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| UNGeneral Assembly Resolution 73/165 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 17 December 2018 |
| Meeting no. | 55th meeting |
| Code | A/RES/73/165 (Document) |
| Subject | Human rights |
Voting summary |
|
| Result | Adopted |
| UNGA Third Committee L.30 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 19 November 2018 |
| Meeting no. | 53rd meeting |
| Code | A/C.3/73/L.30 (Document) |
| Subject | Human rights |
Voting summary |
|
| Result | Adopted |
| UN Human Rights Council HRC/39/12 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 28 September 2018 |
| Meeting no. | 40th meeting |
| Code | A/HRC/RES/39/12 (Document) |
| Subject | Human rights |
Voting summary |
|
| Result | Adopted |
| Rural area |
|---|
TheDeclaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP; full title:United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas) is aUnited Nations General Assembly resolution on human rights with "universal understanding", adopted by theUnited Nations in 2018.[1] The resolution was passed by a vote of 121-8, with 54 members abstaining.
The Declaration lays down a series of rights for peasants, and has often been seen as complementing theUN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In 2008, theDeclaration of Rights of Peasants – Women and Men[2] was launched byla Via Campesina which, with support from othercivil society organisations, presented it to the United Nations'Human Rights Council.
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 asLa Via Campesina,FIAN International, or theEurope–Third World Centre (CETIM), but also by academics such as the Peasants Rights group of theGeneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, and severalUN Special Rapporteurs.[3]
The concept ofpeasants' rights build over thefarmers' rights recognized, among others, inFAO'sPlant Treaty and in theConvention on Biological Diversity.
The negotiations, initially led by Bolivia,[4] were initiated by theUN Human Rights Council and ultimately adopted by theUnited Nations General Assembly.
On 28 September 2018, draft resolution A/HRC/39/L.16 was presented to theUnited Nations Human Rights Council, supported byAlgeria,Bolivia,Cuba,Ecuador,El Salvador,Egypt,Haiti,Kenya,Nicaragua,Paraguay,Philippines,South Africa,Togo,Venezuela and theState of Palestine.
It was subsequently adopted with 33 votes in favour, 11 abstentions (Belgium, Brazil,Croatia, Germany,Iceland, Japan,Republic of Korea,Slovakia,Slovenia and Spain) and 3 against (Australia,Hungary and the United Kingdom) as HRC Resolution 39/12[5]
On 24 October, theUN General Assembly's Third Committee held an open-ended intergovernmental working group was held to discuss the draft UNDROP, where comments were made by the representatives ofBolivia,Indonesia, theEuropean Union,Cuba and South Africa. The draft Resolution (A/C.3/73/L.30) was presented to theUN General Assembly's Third Committee on 8 November by the representative ofBolivia with co-sponsor fromCuba,Ecuador,El Salvador,Mongolia,Nicaragua,Paraguay,Portugal, South Africa andVenezuela.[6]
On 19 November, the draft gained support fromBenin, theCentral African Republic,Chad,Dominican Republic,Egypt,Eritrea,Guinea,Indonesia,Iran,Kazakhstan,Kenya,Liberia,Mali,Niger,Nigeria,Pakistan,Saint Kitts and Nevis,Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,Sierra Leone,Somalia,South Sudan,Uganda, theUnited Republic of Tanzania,Zambia andZimbabwe. It was subsequently submitted to vote, which result was positive: with 119 votes in favour, 7 votes against (Australia,Hungary, Israel, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America) and 49 abstentions[7][8]
At its 55th plenary meeting on 17 December 2018, theSeventy-third session of theUnited 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 wereAfghanistan,Algeria, Angola,Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan,Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia,Botswana, Brunei, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba,Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic,East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador,Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada,Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,Guyana,Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast,Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya,Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria,North Korea, Oman, Pakistan,Panama, Papua New Guinea,Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis,Saint Lucia,Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, São Tomé and Príncipe,Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone,Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa,South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo,Trinidad and Tobago,Tunisia, Uganda,United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen,Zambia andZimbabwe.
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.
The preamble recalls a series of Human Rights instruments, in particular:
It also mentions the2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as relevant international law, such as:
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 otherintergovernmental organizations.
Article 3 introduces the concept ofequality andnon-discrimination among peasants and other people working in rural areas.
Article 4 recalls the major role ofwomen in rural agricultural settings, and calls for zerodiscrimination against women, soundgender balance, and women's participation and involvement at all levels.
Article 5 focuses on the right for peasants to accessnatural resources, includinggenetic resources, and to enjoy the means for development, and in particularsustainable 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.
This part of the Declaration addresses theRight to Life, security of persons but also theFreedom of Movement,freedom of thought,opinion andexpression, as well as thefreedom of Association
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.
These two articles address theright to work and theright 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 explores one of the main asks ofpeasants movements through the years: theright to food,food security andfood sovereignty.
Article 19 focuses on issues related to theseed sovereignty movement.[12]
This article builds on theright 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 totraditional medicine.
This article focuses on socio-cultural aspects, in particulartraditional knowledge andtraditional cultural heritage.
