Aulia Erlangga/CIFOR>
31 August 2020
Our new Research Brief The Right to Seed and Food Systems identifies international legal standards that should be taken into account by law- and policy-makers when developing normative and policy frameworks governing seeds and food systems.
This Research Brief forms part of our six-year research project on food sustainability and food systems – conducted in partnership with the Centre for Development and Environment at the University of Bern, the Centre for Training and Integrated Research in Kenya and Comunidad Pluricultural Andino Amazónica para la Sustentabilidad (COMPAS) in Bolivia and supported by the Research for Development Programme (r4d) of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The project assesses the sustainability of food systems based on five pillars: the realization of the right to food, the reduction of poverty and inequality, environmental performance and socio-ecological resilience.
‘Our research and collaboration with local communities in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia highlighted the importance of recognizing and protecting the right to seeds in national laws and policies. This is key to ensure that food systems are sustainable, attuned to the human rights agenda, and contribute to global food security without neglecting or abusing the fundamental rights of peasants, including their right to seeds’ underlines Dr Adriana Bessa, Senior Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy and one of the authors of the Research Brief.
Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
The research brief highlights that the regulation of seed access and control crosscuts various domains of law as well as socio-economic actors and interests: industrial development and trade, environmental conservation, food security, human rights and cultural heritage protection.
‘In this context, it is imperative that states adopt laws and public policies that provide incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of seeds, the improvement of seed diversity and ecological farming techniques, and the empowerment of peasants, indigenous people and traditional local communities through a human rights-based approach’ explains Dr Bessa.
These laws and policies should be in line with the rights recognized in the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas – which includes the right to seeds – as well as with the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
UN Women/Joe Saade
Geneva Academy
The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributed to key discussions on AI, human rights, and sustainable digital governance at the World Economic Forum 2025.
adobe
We are pleased to announce the publication of a new Research Brief authored by Dr. Christophe Golay, which examines the role of the United Nations Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.
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.
Participants in this training course will be introduced to the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as international environmental law and its implementation and enforcement mechanisms.
UNAMID
This project will develop guidance to inform security, human rights and environmental debates on the linkages between environmental rights and conflict, and how their better management can serve as a tool in conflict prevention, resilience and early warning.
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.
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy