ICRC
10 April 2018
Should the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas (UN Declaration) currently negotiated at Human Rights Council (HRC) include the rights to food sovereignty and to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)? Is agreed language available to define these rights in the UN Declaration?
Our new Research Brief The Rights to Food Sovereignty and to Free, Prior and Informed Consent precisely aims at responding to these questions. It presents the protection of these rights at international, regional and national levels and then defines the main elements of the rights that could be included in the UN Declaration.
‘The right to food sovereignty is an overarching right, indispensable for the exercise of other rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas, including their rights to land and other natural resources, a safe, clean and healthy environment, seeds, biological diversity and traditional knowledge’ underlines Dr Christophe Golay, author of this publication and Strategic Adviser on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at the Geneva Academy. ‘The right to free, prior and informed consent is a key procedural component of all of these rights’ he adds.
This Research Brief, along with our other Research Briefs on the right to land and other natural resources and the right to seeds and intellectual property rights will be presented at the 5th session of the intergovernmental working group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas, which currently takes place in Geneva (9 - 13 April 2018).
Dr Christophe Golay will participate as an expert in this session which aims to finalize the UN Declaration, based on the discussions held in the previous four sessions as well as during informal consultations.
He will provide expert advice in relation to the preamble of the UN Declaration, article 1 (definition of peasants and other people working in rural areas), article 2 (general states obligations), article 13 (right to work), article 15 (rights to food and food sovereignty), article 17 (right to land and other natural resources), as well as on the matter of collective rights.
‘My participation is a great opportunity to present our research, outline the scope and content of the rights to food sovereignty and to free, prior and informed consent to negotiators and explain why it is crucial to include these rights in the UN Declaration’ stresses Dr Christophe Golay.
Geneva Academy
The Geneva Academy’s latest publication explores how cities, municipalities, and regional authorities are becoming key players in global human rights governance.
Adobe
Our new series of Research Briefs examine the impact of digital disinformation and potential solutions for its regulation
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré
This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.
Adobe
This training course, specifically designed for staff of city and regional governments, will explore the means and mechanisms through which local and regional governments can interact with and integrate the recommendations of international human rights bodies in their concrete work at the local level.
Olivier Chamard / Geneva Academy
The Treaty Body Members’ Platform connects experts in UN treaty bodies with each other as well as with Geneva-based practitioners, academics and diplomats to share expertise, exchange views on topical questions and develop synergies.
Adobe
This initiative wishes to contribute to better and more coordinated implementation, reporting and follow-up of international human rights recommendations through a global study on digital human rights tracking tools and databases.
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy