in the Declaration should be recognised as binding in international law, since many States accept them formally. A stage of paramount importance in the subject at issue is represented by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).44 In particular, according to Article 11 of the Covenant, the States Parties recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food. It calls upon States Parties to take actions to ensure the realization of such a “fundamental right”, emphasizing the role of international cooperation in this respect.45 These are the first two acts that formally recognise for human beings the right to food.46 The limit of such acts (and the social rights enshrined therein) is that – at international level – they lack full and direct justiciability.47 The interpretative “Observations” issued by the CESCR48 have general relevance, are addressed 44 ICESCR is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966 through Resolution 2200A (XXI) and came into force on 3 January 1976. It was ratified by Italy on 15 September 1978, following to authorization provided for Law 25 October 1977, No. 881. As of September 2025, the Covenant has 173 States Parties: see https://indicators.ohchr.org/. The Covenant is monitored by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), a body of 18 independent experts. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/ cescr. 45 See S. Rodotà, Diritti e beni, cit., p. 486. More specifically, Article 11 lays down that: “1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent. 2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through international co-operation, the measures, including specific programmes, which are needed: (a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources; (b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.” 46 L. Costato, Diritto al cibo, cit., p. 9. See also A. Gusmai, Diritto all’acqua, cit., p. 149. 47 See U. Leanza, I. Caracciolo, Il diritto internazionale: diritto per gli Stati e diritto per gli individui. Parti speciali, Torino, 2010, p. 73 ff.; S. Rodotà, Diritti e beni, cit., p. 488; F. Pizzolato, Il diritto all’alimentazione. Un bisogno fondamentale povero di tutele, in Aggiornamenti sociali, 2015, p. 137. Similarly, with specific regards to food sovereignty, see A. Rinella, Food Sovereignty, in Rivista quadrimestrale di diritto dell’ambiente, 2015, p. 15 ff. See also G. Napolitano, Acqua e cibo, cit., p. 305. In addition to the direct justiciability, social rights within the ICESCR may find an indirect justiciability. According to F. Alicino, Il diritto al cibo. Definizione normativa e giustiziabilità, in Rivista AIC, No. 3/2016, p. 11, the indirect justiciability is suitable to satisfy two needs. On the one hand, it addresses the problems created by the lack of a provision in the domestic legal system specifically and explicitly regulating the right to food. On the other, it legitimizes the judge’s role: first, because it allows him or her to intervene even in the absence of an explicit legislative provision; second, because, by invoking fundamental rights, dignity, and related constitutional rights, it mitigates the criticisms leveled at judicial activism in this area. 48 According to the provisions set out in Part IV of the ICESCR, all States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of “concluding observations.” 439 WATER GOVERNANCE AND RIGHT TO FOOD
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