context of the A study conducted by Dr Shelton the WTO needs to re-theorise and aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic Mota Makore, postdoctoral fellow in reform its Agreement on Agriculture and the Russia-Ukraine war. The the Faculty of Law, Professor Patrick and, in doing so, pay attention to interruption of food supply chains Osode of the Faculty of Law and Dr whether continued adherence to the has undermined the realisation of Nombulelo Lubisi, also of the Faculty established international law principle the human right to food and the need of Law, argues that current rules of lex specialis, or the idea that more to ensure access to nutrition for the for the regulation of trade are not specific rules should prevail over poor is now more urgent than ever. supportive of the realisation of the general rules, is appropriate as the human right to food especially in promotion and protection of human Nonetheless, supporters of rights is one of the most important free trade maintain that the developing countries. In making this goals of contemporary international current regulatory framework for argument, the three researchers law. The framing of WTO rules (set out question the set of principles and international agricultural trade in the Agreement on Agriculture) in a improves the accessibility, availability, beliefs underlying the existing way that undermines the human right and affordability of food to the regulatory framework. to food and food security therefore world’s population. Some human The study itself drew on a literature creates the compelling need to re- rights scholars and other academic review involving a critical examination think those rules from a perspective commentators, on the other hand, of pertinent legal instruments and that prioritises state compliance with maintain that the current World scholarly writings. The review of the obligations arising from the human Trade Organisation’s (WTO) model of literature was conducted in order to right to food. liberalisation-based governance for demonstrate the need for the WTO agricultural trade exacerbates global to consider non-trade concerns, the The human right to food is not the hunger, rural underdevelopment most important of which involves the only reason for the need to review and contributes to environmental human right to food. WTO rules identified by the three degradation, especially in developing researchers, however. A reform of 57 | University of Fort Hare