The Right to Seeds and Intellectual Property Rights

Event

Ali Kazal/Unsplash

In 2018, the United Nations (UN) adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), in which the right to seeds is recognized.

This online event, co-organized with the Association for Plant Breeding for the Benefit of Society (APBREBES), will discuss the serious challenges that intellectual property poses to the protection of peasants’ right to seeds. While there is no tension when peasants use only peasants’ seeds, there is tension when they use farm-saved seeds from varieties or plants protected by intellectual property.

In his presentation, our Senior Research Fellow and Strategic Adviser on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Dr Christophe Golay will describe the right to seeds and the conflicting aspects of the right to seeds and intellectual property rights. He will also propose guidance on what needs to be done to reduce these conflicts. This lecture will be complemented by comments from Alimata Traoré and Guy Kastler (La Via Campesina), Titilayo Adunola Adebola (University of Aberdeen and Senior Adviser to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food) and Sangeeta Shashikant (APBREBES, Third World Network).

Programme

14:00–14:10

Welcome and Introduction

14:10–14:40, Presentation: The Right to Seeds and Intellectual Property Rights

Christophe Golay, Senior Research Fellow and Strategic Adviser on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Geneva Academy

14:40–15:00, Comments

Alimata Traoré and Guy Kastler, La Via Campesina
Titilayo Adunola Adebola, Lecturer, University of Aberdeen and Senior Adviser to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
Sangeeta Shashikant, APBREBES and Third World Network

15:00–15:20

Questions and Comments

Interpretation

Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in English, French and Spanish.

Get Ready: Relevant Links

Video

APBREBES