Manuela Cuvi, FAO Legal Officer: "Having strong legal frameworks is key to a better future"

From her office based in Santiago, Chile, Manuela Cuvi leads the support to the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in developing and improving their legal frameworks related to food, agriculture, and sustainability. With over 10 years of experience in the region, she highlights the importance of legislation as a key tool for ensuring rights, strengthening governance, and promoting more resilient and inclusive agri-food systems. In this interview, Cuvi explains how FAO combines technical knowledge, a rights-based approach, and international good practices to assist States in developing laws that transform people's lives.  

– How do you define the role of FAO Development Law Service in Latin America and the Caribbean? How does your work relate to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals?  

FAO has a unique center of excellence within the United Nations system that provides legal advice to Member States as part of the technical assistance the Organization provides. Our work responds to the priorities defined by the countries themselves, which are reflected in FAO's work plans. Moreover, since lawmaking is inherently a sovereign activity, we always work with countries by invitation and request of their governments or parliaments—never on our own initiative.  

We operate from Rome, Santiago, Addis Ababa, and various countries around the world. In my case, I have been based in Chile for the past ten years, and I am responsible for supporting countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Together with the team based at the Regional Office, we provide legal assistance to all 33 countries in the region for the development or improvement of their legal frameworks—such as constitutions, laws, draft bills, and regulations—on matters related to food and agriculture, broadly understood as defined by FAO, including fisheries, forestry, and biodiversity, among others. We approach this through comprehensive legal analysis, considering the national context and analyzing experiences from other countries that might be useful for the work at hand, to achieve satisfactory results that can be implemented in the countries where we work.  

To do so, we work side by side with national lawyers, as each legal proposal must be grounded in a deep understanding of the country's political, legal, social, and cultural context. We also collaborate closely with technical teams from FAO Headquarters, the Regional Office, subregional offices, and country offices to ensure alignment with each country's strategic challenges and priorities.  

One important collaboration to highlight is with the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean—a diverse network of legislators supported by the Spanish Cooperation and FAO—which is present in 21 countries across the region and works to respond to the commitment of the Hunger-Free Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative.  

We firmly believe that well-designed and well-implemented legislation is a key tool for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and we place emphasis not only on the outcome but also on the formulation process itself. Thus, our work has a technical and legal dimension, and it is also deeply human: we apply a human rights-based approach, because at the end of the day, laws and institutions must serve people.  

Our work also involves generating and sharing knowledge. We do this through the FAOLEX database, which provides free access to more than 100,000 records of national legislation. Additionally, we promote capacity building through workshops and training sessions aimed at parliamentarians, government officials, civil society, and other key actors, as well as through online courses available on FAO Campus.  

– In the context of FAO's 80th anniversary, how would you assess the impact of the legal support the Organization has provided to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean? Are there any milestones or transformations you would particularly highlight?  

Since its establishment in 1979, the Development Law Service (LEGN) has contributed to major transformations in the legal frameworks of FAO Member States, as well as to the creation of global normative instruments such as the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and the Voluntary Code of Conduct for Food Loss and Waste Reduction—the latter being drafted thanks to the initiative of countries from our region.  

It is possible to highlight certain transformations, such as amendments recognizing the human right to adequate food in constitutions and laws. This process began in Brazil and has continued in countries such as the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Cuba, and, more recently, in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Mexico, to name a few. Recognizing this right represents a shift from assistance-based approaches to those that empower and dignify people—where food is no longer seen as a privilege for a few, but as a right for all.  

Other legislative milestones include school feeding and nutrition laws in Ecuador and the Dominican Republic; the promotion of public procurement from family farming in Colombia and Paraguay; rural women's rights laws, such as in Colombia; front-of-pack food labelling laws in Argentina, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay, following Chile's example; and laws aimed at reducing food loss and waste, such as those in Colombia and Peru.  

Additionally, we have provided legal assistance to regional and subregional parliaments such as Parlatino, Parlandino, Foprel, Parlasur, and ParlAmericas on laws addressing the right to adequate food, family farming, small-scale fisheries, climate change, food and nutrition security, community water and sanitation systems, reduction of food loss and waste, agri-food cooperatives, and the promotion of agroecology, among others.  

Currently, we are providing support to legislative processes focused on promoting access to healthy diets that promote health, growth, and development; support active lifestyles; prevent nutrient deficiencies and excesses; help avoid communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and foodborne illnesses; and promote overall well-being. To achieve this, it is necessary to legislate in broad terms, considering the various elements of agri-food systems that can improve access to these diets, from production to consumption.  

– Based on your experience, why is the technical support of a UN Specialized Agency—such as FAO—key for governments in advancing issues such as the right to adequate food, land governance, or sustainable natural resource management?  

States are fully sovereign in their lawmaking; nevertheless, they often face technical, political, or institutional challenges when developing legislation that is effective, inclusive, and sustainable. In this context, the legal and technical support of a specialized agency such as FAO can make a real difference.  

At the Development Law Service, our work is characterized by a rigorous methodology delivered by experts, using a human-rights-based, gender-sensitive, participatory, tailored, and flexible approach. Governments and parliaments often request our support during the drafting or review of legislation, seeking reliable information and proposals adapted to their specific national contexts. They trust FAO not only for its technical knowledge, but also for providing a neutral and impartial perspective, grounded in international obligations and enriched by relevant examples and good practices from other countries, which we help make available to them.  

This represents not only an opportunity for countries in terms of the final legal outcome, but also a chance to foster successful legislative processes, where FAO helps facilitate consensus, as the proposals are evidence-based and the result of participatory processes.  

In summary, the support provided by the Legal Office, as part of the FAO teams assisting countries, helps governments establish legal frameworks that are aligned with their international commitments and that are adapted to their national priorities. Strengthening legal frameworks is essential for advancing toward more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive agri-food systems—and thereby achieving the results people truly need.  

In connection with FAO's Strategic Framework, which aims to promote Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life, we believe that better legislation is also necessary for a better future.