UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferre
3 February 2020
The 2018 adoption by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly of the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas (UNDROP) represents a major step towards better protection of the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas worldwide.
Our new Research Brief discusses the role of human rights mechanisms at national, regional and international levels in monitoring the implementation of the UNDROP. It complements our former Research Brief, which focused on the role of states and international organizations in the implementation of the Declaration.
‘Human rights mechanisms – be it at the national level, regional one or at the UN – must and will play a key role, in the coming years, in protecting the right of peasants and in providing guidance to states on how they can implement the UNDROP. Some of them have already committed to doing so in a joint statement, released on 17 December 2019’ underlines Dr Christophe Golay, Senior Researcher at the Geneva Academy and author of the study.
‘Their contribution will be key as peasants, who represent 70 percent of people living in extreme poverty and 80 percent of the world’s hungry, are too often marginalized within international, regional and national laws and policies’ he adds.
Making the link with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Research Briefs shows the important role of human rights mechanisms in monitoring a similar instrument, as well as the necessity to create specific mechanisms for this purpose.
A major recommendation of this new publication is therefore addressed to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and calls for the creation of a new special procedure – a UN special rapporteur or a UN working group – on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.
‘This is the only way to make sure that the protection of the rights of peasants will be a key component of the work of the HRC. The creation of a new special procedure by the HRC would be its most important contribution to the implementation of the UNDROP’ explains Dr Golay.
Similarly, the Research Brief also calls for the establishment of new mechanisms at the regional level, with a Working Group on peasants and other people working in rural areas in Africa and a mandate for a Rapporteur on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas in the Americas.
Via a series of recommendations, the Research Brief details what human rights mechanisms – the HRC, the Universal Periodic Review, UN special procedures, UN treaty bodies, as well as regional and national human rights mechanisms – can do to integrate the UNDROP in their work and ensure effective monitoring and implementation of the rights of peasants.
‘In doing so, these mechanisms should pay particular attention to the rights and special needs of peasants and other people working in rural areas who have been historically discriminated against, including older persons, youth, children, persons with disabilities and women. They should also ensure full participation of peasants and meaningful grassroots engagement in human rights systems’ stresses Dr Christophe Golay.
Geneva Academy
The Geneva Human Rights Platform has taken its work on strengthening the international human rights system to the heart of European policymaking.
Adobe
Our recent research brief series explores how the United Nations' human rights system can enhance its role in early warning and conflict prevention.
This open discussion will consider the strengthening of international labour rights and human rights standards with focus on freedom of association.
Wikimedia
This evening dialogue will present the publication: International Human Rights Law: A Treatise, Cambridge University Press (2025).
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.
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.
The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributes to this review process by providing expert input via different avenues, by facilitating dialogue on the review among various stakeholders, as well as by accompanying the development of a follow-up resolution to 68/268 in New York and in Geneva.
CCPR Centre
The Geneva Human Rights Platform collaborates with a series of actors to reflect on the implementation of international human rights norms at the local level and propose solutions to improve uptake of recommendations and decisions taken by Geneva-based human rights bodies at the local level.