Ghana: Rural transformation risks leaving peasants behind, political will needed to move forward, say UN experts

ACCRA – Ghana stands on the cusp of an agricultural transformation, but there is an urgent need to ensure small-holder farmers, artisanal fishers, and pastoralists are not left behind through the country’s implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), the Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas said in a statement today.

“Ghana has a robust human rights framework and has demonstrated genuine willingness to engage with its commitments through the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act 2025, the Social Protection Act 2025, the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act 2024, and the ratification of ILO Work in Fishing Convention (No. 188),” the Working Group said in a statement at the conclusion of their official visit to the country.

“However, there is a persistent gap between the law and policy and their meaningful implementation on the ground. Small-holder farmers, artisanal fishers and pastoralists, who constitute the actual backbone of food production, continue to suffer from poverty and exclusion,” they said.

The experts warned that the government’s drive toward mechanised, export-oriented agriculture risks entrenching a dual food system. This model heavily serves large-scale, input-intensive commercial agriculture, while the family-based agrarian sector is left increasingly marginalised.

Land tenure insecurity is an ongoing challenge, as the country’s dual tenure system exposes subsistence farmers to sudden dispossession with limited legal recourse.

“Women, youth and elderly farmers face compounded disadvantages within both statutory and customary systems. Despite their critical roles throughout farming and fishing, and despite strong legal protections, women remain excluded from land ownership and decision-making due to deeply entrenched social norms,” they added.

Ghana is simultaneously confronting a severe environmental emergency fuelled by illegal gold mining, or “galamsey”.

“Galamsey is the most acute, rapidly expanding and politically charged environmental emergency facing the country. The contamination of rivers, destruction of farmland and the spread of heavy-metal contamination reach far beyond mining sites,” the experts said. Sustained by powerful interests, it has become a national security, food and nutrition security, and public health emergency intertwined with elite capture.

The experts also highlighted the deep, multi-dimensional exclusion of pastoralists.

“Their nomadic way of life renders them structurally invisible to governance systems designed around settled tenure. Many in Fulbe communities face barriers to citizenship documentation, effectively placing them outside the reach of any legal protection framework.”

The erosion of grazing pastures, worsened by climate pressure and agricultural expansion, is generating an escalating cycle of conflict between pastoralists and settled farmers.

Economic barriers such as intermediary dominance, poor rural road infrastructure, and an absence of cold-chain facilities lead to catastrophic post-harvest losses, which are compounded by climate change shocks. Smallholder farmers and artisanal fishers are additionally excluded from finance by their inability to provide conventional collateral.

“The policy and legislative framework that Ghana has assembled constitutes a strong foundation that commands respect for human rights. Yet implementing laws to address all these issues demands genuine political courage that challenges entrenched interests, and a commitment to deeper social norm change without which legal frameworks remain aspirational,” the experts said. UNDROP calls for nothing less, on behalf of peasant farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists and other rural workers.

The Working Group will present a report on the visit including findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026.

See the End of Mission Statement on the country visit to Ghana below:

The Working Group on Peasants and other people working in rural areas is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Carlos Duarte (Colombia), other members are Geneviève Savigny (France); Shalmali Guttal (India), Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile (Nigeria) and Davit Hakobyan (Armenia).

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/

UN Human Rights, country page – Ghana

For inquiries and media requests, please contact: Cynthia Prah (prah@un.org) Public Information Officer in Accra, or Stee Asbjornsen (stee.asbjornsen@un.org) in Geneva.

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter: @UN_SPExperts.

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Held in the context of the UN Working Group’s latest report, which focuses specifically on rural peoples’ right to participation, the discussion explored how this right—far from being a procedural formality—constitutes a cornerstone of democratic governance and a central pillar of rural peoples’ civil and political rights. The webinar created a space for exchange between grassroots actors and international human rights mechanisms, strengthening bridges between local struggles and global advocacy.

The webinar placed the findings of the UN Working Group’s report at the centre of the discussion, examining:

• The democratic and political significance of participation under UNDROP
• Barriers that prevent rural communities from influencing public decision-making
• The Working Group’s recommendations to States
• Practical strategies and good practices that enhance meaningful participation
• The role of collective advocacy and solidarity in advancing implementation

Panellists:

• Carlos Duarte, Current Chair of the UN Working Group on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas
• Loupa Pius, World Alliance of Mobile Indigenous People (WAMIP)
• Modesta Arevalos Ortiz, International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements (FIMARC)
• Jones Spartegus, World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP)
• Norah Mlondobozi, Rural Women Assembly (RWA)
• Saúl Vicente, Unidad de la Fuerza Indígena y Campesina (UFIC – Mexico)
• Paula Gioia, La Via Campesina (LVC)

Through their interventions, the panellists shared regional experiences, community perspectives, and movement strategies for strengthening participation at local, national and international levels.

We invite you to watch the recording and engage with this important dialogue as part of the broader collective effort to ensure that those who feed the world and protect its ecosystems are fully included in shaping the policies and decisions that determine their future.

Webinar held on 10 December 2025.

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Background

Seeds are foundational to food systems, biodiversity, culture and rural livelihoods. They constitute the starting point of food production and are central to the ways in which peasants and Indigenous Peoples have developed, preserved and transmitted agricultural knowledge adapted to diverse ecological conditions across generations.

Seeds play a critical role in maintaining agricultural biodiversity, as they embody the genetic diversity necessary to enhance resilience to pests, diseases, environmental degradation and climate variability. Beyond their biological function, seeds are also closely linked to cultural heritage, social relations and, in some contexts, spiritual and ceremonial practices.

For peasants and other people working in rural areas globally, including Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, fishers and forest peoples, seeds are inseparable from livelihoods and autonomy. The ability to cultivate, harvest, save, exchange and improve seeds underpins food security, income generation, self-determination and the sustainability of rural communities. Peasant seed systems have historically sustained a wide diversity of crops and plant varieties adapted to local ecosystems and climatic conditions, contributing to food sovereignty, nutrition and resilience.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) explicitly recognizes the right to seeds (article 19), including the right of peasants to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seeds and propagating material. The realization of this right is closely interconnected with other rights recognized in UNDROP, including the right to food and food sovereignty (article 15), the rights to land and other natural resources (article 17), rights related to biodiversity (article 20), the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment (article 24), and the right to participation in decision-making processes affecting peasants’ lives (article 10). In the same manner, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ rights to maintain, control, protect and develop their traditional knowledge, innovations and cultural heritage, including genetic resources and seeds (article 31), in connection with their rights to lands, territories and resources, self-determination and development.

International environmental and agricultural frameworks reinforce the protection of peasant seed systems. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) affirms the importance of conserving biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and equitable benefit-sharing from genetic resources, while recognizing the traditional knowledge and practices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) recognizes farmers’ vital role in conserving and improving plant genetic resources and affirms Farmers’ Rights, including protection of traditional knowledge, equitable benefit-sharing, and participation in decision-making on plant genetic resources.

Despite these normative frameworks, seed systems worldwide are increasingly shaped by legal, economic and technological developments, which in some contexts, may undermine peasant seed systems. These may include restrictive seed laws and certification regimes, intellectual property protections, trade and investment agreements, corporate concentration in the seed sector, and the digitalization of genetic resources. Such developments have raised concerns regarding the marginalization of traditional practices, erosion of seed diversity, misappropriation of traditional knowledge and persistent inequalities, including gender-based and structural discrimination.

In line with its mandate to promote and monitor the implementation of UNDROP, the Working Group on peasants is preparing a thematic report to clarify the content and scope of the right to seeds, assess challenges and good practices in its implementation, and formulate recommendations to States and other actors to ensure that seed governance frameworks are consistent with human rights, biodiversity conservation and food sovereignty.

The Working Group encourages submissions from States, international and regional organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, peasant movements, Indigenous Peoples, academics, private sector actors, and other relevant stakeholders. Submissions from right-holders and their representative organizations are particularly encouraged.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

Seeds in Context: Significance and Practice

1. What is the social, cultural, economic and environmental significance of seeds in your local, national or regional context, including their contribution to food security, livelihoods and environmental sustainability?

2. What practices exist in your country and/or community for cultivating, harvesting, saving, exchanging, sharing and improving seeds?

3. How are roles and responsibilities related to seeds distributed within communities or societies, including among women, men, youth, Indigenous Peoples and other groups?

National and International Frameworks

4. What national laws, regulations or policies govern the saving, use, exchange and sale of peasant seeds, including measures for their protection? How effective are these frameworks in recognizing and upholding the right to seeds and in supporting the conservation of native and traditional seeds?

5. How do national legal and policy frameworks address the interests of peasants and rural communities in relation to those of commercial seed actors?

6. How have international instruments related to peasants’ rights, seeds and biodiversity, including UNDROP, UNDRIP, the CBD and the ITPGRFA, been reflected in national laws and policies, and what concrete impacts or benefits have they had for peasant and rural communities?

Challenges, Responses and Good Practices

7. What are the main challenges or threats faced in exercising the right to seeds, and how have communities, organizations or authorities responded to them?

8. What national, regional or international mechanisms have been used to promote or defend the right to seeds, and what has been their effectiveness?

