Event information

14 October 2020, 17:00-19:00

Downloads

Flyer >

Rights not Charity! True and False Solutions to Hunger and Malnutrition in the U.S.

Event

New York National Guard Soldiers from the 101st Signal Battalion hand groceries to members of the community at a food distribution point at Hope Community Services in New Rochelle on March 18, 2020. New York National Guard Soldiers from the 101st Signal Battalion hand groceries to members of the community at a food distribution point at Hope Community Services in New Rochelle on March 18, 2020.
FIAN Logo Final             ML HumanRightsClinics stacked rgb 300dpi GOOD             WhyHunger ID vert CMYK  

 

There have been five million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States (U.S.), and around 160,000 deaths due to the virus. More than 50 million Americans have filed for unemployment since the start of the pandemic. And with frequent images in the media of long lines of people and cars waiting to receive free food – some for the first time in their lives – the number of food-insecure people in the U.S. is expected to climb from 37 million to more than 54 million.

In addition, the disproportionate spread of COVID-19 in communities of colour and the death of Black men and women at the hands of police have drawn into sharp focus the systemic racism present in the U.S. food system. COVID-19 has exacerbated the inequities in the U.S. food system that communities of colour have faced for many years.

This online event – co-organized with FIAN International, WhyHunger, and the Human Rights Clinic at the Miami University School of Law – will engage in a reflection about the false and true solutions to ending hunger at its root causes in the U.S. The discussion will also provide member states and civil society organizations with important analysis relevant for the upcoming Universal Periodic Review of the U.S.

Moderator

  • Christophe Golay, Senior Research Fellow and Strategic Adviser on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Geneva Academy

Panelists

  • Alison Cohen, Senior Director of Programmes, WhyHunger
  • Denisse Córdova Montes, Acting Associate Director, Human Rights Clinic, University of Miami School of Law 
  • Robert Ojeda, Chief Programme Officer, Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona
  • Robert Robinson, Human Rights Enforcer and Staff Volunteer, Partners for Dignity & Rights (formerly NESRI)
  • Karen Washington, Farmer/Activist, Co-Owner, Rise & Root Farm

Comments

  • Ana María Suarez Franco, Permanent Representative in Geneva, FIAN International

Registration

To join the discussion, you need to register here. The webinar can host 100 persons and places will be allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis. 

Video

Rights not Charity! True and False Solutions to Hunger and Malnutrition in the U.S.

In this online event, panelists reflected on the false and true solutions to ending hunger at its root causes in the U.S.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

GHRP Ai for Good Workshop News

Exploring the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Human Rights Monitoring: Key Takeaways from the AI for Good Workshop

22 July 2025

Our event brought together human rights practitioners, data scientists, and AI experts to explore how artificial intelligence can support efforts to monitor human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Read more

SIDS Training GHRP News

Practical Training on Human Rights Council Procedures Strengthens SIDS/LDCs Engagement

21 July 2025

Sixteen diplomats from fifteen Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries participated in a two-day Practical Training on Human Rights Council Procedures.

Read more

Digital Globe Event

AI and Human RIghts: Risks and Promises - Panel at the 2025 LATSIS Symposium

10 September 2025, 16:30-17:45

This Human Rights Conversation will explore how AI is being used by human rights institutions to enhance the efficiency, scope, and impact of monitoring and implementation frameworks.

Read more

Special Rapporteur Sign Event

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in an Era of Escalating Armed Conflict: Where Can International Human Rights Law Help?

25 September 2025, 18:30-20:00

This evening dialogue will present the publication: International Human Rights Law: A Treatise, Cambridge University Press (2025).

Read more

Training

Human Rights and the Environment: Introducing Legal Regimes and Key Issues

1-8 September 2025

Participants in this training course will be introduced to the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as international environmental law and its implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

Read more

Open dump Training

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

15-19 September 2025

Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.

Read more

surveillance image of people Project

Human Rights in a Digitalized World: Mapping Risk, Strengthening Regulation and Promoting the Development of International Human Rights Law

Started in August 2023

To unpack the challenges raised by artificial intelligence, this project will target two emerging and under-researched areas: digital military technologies and neurotechnology.

Read more

A session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

IHL Expert Pool

Started in January 2022

The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.

Read more

Cover of the 2023 Geneva Academy Annual Report Publication

Annual Report 2024

published on July 2025

Read more