Legal recognition

The Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt explicitly guarantees the right to adequate food.

The Arab Republic of Egypt has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1982 by way of ratification.

State Policy

Explicit protection of the right to adequate food

Article 79: “Each citizen has the right to healthy and sufficient food and clean water. The State shall ensure food resources to all citizens. The State shall also ensure sustainable food sovereignty and maintain agricultural biological diversity and types of local plants in order to safeguard the rights of future generations.”

Article 80: “Anyone under the age of 18 shall be considered a child. Each child shall have the right to a name, identity documents, free compulsory vaccination, health and family or alternative care, basic nutrition, safe shelter, religious education, and emotional and cognitive development.“

Implicit protection of the right to adequate food

Article 17: “The State shall ensure that social insurance services are provided. All citizens who do not benefit from the social insurance system have the right to social security, in a manner that ensures a decent life in the event of being incapable to provide for themselves and their families, as well as in cases of incapacity to work, old age or unemployment.”

Article 81: “The State shall guarantee the health, economic, social, cultural, entertainment, sporting and educational rights of persons with disabilities and dwarves, strive to provide them with job opportunities, allocate a percentage of job opportunities to them, and adapt public facilities and their surrounding environment to their special needs.”

Article 83: “The State shall guarantee the health, economic, social, cultural and entertainment rights of the elderly people, provide them with appropriate pensions which ensure a decent life for them, and enable them to participate in public life.”

Directive principles of state policy

Article 8: “The State shall achieve social justice and provide the means to achieve social interdependence, in order to ensure a decent life for all citizens, as regulated by Law”

Article 27: “From a social perspective, the economic system shall ensure equal opportunities and fair distribution of development returns, reduce the differences among incomes and adhere to a minimum wage and pension ensuring a decent life, as well as a maximum one in State agencies for every salaried employee according to the Law.”

Article 29: “Agriculture is a basic component of the economy. The State shall protect and expand agricultural land, and shall criminalize encroachments thereon. It shall develop rural areas; raise the standard of living of their population and protect them from environmental risks; and shall strive to on develop agricultural and animal production and encourage industries based thereon. The State shall provide agricultural and animal production requirements, and shall buy basic agricultural crops at suitable prices generating profit margins for farmers in agreement with agricultural unions, syndicates and associations. The State shall also allocate a percentage of reclaimed lands to small farmers and youth graduates, and protect farmers and agricultural workers against exploitation. All the foregoing shall be as regulated by Law.”