9. What gaps remain in the protection and support of the right to seeds? Please share examples of laws, policies, practices or community-led initiatives that could be strengthened, replicated or scaled up.

Next Steps

Input/comments may be sent by e-mail. They must be received by 19 February 2026 .

Inputs should include the contributor’s name, organization (if applicable) and contact details for follow-up.

Additional supporting materials, such as reports, academic studies or background documents, may be included as annexes or provided through web links.

Unless otherwise specified by those making a submission, submissions will be made public on the Working Group’s website.

Email address: hrc-wg-peasants@un.org

Email subject line: Input for HRC Report on Seeds

Word/Page limit:
1000 words

Accepted file formats:
Word, PDF

Accepted Languages:
English, French, Spanish

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Background

The Working Group on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, established by Human Rights Council resolution 54/9, is preparing its fourth thematic report, addressing Peasant Territories of Sea and Land. This report analyses how the impairment of rights based on land, water, and forests affects the dignity, stability, and livelihoods of peasants and rural workers.

Access to land, water, forests, and marine territories is central to the survival, identity, and autonomy of rural populations. These groups, including peasants, indigenous peoples, pastoralists, nomads, migrant communities, rural workers, and artisanal fishers, are rights-holders recognized by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP).

However, “peasant territorialities,” defined as socio-ecological and cultural spaces where lifestyles, sustainable production, and collective governance intersect, face increasing pressure. Pressure arising from resource concentration, fragmentation, privatization, and extraction not only threaten livelihoods and stability but also exacerbate rural conflicts and forced displacement, often leading to systemic human rights violations.

This report recognizes that peasant territories are not merely resource “containers,” but spaces of material and symbolic life where the rights to food, water, a healthy environment, participation, and self-determination converge. The report will consider international frameworks such as UNDROP, the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure, the work of Treaty Bodies, as well as indigenous and environmental rights standards, to address violations of UNDROP stakeholder rights.

There is a growing trend toward rural ownership concentration and the corporate capture of natural resources. The expansion of the “blue economy” can, without adequate safeguards, excludes traditional fishing communities. “Green grabbing” (appropriation disguised as conservation) and “blue grabbing” (appropriation of coastal spaces for tourism or energy projects), alongside armed conflict and structural violence, often lead to dispossession.

Finally, the Report will identify good practices, structural challenges, and concrete recommendations to protect rural and coastal peasant territories.

The Working Group invites governments, peasants and other people working in rural areas, international and regional organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society, academics, companies and any other interested individuals and organizations to provide written inputs.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

1. How is the concept of “peasant territory” understood in your local or regional context?
2. What legal, political, cultural or customary instruments exist in your country or region that recognize or protect peasant territories (land, water, forests, sea)?
3. How does Article 17 of the UNDROP relate to the processes of access to land and nature in their local realities?
   
   Concentration and Access to Resources
4. What is causing the concentration of rural property in your region? Is there data available on fragmentation or grabbing?
5. What impact does water privatization or industrial forest exploitation have on peasant communities?
6. How does the maritime economy affect fishing and coastal communities? Are there cases of dispossession or exclusion?
7. How do nature conservation agendas intersect with peasant lands and agrarian reform processes?
   
   Challenges and good practices
8. What are the main obstacles faced by peasant, ethnic or fishing communities in accessing, controlling and managing their territories?
9. What strategies, laws, movements or initiatives have been successful in defending or recovering territories? (Examples: agrarian reforms, collective titling, strategic litigation, community resistance).
10. How are the phenomena of “Green Grabbing” or “Blue Grabbing” being dealt with in context?
11. What role do peasant and young women play in the defense and management of territories? Are there good practices of empowerment and participation?
12. How do armed conflicts or political violence affect territorial dispossession? Are there examples of post-conflict recovery?
    
    Recommendations
13. What concrete actions should States, international organizations (UN, FAO, UNDP), civil society organizations and communities themselves take to protect and strengthen peasant territorialities?
14. What justice, public policy or financing mechanisms are urgent to reverse the concentration and guarantee equitable access to resources?

How inputs will be used?

Please send your submission via email to hrc-wg-peasants@un.org by 19 February 2026, with the subject:Input for UNGA Report on Territory.

Contributions must be sent in WORD/PDF format, in English, French, or Spanish, with a maximum of 1,000 words. Please indicate your details (name, government/ institution/ organization, contact details) for any follow up queries.

Additional supporting materials, such as reports, academic studies, and other background materials may be linked in the body of the submission or annexed to the submission.

Unless otherwise specified by those making a submission, submissions will be made public on the Working Group’s website.

Please feel free to circulate this call for inputs widely in your networks.

