United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants
UN General Assembly Resolution 73/165 | |
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Date | 17 December 2018 |
Meeting no. | 55th meeting |
Code | A/RES/73/165 (Document) |
Subject | Human rights |
Voting summary |
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Result | Adopted |
UN GA Third Committee L.30 | |
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Date | 19 November 2018 |
Meeting no. | 53rd meeting |
Code | A/C.3/73/L.30 (Document) |
Subject | Human rights |
Voting summary |
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Result | Adopted |
UN Human Rights Council HRC/39/12 | |
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Date | 28 September 2018 |
Meeting no. | 40th meeting |
Code | A/HRC/RES/39/12 (Document) |
Subject | Human rights |
Voting summary |
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Result | Adopted |
Rural Society |
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The Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP; full title: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas) is an UNGA resolution on human rights with "universal understanding", adopted by the United Nations in 2018.[1] The resolution was passed by a vote of 121-8, with 54 members abstaining.
History
Background
In 2008, the Declaration of Rights of Peasants – Women and Men
The text was then used as a basis from 2009 to 2018 to negotiate the text of the final UNDROP Declaration. The negotiations were supported by civil society groups such as
Farmers' rights
The concept of peasants' rights build over the
Negotiations of the text
Before the negotiations started
Launch
The negotiations, initially led by Bolivia,
Human Rights Council
On 28 September 2018, draft resolution A/HRC/39/L.16 was presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council, supported by Algeria, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Egypt, Haiti, Kenya, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Philippines, South Africa, Togo, Venezuela and the State of Palestine.
It was subsequently adopted with 33 votes in favour, 11 abstentions (
General Assembly's Third Committee
On 24 October, the
On 19 November, the draft gained support from
General Assembly 73rd Plenary Session
At its 55th plenary meeting on 17 December 2018, the Seventy-third session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted its Resolution 73/165,[9][10] containing the UNDROP as an annex, and which introduction reads:
The General Assembly,
Welcoming the adoption by the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 39/12 of 28 September 2018,1 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas,
- Adopts the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, as contained in the annex to the present resolution;
- Invites Governments, agencies and organizations of the United Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to disseminate the Declaration and to promote universal respect and understanding thereof;
- Requests the Secretary-General to include the text of the Declaration in the next edition of Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments.
Before the adoption, the representative of Switzerland (one of the few non-developing countries that votes favourably) declared about the UNDROP that it "seeks to summarize the rights of peasants in a single document in order to better raise awareness about their situation. It is a very important political signal."[11]
The countries that voted in favour were
Notably, Australia, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States voted against the Declaration.
The countries that abstained were Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Poland, South Korea, Romania, Russia, Samoa, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Tuvalu, Ukraine, and Vanuatu.
Contents
Rights |
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Theoretical distinctions |
Human rights |
Rights by beneficiary |
Other groups of rights |
Preamble
The preamble recalls a series of Human Rights instruments, in particular:
- the Charter of the United Nations,
- the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
- the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
- the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
- the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
- the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
- the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
- the International Convention on the Rights of Migrants,
- relevant conventions of the International Labour Organization,
- the Declaration on the Right to Development,
- the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
It also mentions the
- the Plant Treaty (ITPGRFA),
- the Convention on Biological Diversity
- and its Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Use,
- FAO's Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security,
- FAO's Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication
- ,
Article 1, 2, 27 and 28: general provisions
Article 1 defines basic concepts, Articles 2 and 28 focus on the general obligations of countries, and Article 27 lists the responsibility of the United Nations system and other
Article 3: equality
Article 3 introduces the concept of
Article 4: women
Article 4 recalls the major role of
Articles 5 and 18: right to nature
Article 5 focuses on the right for peasants to access natural resources, including genetic resources, and to enjoy the means for development, and in particular sustainable development. Article 18 complements it by granting the specific rights to a clean, safe, and healthy environment for all people working and living in rural areas.
Articles 6, 7, 8 and 9: liberties and civil and political rights
This part of the Declaration addresses the
Article 10, 11 and 12: justice
Article 10, 11 and 12 focus on the Right to Participation, the Right to Information, and the Right to Justice, including access to justice, fair treatment, as well as right to a remedy and reparation in case of violations of the peasants' rights.
Article 13, 14 and 16: labor rights
These two articles address the right to work and the right to work in a safe and healthy environment, with appropriate labour conditions. Article 16 is complementary, and focuses on the right to a decent income, on the right to choose and maintain one's livelihood, and the means of production chosen.
Article 15: food sovereignty
Article 15 explores one of the main asks of peasants movements through the years: the right to food, food security and food sovereignty.
Article 17: right to land
Article 19: right to seeds
Article 19 focuses on issuess related to the
Article 20: right to biodiversity
Article 21: right to water and clean water systems
Articles 22 and 23: right to health and social security
This article builds on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (right to health), and includes specific elements such as a reference to traditional medicine.
Article 24: right to housing
Article 25: right to education
Article 26: cultural rights, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions
This article focuses on socio-cultural aspects, in particular traditional knowledge and traditional cultural heritage.
See also
Internal links
- Human rights
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Rights of indigenous people
- Right to food
- FAO's Plant Treaty(ITPGRFA)
- Peasant movement
- Via Campesina
- United Nations Decade of Family Farming
External links
- United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas as Adopted by the General Assembly, 17 December 2019 in Resolution 73/165.
- An illustrated version published by Via Campesina
- Declaration of Rights of Peasants ‐ Women and Men. Peasants of the World need an International Convention on the Rights of Peasants, initial proposal made by Via Campesina
Notes and references
- ^ UN News (18 December 2018). "Bachelet da la bienvenida a la nueva declaración de la ONU para proteger a los campesinos" (in Spanish). United Nations. UN News. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ "Declaration of Rights of Peasants ‐ Women and Men. Peasants of the World need an International Convention on the Rights of Peasants" (PDF). Via Campesina. 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights: Project: The Rights of Peasants (Started in May 2008), 2008–2020.
- ^ See Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights page on the UNDROP negotiation project
- ^ Press release (28 September 2018). "UN Human Rights Council passes a resolution adopting the peasant rights declaration in Geneva". viacampesina.org. Geneva: La Via Campesina. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms (Report of the Third Committee) A/73/589/Add.2
- ^ "UNITED NATIONS: Third Committee approves the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas". Via Campesina. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ UNGA Third Committee voting record on A/C.3/73/L.30
- ^ A. Wise, Timothy (24 January 2019). "UN Backs Seed Sovereignty in Landmark Peasants' Rights Declaration". Resilience. Archived from the original on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- OHCHR (18 December 2018). "UN Human Rights Chief welcomes adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants". Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ "General Assembly official records, 73rd session: 55th plenary meeting, Monday, 17 December 2018, New York". United Nations Digital Library. United Nations. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ Wise, Timothy (18 January 2019). "The United Nations backs seed sovereignty in landmark small-scale farmers' rights declaration | Greenbiz". GreenBiz. Retrieved 2 April 2023.