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Colombia
Intersectoral Commission on the Human Right to Food
(Comisión Intersectorial del Derecho Humano a la Alimentación)
Colombia replaced its food and nutrition security commission in 2024 with an intersectoral commission built around the right to food. It leads the national system for the progressive guarantee of that right and coordinates with the zero hunger programme and the national observatory.
Institutional set-up and structure
Created by decree in 2024, the Commission transformed the Intersectoral Commission on Food and Nutrition Security that had operated since 2009. It is chaired by the Minister of Equality and Equity and leads the National System for the Progressive Guarantee of the Right to Food. It works through thematic tables organised by component, and coordinates with the zero hunger programme and the observatory on the right to food and nutrition.
Mandate and decision-making power
Its mandate is to direct and coordinate national food and nutrition policy, serve as a forum for consultation between the actors involved, harmonise policy across sectors, and monitor the decisions taken. The shift from a food security framing to a rights-based one is intended to guarantee adequate food and address hunger and malnutrition. Policy instruments and governance arrangements for the new system are still being developed.
The Commission is tasked with the following roles (building blocks):
Agenda setting: advocacy and dialogue; deciding on goals and strategic priorities
Policy formulation and decision making: providing technical advice; coordinating policy development; developing policies for consideration by the relevant authorities; deciding and enacting them
Implementation: coordinating policy and programme delivery
Monitoring and evaluation: tracking progress, evaluating and reporting
Who is involved
Government, with voice and vote: equality and equity (chair); interior; agriculture and rural development; health and social protection; trade, industry and tourism; education; environment; housing; science, technology and innovation; transport; culture; alongside the presidential and national planning departments
Civil society, as permanent guests with voice: academia, peasant, indigenous, Afro-descendant and Rrom organisations, fishing organisations, trade union confederations, food producers' unions and permaculture organisations
Development partners: United Nations agencies supporting the transition to a rights-based approach
How it works in practice
Meets at least twice a year, with extraordinary sessions at the request of the President of the Commission
A technical secretariat convenes the meetings, which may be held virtually
A quorum is half the membership plus one
Work is organised through thematic tables by component
Implementation runs largely through the zero hunger programme and the agriculture sector
Opportunities for improvement
Preparation and capacity building across participating entities would support the transition to a rights-based approach
Defining the mechanisms, instruments and tools for the Commission's operation would make it easier to run
Strengthening the convening capacity behind the chairing ministry could help the Commission work as a genuinely cross-sectoral body
Evidence base: key informant interviews and policy documents, 2026. Last updated: September 2026.
Strengths
The design convenes and represents a wide range of actors, including organisations rarely present in national policy forums
It creates a standing space for dialogue with social organisations on the right to food
The shift from food security to the right to food was well received, and several ministries have taken up the agenda actively
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