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The Working Group on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas has issued a briefing paper on peasants’ right to seed, in connection with the Eleventh Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), held from 24 to 29 November 2025 in Lima, Peru.

It provides an overview of key issues on the agenda, including Farmers’ Rights under Article 9 of the Treaty, the functioning of the Multilateral System, digital sequence information, and benefit-sharing arrangements. ​

The paper shows how peasants’ and Indigenous Peoples’ seed systems relate to binding human rights obligations recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), with particular attention to the right to seeds in Article 19.

It summarizes the Working Group’s main recommendations to GB‑11, such as recognizing the collective nature of peasants’ rights, reviewing national seed and intellectual property laws, addressing digital biopiracy, establishing a standing committee on Farmers’ Rights, and reframing benefit-sharing so that it strengthens community-led seed systems and agrobiodiversity conservation.

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Defending Peasants’ Rights hereby republishes the press release issued by the UN Working Group on Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas on 11 December 2025 (available here)

GENEVA – UN experts* today welcomed a landmark ruling of the High Court of Kenya declaring unconstitutional provisions of the Seed and Plant Varieties Act that criminalised the saving, use, exchange and sale of Indigenous and farm-saved seeds.

“This judgment rightly recognises that seed sharing is not a crime, but a fundamental element of peasants’ identity, resilience and contribution to national food systems,” said the Working Group on Peasants and other people working in rural areas.

The High Court of Kenya found that the law, which granted exclusive marketing and property rights over seeds to breeders and seed companies and exposed farmers to potential imprisonment of up to two years for seed-saving and seed-sharing, violated farmers’ rights to life, livelihood and food. The Court stressed that centuries-old practices of seed-sharing form the backbone of Kenya’s food security and cultural heritage.

“This decision is a significant affirmation that the human rights of peasants and the imperatives of food security and biodiversity must prevail over overly restrictive intellectual property regimes,” the Working Group said.

The experts noted that similar restrictive provisions, often modelled on the 1991 Act of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), have been incorporated into national laws in many countries – criminalising age-old practices in Indigenous and peasant agriculture.

“The Kenyan ruling sends a clear and timely message that human rights obligations cannot be subordinated to commercial seed monopolies or narrow interpretations of plant breeders’ rights,” the Working Group said.

The decision is consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), in particular article 19, which recognises the right to seeds, including the right to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seed or propagating material. The experts recalled their Briefing Paper on the Right to Seeds**, which clarifies that States must ensure that seed policies, certification schemes and intellectual property frameworks, are designed and applied in a manner that respects, protects and fulfils these rights, and that peasants-managed seed systems are legally recognised and actively supported.

“Courts play a critical role in ensuring that national laws comply with international human rights standards,” the Working Group said. “Where legislative frameworks have criminalised traditional seed systems or restricted peasants’ customary practices, judicial review offers an essential safeguard to restore the primacy of human rights and the right to food.”

The experts commended the courage and perseverance of Kenyan peasants, Indigenous Peoples and civil society actors who mobilised to secure seeds rights before the Court. “Their determination offers inspiration to peasant movements worldwide and shows that when courts uphold human rights, they defend not only the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and Indigenous Peoples but also the future of diverse, resilient and sovereign food systems,” they said.

“Kenya’s ruling should inspire similar human-rights-based interpretations of seed laws and plant variety protection regimes in other jurisdictions,” the Working Group said.

*The Working Group on Peasants and other people working in rural areas is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Carlos Duarte (Colombia), other members are Geneviève Savigny (France); Shalmali Guttal (India), Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile (Nigeria) and Davit Hakobyan (Armenia).

**Briefing paper on the right to seeds, issued by the Working Group in connection with the Eleventh Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), held from 24 to 29 November 2025 , details how States can integrate UNDROP obligations under the right to seeds to safeguarding peasants’ and Indigenous Peoples’ traditional practices and biodiversity.

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/.

UN Human Rights, country page – Kenya

For inquiries and media requests, please contact: Jamshid GAZIYEV, Secretary of the Working Group on peasants and rural workers (jamshid.gaziyev@un.org).

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts, please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on X: @UN_SPExperts.

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Geneva, 10 November 2025

Peasants and Rural Workers Rights at the Heart of Climate Justice
As world leaders and civil society gather for the 30th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30), the UN Working Group on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas¹ calls for a clear change in global climate policy. Peasants, Indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, pastoralists and rural workers must no longer be seen only as victims of the climate crisis but as essential leaders in restoring ecosystems, feeding communities, and building social and economic justice.

Around 2 billion peasants, Indigenous peoples and producers grow more than 70 percent of the food eaten in low- and middle-income countries. They also protect much of the world’s biodiversity, keep traditional seeds and breeds alive, and maintain ecosystems and landscapes that sustain rural life and economies. Yet they receive less than one percent of global climate finance and are often excluded from key decisions about the future of food and climate. This imbalance must end.

1. Align Climate Action with Human Rights
The Paris Agreement and human rights aim to achieve the same goals. Governments cannot achieve real climate progress while ignoring their duty to protect the rights of those who feed the world.

States should include principles contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP)—especially the rights to land, seeds, water, biodiversity, and participation—in their national climate plans and adaptation strategies. Climate policies that overlook these rights risk increasing poverty, displacement, and hunger.

2. Direct Climate Finance to Peasant-Led Solutions
Most climate finance still supports large agribusinesses, export-oriented projects and market mechanisms that enable the causes and drivers of climate change, instead of supporting the capacities of those at the frontlines of impacts and innovative actions to tackle climate change. The Working Group calls for special funding channels within climate funds to directly support UNDROP’s rightsholders, including peasants, small-scale farmers, pastoralists, fishers, rural workers, Indigenous Peoples and rural women. These funds should provide grants, not loans, with simple rules and community-based oversight so that money reaches those who need it directly and in a timely fashion.

Special care must be taken not to doubly penalize the Global South by forcing States to take loans to cope with harms resulting from climate change that was predominantly driven by emissions from wealthy States. Financing for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage should be seen as a form of reparations by those who have benefited from the extractive operations that drive the climate crisis.

Investments should focus on agroecology, diverse farming, fishing and herding systems, soil, water and biodiversity regeneration, and other local methods that cut emissions and protect nature. Rural women peasants—who carry much of the work and responsibility for food security—need targeted support and recognition.

3. Share Technology Fairly and Respect Knowledge
For adaptation to be effective, technology must serve communities, not control them. Governments must uphold their UNDROP commitments by facilitating international cooperation leading to the sharing of science and technology, along with building local capacity.

States and organizations should promote open-source and community-owned tools. The right to save, share, and develop traditional seeds and breeds is central to food sovereignty and climate resilience. States should ensure that patent and trade laws do not criminalize traditional seed exchange nor encourage biopiracy. Indigenous and peasant knowledge, developed through generations, should be treated as a core part of climate innovation.

4. Protect Land, Water, and Biodiversity
Climate goals cannot be met while land grabbing, deforestation, destruction of riverine and marine ecosystems, and monoculture expansion continue. The Working Group urges secure land, resource and territory rights, comprehensive land and agrarian reform, and collective ownership and governance models that sustain both people and nature.

The market capture of life-sustaining natural landscapes and components through green and blue economies must be avoided and publicly called out when seen.

Governments must ensure that carbon-credit and conservation projects do not negatively affect rightsholders’ rights to land, seeds, or productive autonomy, nor affect their livelihoods. All projects must involve the participation of local rightsholders, and benefits must be shared with them.

5. Ensure a Just Transition for Rural People
The shift to sustainable food systems must protect the livelihoods of peasants and rural workers. All climate investments—public or private—must respect human rights obligations to prevent land, territory and biodiversity loss, labour abuse, and environmental harm.

Agribusinesses benefiting from climate funds must show compliance with international human rights obligations, particularly those in UNDROP. Peasants and other rightsholders, and their organisations, should have a real voice in national delegations and UNFCCC bodies that shape agricultural and adaptation policies.

6. The Way Forward
COP30 offers a rare chance to connect human-rights law and climate policy. The Working Group calls on States to:

1. Ensure that all funds, mechanisms, proposals and solutions respect the individual and collective human rights of rightsholders as defined in UNDROP and other international human rights instruments.
2. Reform all international and national climate and adaptation funds and facilities² to allow direct access for UNDROP rightsholders, including peasants, farmers, fisherfolk, herders, Indigenous peoples, workers and rural women.
3. Support rights-based technology cooperation, ensuring solutions emerge from prior consultations, informed consent and meaningful participation by rightsholders.
4. Increase engagement among governments, peasant, fisherfolk and pastoralist movements, women’s groups, rural workers’ organisations, and Indigenous peoples to plan just transitions, informed by the rights in UNDROP.

“The climate crisis is inseparable from the crisis of rural injustice,” said the Working Group’s Chair. “Peasants and rural workers feed the world and cool the planet. Recognising and protecting their rights is not charity—it is the foundation of an effective, responsible and just response to climate change.”

ENDS

The experts:
The Working Group on Peasants and other people working in rural areas is comprised of five
independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Carlos Duarte
(Colombia), and the Vice-Chairs are Davit Hakobyan (Armenia) and Uche Ofodile (Nigeria); other
members are Shalmali Guttal (India), Geneviève Savigny (France).

