WEBINAR: Nothing About Us Without Us – Realising the Right to Participation of Rural Peoples and Workers through UNDROP

The right to participation affirmed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) is far more than a procedural formality, it constitutes a cornerstone of democratic governance and a central pillar of rural peoples’ civil and political rights.

The UN Working Group on UNDROP, created in 2023 to promote the effective implementation of the Declaration, wrote its latest report on rural peoples and workers’ right to participation. The report highlights the main obstacles for the realisation of this right worldwide, while identifying good practices and addressing concrete recommendations to States for its effective implementation.

Despite their central role in global food systems, UNDROP’s rights holders remain largely marginalised from decision-making processes directly affecting their lives, territories, and environment. Building on the Working Group’s report, this webinar offers a platform for an international public dialogue on the right to participation, bringing together diverse rural constituencies of UNDROP’s rights holders and the current Chair of the UN Working Group on UNDROP.

We very much look forward to having rural movements and civil society organisations joining forces to exchange experiences, share strategies, and strengthen collective advocacy for the realisation of rural peoples’ right to participation. Building on the report of the Working Group, this dialogue aims to create bridges between local and international struggles, ensuring that the voices of those who feed the world and protect the environment are meaningfully included in shaping the laws and policies that affect them. Through shared learning and strengthened solidarity, this webinar aims to support a wider movement for more inclusive governance, greater social justice, and the genuine implementation of the UNDROP.

Objectives:

• Highlight the importance of the right to participation enshrined in UNDROP as a foundation for democratic governance and the realisation of rural peoples’ rights.
• Discuss key findings and recommendations from the UN Working Group’s latest report on the right to participation.
• Create a space for dialogue between rural movements, civil society organisations, and the UN Working Group, discuss experiences and perspectives on advancing the right to participation.
• Share concrete strategies and good practices that enhance rural peoples’ participation in decision-making processes affecting their livelihoods, lands and environment.

Speakers:

• 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)