At the heart of UNDROP’s implementation lies the struggles of peasants and other people working in rural areas. Realizing the rights enshrined in UNDROP demands relentless mobilization and advocacy at local, national, regional, and international levels. Peasants’ organizations, agricultural workers, rural communities, and their allies have developed various strategies, from advocating institutions and decision-makers to publishing open letters and organizing marches, to claim their rights and push for the effective implementation of UNDROP.
We republish here an article written by Christophe Golay linking current farmer protests in Europe to the rights contained in UNDROP. This article was originally published in English on the Geneva Graduate Institute website on February 6, 2024. A list of articles and press releases, notably from the European Coordination Via Campesina, concerning these protests…
In Thailand, the government has been rolling out a climate change mitigation policy since 2014. One of the components of this policy concerns the protection of the country’s forests. For this strand, the government has decided to sanctuary these lands in defiance of the lives and rights of the people who live and depend on…
Defending Peasants’ Rights relays here the petition launched by La Via Campesina on October 21st and joins its call for a immidiate stop to the war on Palestinian people by Israel. You can find the petition HERE. You can find this article with the list of signatories HERE on La Via Campesina’s website. More than…
In 2023, European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) wrote a proposal for a European directive on agricultural land based on Article 17 – right to land – of UNDROP. European directives are legislative acts that give general objectives to the member countries of the European Union, and the countries must then take measures to make these…
This article was first published on La Via Campesina’s website on October 11th, 2023. You can find it here. (Bagnolet, October 11, 2023) In its 54th session, an overwhelming majority of member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council took a historic step by voting in favor of a resolution aimed at further implementing…
This article was first published on Cetim’s website, on September 20th, 2023. You can find it here. On July 26, 2023, the Nigerien military overthrew the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum. In response, a number of international organizations took coercive economic measures, such as blocking the banking system and imposing trade embargoes. Unilateral coercive measures…
This article was first published on La Via Campesina’s website on September 11th. You can find it here. Time has come for the implementation of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) to be tackled at the international level. It is in this context that La…
On 22-23 July 2023, the Indonesian Peasant Union (SPI) held UNDROP and legal formation for its member in Sumatra Island. This event was held in Medan, and was attended by 23 young peasants from different provinces such as Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, Bengkulu and Jambi. This activity was held as one of SPI’s…
The current climate crisis is undeniably part of the ongoing multidimensional crisis of the neoliberal system: a system that sacrifices environmental balances and ecosystems for the short-term profit of dominant minorities, particularly the transnational agribusiness. In the face of this, advocacy efforts are being made at international level to counter the devastating effects of this…
Jessie MacInnis is a small-scale farmer from Canada. She farms in Nova Scotia (also known as Mi’kma’ki, the unceded land of the Mi’kmaq) with her sister where they grow vegetables and flowers. She is Youth President of the National Farmers Union, which is a member organisation of La Via Campesina. Jessie is a member of…