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights
experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are
referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts
work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While
the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in
their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including
OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index: https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/

For inquiries and media requests:
hrc-wg-peasants@un.org
Media: Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org), Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)

Follow: @UN_SPExperts

1. La UNDROP y el Grupo de Trabajo se aplican a una gama muy amplia de personas, incluidas las
   personas dedicadas a la agricultura artesanal o en pequeña escala, la plantación de cultivos, la ganadería, el pastoreo, la pesca, la silvicultura, la caza o la recolección, y la artesanía relacionada con la agricultura o una ocupación relacionada en una zona rural, junto con los pueblos indígenas, los pueblos nómadas y los migrantes, como se explica con más detalle en su artículo 1. ︎
2. Incluyendo el Fondo Verde para el Clima de la CMNUCC, el Fondo de Adaptación del Protocolo de Kioto, los Servicios para el Medio Ambiente Mundial, los Fondos de Inversión Climática administrados por el Banco Mundial y los fondos nacionales de adaptación, entre otros. ︎

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Editor’s note:

The experts’ visit, initially planned for November 4–14, 2025, was postponed despite its critical timing, following recent protests in Ecuador that were met with a state of emergency and a crackdown in which Indigenous, rural and environmental organisations—amongst key representatives of UNDROP rights-holders— were accused of “terrorism” and had their bank accounts frozen. These demonstrations raised urgent alarms about pressing issues directly linked to the UNDROP, such as rights to land, water, and a healthy environment, which were threatened by the termination of fuel subsidies and the advancement of mining projects on Indigenous lands.

In this context, the experts explained that a visit would have provided a vital opportunity to work with the Government to find human rights–based responses to these concerns.

They emphasised that Ecuador has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP). The experts further highlighted that this declaration offers a clear framework for tackling deep-rooted inequalities faced by rural communities and can help shape public policies that promote food sovereignty, environmental preservation, and social justice.

Read full statement:

05 November 2025

GENEVA – A group of human rights experts* today announced that their visit to Ecuador, due to take place from 4 to 14 November 2025, has been cancelled after the Government requested to reschedule it for the second half of 2026.

“The recent protests across the country reflect deep-rooted concerns about land and water rights, environmental degradation, and relate to increased cost of living and growing insecurity and violence,” said the UN Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.

“A country visit at this moment would have allowed us to work collaboratively with the Government to identify human rights solutions to these pressing issues.”

The experts noted that the visit would have been a timely and valuable opportunity for constructive engagement with the Government and communities on advancing the rights of peasants and rural workers in Ecuador.

“The country visit would have provided an important platform to identify human rights-based approaches to the pressing challenges currently faced by peasant and Indigenous communities in Ecuador,” the Working Group said. “In light of the recent protests and the government’s response to them, this dialogue would have been particularly relevant to discuss ways to address underlying grievances and strengthen trust between communities and institutions.”

The experts reiterated that Ecuador’s progressive recognition of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) offers a concrete and principled roadmap for addressing the structural inequalities and injustices affecting peasant communities, Indigenous Peoples, small scale fishers and rural workers.

“We remain convinced that implementing UNDROP can help guide policies to ensure food sovereignty, environmental protection, and social justice,” the Working Group said, expressing readiness to support and cooperate with Ecuadorian authorities in the promotion of the rights of peasants and rural workers in the country.

The Working Group on Peasants and other people working in rural areas is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Carlos Duarte (Colombia), other members are Geneviève Savigny (France); Shalmali Guttal (India), Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile (Nigeria) and Davit Hakobyan (Armenia).

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/.

UN Human Rights, country page – https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/ecuador

For inquiries and media requests, please contact: Jamshid GAZIYEV, Secretary of the Working Group on peasants and rural workers (jamshid.gaziyev@un.org).

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org).

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on X: @UN_SPExperts.

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Calling for concrete actions for an effective realisation of rural peoples’ right to participation, the report examines the central role of peasants and rural workers in global food systems and stresses the importance of their meaningful participation in decision-making processes. It further outlines how securing peasants’ legal rights – including participation – is essential to advancing social justice, promoting environmental stewardship, and achieving sustainable development.

Read the full report:

Read also the statement delivered by the current Chair of the Working Group, Carlos Duarte, to the UN General Assembly when presenting this report:
 

La entrada The right to participation – The 3rd Report of the UN Working Group on UNDROP se publicó primero en Defending Peasants' Rights.

Transnational agribusiness corporations are among the primary violators of the rights enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP). The statement underscores the urgent need for a robust and enforceable international instrument to hold such actors accountable.

