Human Rights Watch backs Right To Food campaign

The international pressure group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has backed the campaign by Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne and fan activist group Fans Supporting Foodbanks to make access to food a legal right and says it is time to put the human right to food into domestic law.

HRW is an international non-governmental organisation conducting research and advocacy on human rights. It pressures governments, policy makers, companies and individual human rights abusers to denounce abuse and respect human rights.

Kartik Raj, Western Europe Researcher at HRW, backed the Right To Food following the debacle in English top-flight football this week that followed the announcement of a breakaway European Super League. This provoked huge anger among fans, who felt the plans would ruin the game and further widen the wealth gap in the sport. The European Super League proposal is currently in disarray and on hold, thanks to the huge public outcry and the subsequent u-turn from the six English clubs involved.

Raj said the u-turn proves the transformative potential of sports fans when they work together to combat an injustice and points to how Fans Supporting Foodbanks set aside sporting loyalties to mobilise and tackle poverty and hunger in their communities as evidence of this.

Raj confirmed that HRW backs the Right To Food campaign and urges people to sign the campaign petition from Fans Supporting Foodbanks which asks the UK Parliament to formally debate putting the human right to food into national law.

Ian Byrne MP welcomed the support for the campaign from HRW, saying: “I am delighted to have on board such a brilliant organisation which has been calling for a Right To Food for a long time. Let us use this moment and collectively win a huge victory for all in our communities.”

You can sign the Right To Food petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/562838

Find out more about the Right To Food Campaign