Food and Nutrition Security Law

This Law has as its objective to establish the regulatory framework to structure, harmonize, and coordinate actions of Food and Nutritional Security that contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of the Honduran population, with priority given to the most vulnerable groups.

Food and Nutritional Security is a Policy of the State of National Priority, with an integral approach, within the framework of the objectives and goals of the Plan of the Nation and Vision of Country that promote national development, through the creation of national, sectorial, and regional strategies, taking into account other laws that have connection to the matter.

All initiatives executed for Food and Nutritional Security shall observe the following principles:

• 1)

  EQUITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION. For the purposes of this Law, no person or group of persons may be discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, sex, age, language, political creed, religious creed, disability, or any other reason in access to resources or the enjoyment of Human Rights of men and women, especially the right to produce, obtain, dispose of, or access nutritious and sufficient food;

• 2)

  RESPECT FOR THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON. Respect in the action of the State safeguards the physical, natural, and intellectual capacities of persons, which are the central axis of the Food and Nutritional Security Policy (PSAN) to be implemented. The dignity and respect for fundamental rights of persons are key foundations of the PSAN. Any action that violates their freedom of thought, their culture, and their own space to generate their personal development shall be avoided. The Government shall focus on generating opportunities for persons to seek their wellbeing without being affected in their inherent rights;

• 3)

  TARGETING. All action of the State shall be strictly directed to the population for the efficient use of resources on the basis of the Single Registry of Beneficiaries;

• 4)

  PARTICIPATION AND CO-RESPONSIBILITY. It promotes commitment, the making of consensual or concerted decisions with the contribution of all social actors involved and the joint execution of actions by entities of the public sector and of society through shared, responsible leadership and teamwork, in order to achieve collectively, with the instances of Government, national development and the conditions that determine its sustainability and integral wellbeing;

• 5)

  SOLIDARITY. It is a duty of each individual to develop, in the social, economic, political, environmental, and cultural spheres, their capacities and to enjoy their rights by collaborating with other members of the community in order to achieve their harmonious coexistence and the wellbeing of all;

• 6)

  TRANSPARENCY. It is the fulfillment of the obligation to render accounts and to permit access to public information, converting it into an indispensable practice for all institutions that manage public resources and international cooperation in order to execute actions on matters of food security.

For the purposes of this Law the following shall be understood as:

• 1)

  FOOD SOVEREIGNTY. The State of Honduras shall define its own policies and strategies for the production, distribution, and sustainable consumption of foods, respecting the culture, management of natural resources, and territories in accordance with the Treaties and regional agreements on this matter;

• 2)

  FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY. It is an aspiration by which all persons may have timely and permanent access to foods that they need in quantity, quality, and biologically acceptable form for their adequate consumption and utilization, guaranteeing persons their full human development;

• 3)

  AVAILABILITY OF FOODS. It refers to the quantity and variety of foods available to the country, region, community, family, or individual. The availability of foods depends on several factors, for example: production, importation and exportation of foods, food aid, conditions of external commerce. The availability of foods may be achieved through production, purchase, or donation;

• 4)

  CONSUMPTION OF FOODS. It is related to diverse factors that determine the making of decisions to select, prepare, distribute, and consume foods. It depends not only on the availability and economic access to purchase foods, but also on perceptions, customs, food practices, education and information about food and nutrition, among others;

• 5)

  ACCESS TO FOODS. It refers to guaranteeing equitable food access for the entire population, in particular for the most vulnerable groups, through actions of conditional transfers, aimed at creating equal opportunities for income generation and improvement to the infrastructure that permits gradual and sustainable insertion into the economy;

• 6)

  BIOLOGICAL UTILIZATION OF FOODS. It alludes to the optimal use of the energy and nutrients contained in foods that are consumed, which is determined principally by the general state of health of the person and by the food safety of the foods that they consume;

• 7)

  FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY POLICY. It is a set of actions that the State assumes to orient its priorities toward high-risk groups, with a preventive approach and through high-impact interventions, with the objective of contributing to guarantee the food and nutritional security of all the Honduran people, especially those in situations of greater poverty and vulnerability, through the provision of a guiding and permanent framework of multisectorial coordination and integration among the public and private sectors, civil society, and international cooperation.

