24 February 2021, 18:00-19:30
Event
ICRC
This online event – co-organized with The European Coordination Via Campesina – will discuss how UNDROP’s article 19, which recognizes the right to seeds, shall be taken into account in the revision of EU rules on seeds. It aims to bring together parliamentarians, representatives of peasant organizations, seed networks, academics and experts from Europe.
In the European Union (EU) and EU Member States, seed laws and regulations have been designed with the aim to further develop the agricultural industry in the continent, and the rights of peasants have been largely neglected. Peasant seed systems and traditional knowledge have not been adequately supported. European seed diversity has suffered a drastic decay in recent decades, largely as a result of a normative framing that outlaws the marketing of peasant seeds. National seed catalogues and the EU Common Catalogue have been designed to promote industrial seeds and agriculture standards, largely excluding peasant seeds, and in a number of countries, peasant seed saving, exchange and selling have been outlawed. This has discouraged, and in some cases hindered the continuation of peasant agricultural activities.
Representatives of peasant organizations, academia and relevant public institutions will debate about the opportunity to rebalance the lack of support given to peasant seed systems in Europe, compared to the support given to industrial seed systems in recent decades.
This event will take place online, benefiting from interpretation in English, French and Spanish.
In its last session, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC). created an international monitoring mechanism on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.
At a conference at the European Parliament, our Senior Research Fellow Dr Christophe Golay discussed the compatibility of the draft law proposed by the European Commission with the international legal framework protecting the right to food and the rights of peasants.
ICRC
After having provided academic support to the negotiation of the UN Declaration for ten years, this research project focuses on the implementation of the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.
Daniel Taylor
The project will notably identify the main opportunities and obstacles to protect the right to seeds in Europe. It will also discuss how to promote changes in European laws, policies and trade agreements to ensure that they do not infringe, but facilitate the realization of peasants’ right to seeds.
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy