Expert Seminar on the Right to Food Sovereignty and Other Collective Rights of Peasants

Philippines, Mindanoa Island, Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipality. Rice fields. Many displaced persons work as daily labourers in rice fields or in coconut plantation to earn some money. Philippines, Mindanoa Island, Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipality. Rice fields. Many displaced persons work as daily labourers in rice fields or in coconut plantation to earn some money.

29 September 2017

Should the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas (UN Declaration) include a right to food sovereignty and other collective rights, such at the right to land and the right to free, prior and informed consent? Is agreed language available to define these rights in the UN Declaration being negotiated at the Human Rights Council (HRC)? How do states' representatives see the future of the negotiation process?

Our expert seminar, co-organized with the Government of Switzerland, the Permanent Mission of Bolivia to the United Nations in Geneva, and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, precisely aims at debating these questions.

Next Friday, at the Palais des Nations, more than 60 participants – academics, experts, states’ representatives and representatives of non-governmental organizations and social movements – will gather to discuss these issues in the context of the current negotiation of the UN Declaration.

This expert seminar will be a new occasion for our Research Fellows Dr Adriana Bessa and Dr Christophe Golay to present our Research Brief on The Right to Land and Other Natural Resources, in which they concluded that ‘the collective dimension of this right is often crucial for small-scale farmers, fisherfolks, pastoralists, hunters and gatherers’.

For Dr Christophe Golay, ‘the right to food sovereignty is one of the most debated rights in the draft UN Declaration, which explains why this expert seminar is very timely, when negotiation on the UN Declaration might enter in its last phase’.

The results of the discussion will feed into the upcoming session of the HRC working group in charge of negotiating the UN Declaration.

About our Research Project on the Rights of Peasants

As human beings, peasants and other people working in rural areas, including those working in small scale and traditional agriculture, fishing, herding and hunting activities, are entitled to all human rights. However, their vulnerability remains a particular concern. They represent 70 percent of people living in extreme poverty and 80 percent of the world’s hungry. Many are victims of multiple discrimination and human rights violations, and are not effectively protected by the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions because they are not engaged in the formal sector.

Our project aims to support efforts to strengthen the promotion and protection of the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas, and in particular to provide expert support to the negotiation of a UN Declaration taking place at the HRC.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

GHRP Diplomat Training News

Strengthening Diplomacy: GHRP Training Course Enhances Engagement with UN Human Rights

5 February 2025

The GHRP’s annual training equipped 19 diplomats with key insights into the UN Human Rights Council’s mechanisms and multilateral processes.

Read more

web of information News

New Research Brief Examines the Relationship Between Digital Technologies and Their Misuse in Surveillance, Cyberattacks, and Disinformation Campaigns

21 February 2025

Our new research brief examines the complex relationship between digital technologies and their misuse in surveillance, cyberattacks, and disinformation campaigns.

Read more

AI for Good Event Event

AI for human rights: Smarter, faster, fairer monitoring

8 July 2025, 14:00-16:00

The event, as part of the AI for Good Summit 2025 will explore how AI tools can support faster data analysis, help uncover patterns in large datasets, and expand the reach of human rights work.

Read more

Local Government Event

Enhancing National Reporting and Implementation of Human Rights through Coordinated Engagement at the Local and Regional Levels: The Role of NMIRFs

23 July 2025, 10:00-17:00

This seminar explores how national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up can better integrate the capacities, data, and experiences of local and regional governments in advancing human rights implementation and reporting.

Read more

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Booklet Training

The International Human Rights Standards and System: Monitoring and Implementation Strategies at the National Level

7-11 July 2025

This training course will delve into the means and mechanisms through which national actors can best coordinate their human rights monitoring and implementation efforts, enabling them to strategically navigate the UN human rights system and use the various mechanisms available in their day-to-day work.

Read more

Town Hall Meeting Training

Localizing International Human Rights

8-10 October 2025

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.

Read more

Session of a UN Treaty Body Project

Treaty Bodies Individual Communications Procedures

Started in January 2019

Read more

Cover of the publication Publication

Briefing N° 25: Localizing Multilateralism

published on March 2025

Domenico Zipoli, Ludovica Chiussi Curzi, Kamelia Kemileva

Read more

Cover page of the working paper Publication

AI Decoded: Key Concepts and Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring

published on January 2025

Milica Mirkovic, Jennifer Victoria Scurrell

Read more