The complex negotiations on the human right to food: «The birth of a zebra»

Negotiations to establish a set of Voluntary Guidelines on the human right to food, held under the auspices of FAO, were successfully completed in autumn 2004, with all 174 FAO member countries signing the final document. However, the negotiations proved to be far from straightforward, as many countries were anxious about the legally binding nature of the Guidelines. In spite of this, those involved managed to reach a compromise that was acceptable to all parties and yet retain the rights-based character of the Guidelines, thus enabling them to be adopted within a relatively short space of time.