The experts highlight the importance of using UNDROP as a legal foundation in the treaty’s development, noting that it provides a critical framework for addressing systemic injustices faced by small-scale farmers, fishers, pastoralists, and rural workers. As they emphasise: “The rights enshrined in UNDROP — including rights to land, seeds, biodiversity, and participation — must be implemented through binding laws and robust accountability mechanisms.”

Read the full statement here:

GENEVA — A handful of powerful corporations now control vast portions of global agricultural production, input markets and food supply chains, a concentration of power that undermines the autonomy of small-scale farmers, exacerbates inequality and endangers the ecological foundations of our food systems, UN experts* warned today.

In their reports to the UN General Assembly**, the Working Group on peasants and rural workers and the Special Rapporteur on the right to food warned that the growing dominance of transnational corporations and industrial agribusiness in global food systems poses an escalating threat to food security, rural livelihoods, and human rights.

“Peasants and small-scale farmers feed the majority of the world’s population with healthy and diverse food, yet they are increasingly marginalised and dispossessed by the expansion of corporate-driven food systems,” the experts said. “The current model of agribusiness, supported by powerful States, prioritises profit over people and the planet — this must change.”

Corporate practices, including large-scale land acquisitions, monopolisation of seeds and agrochemicals, food speculation, exploitative contract farming, and the escalating corporate capture of decision-making spaces traditionally held by peasants and rural workers in food system governance have cumulatively created deep dependencies that erode rural resilience and undermine the autonomy of those who sustain our food systems. Digital technologies are further reshaping food systems, often extending corporate control through the capture of agricultural data. These trends, combined with the climate crisis, have further jeopardised the right to food for millions.

The experts reaffirmed that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) provides a crucial legal framework for addressing systemic injustices faced by small-scale farmers, fisherfolks, pastoralists and rural agricultural workers.

“States have an obligation to regulate corporate activity, prevent human rights violations and abuses, and ensure access to justice for victims,” they said.

“Voluntary commitments are not enough. The rights enshrined in UNDROP — including rights to land, seeds, biodiversity, and participation — must be implemented through binding laws and robust accountability mechanisms. To ensure digitalisation serves equitable and sustainable food systems, data governance must protect farmers’ rights, knowledge, and autonomy.”

Peasants and rural workers harmfully affected by corporate misconduct, from land grabs and toxic exposure to wage theft and forced evictions, still struggle to access effective remedies.

The Working Group and the Special Rapporteur called on all governments, the private sector and UN agencies to place small-scale farmers, fisherfolks, pastoralists and rural workers at the center of food policies and global governance.

“Food is not a commodity — it is a human right,” they said. “We must act now to ensure that those who feed the world can live and work with dignity, free from exploitation and fear.”

Ahead of the upcoming session of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Respect to Human Rights, the experts urged all Member States to prioritise the finalisation of a legally binding treaty to regulate corporations and financial institutions and hold them accountable for human rights violations and abuses.

“A binding treaty is essential to close the accountability gap and rebalance power in our food systems. Without enforceable obligations, corporate impunity will continue to erode human rights and the planet’s capacity to feed itself sustainably,” they said.

* The experts:

• Working Group on Peasants and other people working in rural areas is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Carlos Duerte (Colombia), other members are Geneviève Savigny (France); Shalmali Guttal (India), Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile (Nigeria) and Davit Hakobyan (Armenia).
• Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food

** Report A/80/180: “The Right to Participation of Peasants and Rural Workers” (Working Group on Peasants, 2025), and
Report A/80/213: “Concentration of Corporate Power in Food Systems” (Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, 2025).

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/

For inquiries and media requests, please contact: Jamshid GAZIYEV, Secretary of the Working Group on peasants and rural workers (jamshid.gaziyev@un.org).

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org).

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on X: @UN_SPExperts.

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GENEVA – October 15, 2025 – On the International Day of Rural Women, the UN Working Group on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas issued an urgent call to action, demanding States and corporations end the systemic discrimination, violence, and economic exclusion faced by rural women worldwide. Despite producing over 70 percent of the developing world’s food supply and leading climate adaptation efforts, peasant women and other women working in rural areas (rural women) remain among the most marginalized groups, facing profound violations of their fundamental human rights.

The urgent call to action highlights a series of intersecting rights violations that shape the stark realities faced by rural women worldwide. The Working Group thereby urges states, multilateral institutions, the private sector, and civil society to uphold the rights of rural women as enshrined in the UNDROP, through concrete actions within their respective domains.

See full call to action below:

La entrada UN Working Group on UNDROP Demands Urgent Action to Uphold Rights of Rural Women se publicó primero en Defending Peasants' Rights.

