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| UNDROP | |
|---|---|
| Name | UNDROP |
| Long name | United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas |
| Adopted | 2018 |
| Adopted by | United Nations General Assembly |
| Resolution | A/RES/73/165 |
| Signatories | 193 |
| Subject | Rights of peasants and rural workers |
UNDROP
UNDROP is the United Nations instrument addressing the rights of peasants and other rural workers, adopted to recognise and protect livelihoods, land rights, and cultural practices linked to rural communities. It builds on prior international instruments and engages a wide range of actors including states, civil society, indigenous organisations, and agricultural movements. The declaration interacts with existing frameworks and has generated debate among regional bodies, development agencies, and legal scholars.
The initiative that produced the declaration emerged from advocacy by organisations such as La Vía Campesina, International Fund for Agricultural Development, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Human Rights Council, and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Negotiations referenced instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and Convention on Biological Diversity. Regional actors like the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and European Court of Human Rights informed debate, as did national movements in countries such as India, Brazil, South Africa, Philippines, and Mexico. Rural advocacy drew support from trade unions tied to International Labour Organization standards and from NGOs formerly engaged with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund policy agendas.
The declaration outlines substantive protections for land and natural resources, cultural and seed rights, and collective forms of tenure, referencing legal norms akin to those in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Provisions cover the right to seeds and traditional knowledge, access to water and pastures, protections against forced eviction, and rights to food sovereignty — issues also addressed by bodies like the Committee on World Food Security and instruments such as the Nagoya Protocol. The text articulates duties for states and recognises the role of rural organisations including FAO-linked fora, rural cooperatives similar to those in Rwanda and Spain, and customary institutions observed across regions like West Africa and Andean States.
Drafting began with submissions from civil society and UN agencies during sessions of the Human Rights Council and consultative meetings with representatives from France, Norway, Cuba, Ethiopia, and Bolivia. Negotiations proceeded through working groups at the UN Office at Geneva and culminated in a vote at the United Nations General Assembly in 2018. Prior milestones included resolutions advanced at the UN Human Rights Council in 2012 and 2016, and parallel processes in forums like the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and regional assemblies in Latin America and Africa.
Supporters included states such as Bolivia, Ecuador, Algeria, South Africa, and Nepal, alongside advocacy groups including La Vía Campesina and Agricultural Biodiversity Coalition. Reservations were expressed by countries including United States, European Union members represented collectively, Japan, and Australia, many citing concerns shared in statements by the World Bank and private sector actors in agribusiness sectors operating in Argentina and Canada. Regional organisations such as the African Union, the Organization of American States, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reflected diverse positions in subsequent policy debates.
Legal scholars compared the declaration to binding instruments like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and extrabinding norms emanating from the International Court of Justice advisory opinions. Analyses referenced jurisprudence from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights, and case law in national courts of India and South Africa addressing land and tenure. Debates considered interactions with trade agreements overseen by the World Trade Organization, intellectual property norms in the World Intellectual Property Organization, and customary law recognised by tribunals such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea when resources overlap.
Implementation strategies invoked institutional actors including national human rights institutions modelled after examples in Norway and South Africa, UN mechanisms like the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, and cooperative programmes run with the International Fund for Agricultural Development and FAO. Enforcement relies on domestic courts—examples cited include litigation in Kenya, Brazil, and Colombia—and monitoring by UN treaty bodies such as the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and shadow reporting by coalitions linked to La Vía Campesina. Financing and technical assistance channels involve multilateral development banks such as the World Bank and regional banks like the African Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
Critics included stakeholders from OECD member states, private agribusiness conglomerates operating in United States and Netherlands, and commentators in journals associated with universities such as Harvard University, University of Oxford, and Universidad Autónoma de México. Concerns focused on conflicts with investment protections under bilateral investment treaties adjudicated by International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, potential clashes with intellectual property regimes administered by WIPO, and ambiguity about obligations vis-à-vis instruments like the TRIPS Agreement. Debates also engaged environmental NGOs active in Greenpeace and policy centres linked to Chatham House and Brookings Institution.
Category:United Nations declarations