THE RIGHTS TO FOOD AND WATER State obligations Governments are obliged to move as expeditiously as possible towards the full realization of the rights to food and water, including through international assistance and cooperation.36 While acknowledging that the right to food should be realized progressively, General Comment No.12 points out that as minimum core obligations, every state is obliged to ensure for everyone under its jurisdiction access to the minimum essential food that is sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe, to ensure their freedom from hunger.37 A state where a significant number of individuals are deprived of essential foodstuffs is, prima facie, violating the Covenant.38 Even where a state faces resource constraints, measures should be taken to ensure that the right to adequate food is fulfilled for vulnerable groups or individuals.39 With respect to the right to water, General Comment No.15 explains that as minimum core obligations, state parties should ensure the right of access to water and water facilities and services on a non-discriminatory basis for disadvantaged or marginalized groups and adopt relatively low-cost targeted water programmes to protect these groups.40 The right to food and right to water, like other human rights, imposes three levels of obligations on state parties – obligations to respect, protect and fulfil. The obligation to respect enjoins states to ensure that every individual has permanent access at all times to sufficient and adequate food and safe drinking water, and prohibits any measures that would result in preventing individuals from having access to adequate food.41 A violation of the obligation to respect occurs, for example, if the government arbitrarily evicts people from their land, especially if the land was their primary means of feeding themselves.42 Another violation of the obligation to respect the right to food could come as a result of a government removing social security provisions without making sure that marginalized people, such as minorities, have alternative ways to obtain food. A further breach would occur if the government where to carry out large-scale or major development projects without taking into account their impact on the right to food and water of indigenous communities or minorities, and without ensuring effective participation of those communities in decision-making processes.43 Similarly, a violation could be seen to have occurred if a government privatizes the public water company and, by failing to monitor adequately and regulate it, permits discriminatory and unaffordable increases in the price of water. Projects involving the privatization of water supplies should provide for continued, assured and affordable access to water by local communities, indigenous peoples, and the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups of society.44 Finally, states should respect the resources of the individual or community, who should be able to make optimal use of their own knowledge and have the freedom to take action and use resources to satisfy their own needs.45 21