Postcards from Abroad: Axford Reports from Rome

Posted June 23, 2005
On June 12 we had our annual "Walk the World" march to raise awareness about the problem of world hunger and to raise money for our work distributing food aid in times of both man-made and natural disaster. More than 200,000 people marched in 269 cities around the world. This photo is from our own march in Rome.

Walk the World march

I am working with the Development Policy Unit at WFP on a report addressing the questions that we have been getting from our staff in the field about how international human rights law affects the humanitarian relief work of WFP. In what has now become known as "Action 2,"  U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called on all U.N. agencies to strengthen human rights protection and incorporate international human rights law into their work. The mandate has raised difficult questions for our country teams about the role of humanitarian aid organizations in protecting food aid recipients from human rights violations during crises and reporting human rights violations that they witness while distributing food aid.

Heather Axford

Postcards from Abroad

 

Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.