Among other things, the event aimed to highlight the multiple challenges currently facing rural communities around the world. It also sought to explore how the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) could influence legal and policy frameworks to better protect these communities, strengthen their rights and promote social justice. Finally, the event highlighted the mobilisation of peasant movements and rural organisations across Latin America, which are working at all levels to promote and implement the UNDROP.

As moderator, Sibylle Dirren, FIAN International’s representative to the UN, emphasised the crucial role of UNDROP as a powerful tool for defending and promoting the rights of rural communities.

Carlos Duarte, Chair of the UN Working Group of Experts on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, recalled the critical situation of rural communities, which face dispossession, lack of access to land and water, and the grabbing of natural resources. He lamented the difficulties faced by rural organisations in making their voices heard in international forums, such as the COP or the Global Biodiversity Convention, even though peasant and other rural communities are directly concerned by biodiversity protection and climate issues. Mr. Duarte also pointed to the persecution and repression suffered by peasant leaders in many parts of the world. Finally, he stressed the need to strengthen the participation of rural women, who are often invisible despite being “the backbone of the peasant-rural world”.

Alfonzo Simon Raylan, representative of the Sea Workers’ Union (SITRAMAR), a member organisation of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples, sounded the alarm on the situation of fishers in the indigenous region of Ngöbe-Buglé (Panama). Since 2010, under the pretext of environmental conservation, a fishing ban has deprived these communities of their main source of livelihood, exacerbating poverty and hunger. The populations live in difficult conditions, with limited access to education, healthcare and basic services. Mr. Raylan denounced the lack of state support and the violent repression suffered by indigenous peoples when they defend their rights.

Three representatives of La Via Campesina from Latin America shared their experiences via video message. Martha Huertas Moya, a member of FENACOA/La Via Campesina Colombia, gave an encouraging assessment of the situation of Colombia’s long-marginalised peasantry. The recognition of peasants’ rights in the country’s constitution and public policies has led to better land distribution and the guarantee of rights that were previously inaccessible. However, she stressed the need to create an agrarian and rural jurisdiction and to increase the budgets allocated to rural areas in order to consolidate these advances. Arturo Aliaga, member of ANAP/La Via Campesina Cuba, highlighted concrete advances in peasants’ rights, food sovereignty and agroecology in the country. The peasant representative stated that, thanks to the strong political will of the competent authorities and ANAP’s ability to participate directly in the development of public policies and the establishment of relevant legislative frameworks, the promotion and implementation of UNDROP is now a reality. Anderson Amaro, representative of MPA/La Via Campesina Brazil, presented how Brazilian rural social movements are mobilising the UNDROP in their struggle for decent living and working conditions. More specifically, the peasant leader discussed the ongoing advocacy strategy, which aims to integrate the Declaration into the work of actors in the national judicial system, relevant ministries, and the national and departmental parliamentary agenda.

Adriana Fillol Mazo, Professor at the University of Seville and the Geneva Academy, presented UNDROP as a concrete legal tool for protecting rural communities. However, she noted the existence of several threats, such as digitalisation and agricultural technologies that can increase dependence and exclusion. The lack of generational renewal also jeopardises the future of small-scale farming. Rural women also face significant obstacles in accessing land and a dignified life. Added to this are economic pressure, violence and climate uncertainty, which are causing a silent mental health crisis in rural areas. She concluded by calling for peasants, fishers and indigenous peoples to be seen not as problems to be managed, but as essential strategic partners in building fair, resilient and sustainable food systems.

Raffaele Morgantini, CETIM representative to the UN, closed the event on a hopeful note for rural communities, thanks to the emergence of progressive case law. Indeed, decisions favourable to rural peoples’ rights are appearing in several judicial systems. In Honduras, the Supreme Court invoked UNDROP to protect peasant seeds from the “Monsanto law”, a law passed by Parliament that favoured industrial seeds and was subsequently repealed. In Colombia, the Constitutional Court granted protection to a peasant couple forced to abandon their land after repeated flooding. In February 2020, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling ordering the reinstatement of an indigenous population on their ancestral land, using both UNDROP and UNDRIP (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples). Other examples exist in Kenya and Canada, covering rights related to seeds and health. Mr. Morgantini stressed that these advances would not have been possible without strong alliances between peasant and rural movements, human rights defenders, lawyers, academics and the commitment of public authorities. These collaborations make it possible to transform principles into concrete actions in rural communities, courts and national policies.

Read our exclusive interview with Working Group Chair Carlos Duarte and our article on the Working Group’s report presented at the 60^th session of the Human Rights Council.

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