• 8)

  ADEQUATE FEEDING. It is that which is in accordance with the biological, psychological, and social characteristics of each individual, with the tastes and culture of the person consuming it and adjusted to their economic resources, without this meaning that their other characteristics should be sacrificed.

• 9)

  FOOD SAFETY. It consists of ensuring that foods that are to be ingested do not represent a risk to health.

• 10)

  HUMAN RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FEEDING. It is the right that every human being has, whether alone or in common with others, of physical and economic access, at all times, to adequate feeding or to means to obtain it.

• 11)

  VULNERABILITY. It is the level of risk that an individual, family, or country faces to lose life, assets and properties, and their sustenance system (that is, their means of livelihood) in the face of a possible catastrophe. Said level also corresponds with the degree of difficulty to recover after such catastrophe.

• 12)

  STABILITY IN SAN. It refers to guaranteeing the population access to adequate foods at all times, mitigating the risks posed by sudden crises derived from natural disasters, climate change, and/or events of economic or political crisis.

• 13)

  SUSTAINABILITY. Food and Nutritional Security is based on a set of factors that permit enhancing human capacity for development, the use and adoption of better technologies, economic growth with productive models adequate to social and cultural wellbeing, biological diversity, and the protection of resources.

The NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY is hereby created, presided over by the Secretary of State of the Presidential Office.

The NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY. Is the instance of direction and decision on the policy relating to Food and Nutritional Security within the Strategy of articulation defined in public policies on Social Matters, and shall also promote all actions that promote Food and Nutritional Security. The National Council of Food and Nutritional Security shall be composed of state entities, Governmental organizations, Private Enterprise, and Civil Society, and shall be presided over by the Secretary of State of the Presidential Office, who shall be represented by the following Secretaries:

• 1)

  The Secretary of State of the Presidential Office;

• 2)

  The Secretary of State in the Office of Social Development;

• 3)

  The Secretary of State in the Office of Agriculture and Livestock;

• 4)

  The Secretary of State in the Office of Natural Resources and Environment;

• 5)

  The Secretary of State in the Office of Health;

• 6)

  The Secretary of State in the Office of Finance;

• 7)

  The Technical Secretary of Planning and External Cooperation; Non-governmental organizations, private enterprise, and civil society shall be represented by:

  • 1)

    One (1) representative of Non-Governmental Development Organizations;

  • 2)

    One (1) representative by the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise;

  • 3)

    One representative of the Confederations of Workers of Honduras (CGT, CTH, and CUTH), nominated by them;

  • 4)

    One representative of the Peasant Organizations of Honduras, COCOTH, CTC, CNC, ANACH of Honduras;

  • 5)

    One representative of the National Council of Education. The Secretaries of State may delegate their representation only to the Undersecretaries, and all other officials and representatives shall delegate their representation only to the immediate inferior official or representative who according to their hierarchy corresponds to substitute them in the office. The integration of non-governmental organisms, private enterprise, and civil society shall ensure the participation of representatives linked to food security. The Secretariat of State of the Presidential Office shall convoke all representations.

The NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY has the following powers:

• 1)

  To watch over the fulfillment of the objectives, agreements, and commitments generated in the NATIONAL SYSTEM OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY;

• 2)

  To propose guidelines and priorities for the fulfillment of the National Policy of Food and Nutritional Security and its implementation strategy;

• 3)

  To promote for approval the legislation and regulations necessary for the application of the National Policy of Food and Nutritional Security and its implementation strategy;

• 4)

  To study and approve policies, plans, and strategies of Food and Nutritional Security and to watch over the availability and allocation of human and financial resources to make effective their implementation;

• 5)

  To know the level of execution of strategic plans, proposals for modification, to rethink strategies, approve contingent actions;

• 6)

  To unify criteria on strategies to address the food and nutritional problem in an integral and systematic manner, within the framework of interculturality, defining the responsibilities and commitments of the sectors involved;

• 7)

  To know, analyze, and propose new policies and strategies in matters of Food and Nutritional Security, on the basis of the recommendations that shall be issued by the Commission of Surveillance of Food and Nutritional Security, in relation to respect and protection of the right to Food and Nutritional Security;

• 8)

  To generate and integrate information that reflects the state of the situation of Food Security in the country;

• 9)

  Other powers not expressly established but related to Food and Nutritional Security.

The NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY shall meet at a minimum two (2) times per year, prior to a convocation by the Secretary of State of the Presidential Office, and its decisions shall be taken by simple majority. An Internal Regulation shall define its functioning, which must be approved by the Council and issued through the Secretariat of State of the Presidential Office.

The NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY shall require from the Technical Unit of Food and Nutritional Security (UTSAN) of the Secretariat of State of the Presidential Office, the following:

• 1)

  A detailed Report on the situation of Food and Nutritional Security in Honduras, as of June 30th of each year;

• 2)

  A proposal agreed upon with the Inter-institutional Technical Committee of Food and Nutritional Security, of the guidelines and priorities of interventions in response to the situation of Food and Nutritional Security; and,

• 3)

  An annual plan of investments in food security, with a regional approach and submit it to the Presidency of the Council for its integration into the National Planning System.

The Commission of Surveillance of the System of Food and Nutritional Security is hereby created, charged with watching over the application of the policies of evaluation and monitoring of the NATIONAL SYSTEM OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY. Evaluation and Monitoring that must be carried out within the parameters of the social policies issued by the entity responsible for the State. To such effect, the Commission must present semi-annually, a report to the National Council of Food and Nutritional Security, to the Inter-institutional Technical Committee of Food and Nutritional Security, to the Technical Unit of Food and Nutritional Security (UTSAN), a dependency of the Secretariat of State of the Presidential Office, and to public opinion in general. The recommendations contained in the annual report shall have binding character for the decisions of the NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY.

The Commission of Surveillance of Food and Nutritional Security shall be composed of:

• 1)

  The National Anticorruption Council (CNA), who presides over it;

• 2)

  The National Commissioner of Human Rights (CONADEH); and,

• 3)

  The President of the Commission of Food and Nutritional Security of the National Congress of the Republic;

• 4)

  The Secretariat of State in the Office of Social Development; and,

• 5)

  One (1) Magistrate of the Institute of Access to Public Information.

For the development of its functions, the Commission of Surveillance of Food and Nutritional Security shall request the information it needs from both the Technical Unit of Food and Nutritional Security and from the units of planning and evaluation of management of the different Secretariats of State.

The Commission of Surveillance shall meet at a minimum three (3) times per year and shall define its organization and functioning in an Internal Regulation, which must be approved by the Council and issued through the Secretariat of State of the Presidential Office.

The National System of Food and Nutritional Security is hereby created, which is composed in the following manner:

• 1)

  The National Council of Food and Nutritional Security;

• 2)

  The Commission of Surveillance of Food and Nutritional Security;

• 3)

  The Inter-institutional Technical Committee of Food and Nutritional Security (COTISAN); and,

• 4)

  The Technical Unit of Food and Nutritional Security (UTSAN), a dependency of the Secretariat of State of the Presidential Office.

To ensure the availability of foods, the Secretariat of State in the Office of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG) is empowered to coordinate and promote actions aimed at contributing to and fostering the production of foods in a timely, permanent, and safe manner, whether through local production or via importation, coordinating these actions with the Secretariats of State in the Office of: Industry and Commerce (SIC), Finance (SEFIN), Labor and Social Security (STSS), and Public Works, Transportation and Housing (SOPTRAVI), National Bank of Agricultural Development (BANADESA) in coordination with the National Association of Municipalities of Honduras (AMHON) and other Institutions of the State represented or not in the National Council of Food and Nutritional Security.

To ensure access to food, the State Secretariat in the Office of Industry and Commerce (SIC) is instructed to coordinate and promote actions tending to contribute to physical, economic and social access to food for the population in a stable manner and articulate actions with the State Secretariats in the Offices of: Agriculture and Livestock (SAG), Security and Finance (SEFIN), Secretariat of Labor and Social Security (STSS), and Secretariat of Public Works, Transportation and Housing (SOPTRAVI), National Basic Products Supply Corporation (BANASUPRO), in coordination with the National Association of Municipalities of Honduras and other State institutions represented or not in the National Council for Food and Nutritional Security.

For the correct biological utilization of food and food safety, it is the responsibility of the State Secretariat in the Office of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG) to coordinate and promote actions that allow the population to maintain adequate conditions of health and environmental hygiene that favor maximum use of the nutrients contained in the food they consume and ensure the quality of food sold in different establishments, coordinating with the State Secretariats in the Offices of Health, Secretariat of Social Development, Secretariat of Education, and Secretariat of Industry and Commerce.

To improve the nutrition of the population, it is the responsibility of the State Secretariat in the Office of Health to coordinate and articulate with the State Secretariats in the Offices of Social Development, Secretariat of Education and other State institutions represented or not in the National Council for Food and Nutritional Security, to promote actions that allow for the continuous strengthening and updating of institutional, human and financial resources of other entities that ensure surveillance of the growth of children under five (5) years of age in particular, as well as the nutritional situation of the general population, the diagnosis, treatment, recovery and rehabilitation of malnourished population (by deficiency or excess), promote breastfeeding and timely and appropriate complementary feeding; as well as promote healthy lifestyles for the prevention of chronic diseases related to nutrition.

To promote compliance with the objectives of this Law, the State Secretariats of the Presidential Office, the Secretariat of Interior and Population, the Secretariat of Social Development and the Technical Secretariat for External Planning shall establish mechanisms for the creation of Regional and Municipal Food and Nutritional Security Roundtables, in coordination with the Regional and Local Councils established in the Planning System of the Law for the Establishment of a Country Vision and the Adoption of a National Plan for Honduras.

The Technical Unit for Food and Nutritional Security (UTSAN) shall be the principal responsible for disseminating this Law through all social communication media in the country and proposing initiatives for the training of human resources on the topic of food and nutritional security, for which all institutions linked to Food and Nutritional Security shall provide the necessary support. CHAPTER VII FINAL PROVISIONS

Government institutions shall include in their annual budget the allocation of necessary resources for the execution of the guidelines and priorities approved by the National Council for Food and Nutritional Security, with their respective operational plans.

The State Secretariat in the Office of Finance is authorized to establish the Food and Nutritional Security Trust as an instrument to administer all public, private and International Cooperation contributions of resources specifically earmarked to respond to exceptional Food and Nutritional Security contingencies. These financial resources shall be allocated to the State Secretariats and Institutions that the NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY determines in accordance with institutional competencies.

The State Secretariat in the Office of Finance, taking into account the availability of resources and budgetary items, shall include in the General Budget of Income and Expenses of the Republic the financial allocation demanded by the implementation of the NATIONAL SYSTEM OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY as a whole.

The National Council for Food and Nutritional Security and the Surveillance Commission for Food and Nutritional Security, created by this Law, as organs of the National System of Food and Nutritional Security, shall be installed and shall begin the fulfillment of their attributions and responsibilities within a period of no more than ninety (90) days, counted from the beginning of the effective date of this Law, for which the State Secretariat of the Presidential Office shall convene them.

This Law shall enter into force as of the day of its publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta. Done in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the twenty-first day of the month of March of two thousand eleven. JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ ALVARADO PRESIDENT RIGOBERTO CHANG CASTILLO SECRETARY GLADIS AURORA LÓPEZ CALDERÓN SECRETARY To the Executive Power. Therefore: Execute. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., March 29, 2011. PORFIRIO LOBO SOSA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC The Secretary of State of the Presidential Office. MARÍA ANTONIETA GUILLÉN VÁSQUEZ FAMILY LAW COURT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORTÉS, SAN PEDRO SULA NOTICE The undersigned, Secretary of the Family Law Court of the department of Cortés, of this Judicial Section, to the general public, MAKES KNOWN: That in this Court is found the Adoption Request Via the Summary Non-Dispositive Declarative Process No. V0501-2011-00241, filed by Messrs. IRINA JUDITH ROMERO SALCADO and JESÚS CABALLERO AVILA, with the object of adopting the minor MARIO ROBERTO VÁSQUEZ.- San Pedro Sula, Cortés, June 15, 2011 LICDA. BLANCA ESTELA ESPINAL ROMERO DEPUTY SECRETARY FAMILY LAW COURT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORTÉS 7 J. 2011