Trilogue agreement on GMOs-NGTs: A betrayal of farmers’ legitimate concerns on patents, health, the environment, and consumers’ rights to information
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Trilogue agreement on GMOs-NGTs: A betrayal of farmers’ legitimate concerns on patents, health, the environment, and consumers’ rights to information

ByCoordination Européenne Via Campesina (ECVC)

Defending Peasants’ Rights hereby republishes the press release issued by the European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) on 04 December 2025. Yesterday evening, representatives from the three European institutions came to an agreement on the trilogue on the proposal to deregulate plant GMOs obtained by new genomic techniques (GMOs-NGTs). The European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC), representing…

Webinar : Voices of Indigenous Pastoralists on 2026 – Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists
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Webinar : Voices of Indigenous Pastoralists on 2026 – Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists

ByDefending Peasants' Rights

2026 has been declared by the United Nations Organization the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. WAMIP, the World Alliance of Mobile Indigenous Peoples, is preparing for this year, to make sure that the voice of pastoralists will be front and center and their rights upheld. Pastoralists are directily recognized as rights holders of UNDROP….

A day of destiny for small farmers in Norway’s Parliament
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A day of destiny for small farmers in Norway’s Parliament

ByFilippa Hirsch Steffens, coordinator of Spire's food committee Ulf Flink, Secretary General of the Development Fund Rakel Nystabakk, board member of the Norwegian Farmers' and Smallholders' Union Cari Anna Korshavn King, board member of FIAN Norway

This is a debate post. The opinions in the text are the writers’ own. Six years ago, Norway abstained when the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas was adopted by the UN General Assembly. Now the Parliament has the opportunity to turn this around and show that Norway…

How to implement the UNDROP at the European and national level to promote peasants’ rights – publication and video
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How to implement the UNDROP at the European and national level to promote peasants’ rights – publication and video

ByEuropean Coordination Via Campesina

Update – Recording available! Public event “How to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) at the European and national level to promote sustainable and resilient food systems”, 19 February 2025. The event aimed to discuss with key representatives of the European Union how…

“UNDROP from local to global!” – Interview with Serge Peereboom from MAP Belgium
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“UNDROP from local to global!” – Interview with Serge Peereboom from MAP Belgium

ByDefending Peasants' Rights

Serge Peereboom describes himself as a “city child who moved to the countryside to become a peasant market gardener. A peasant resisting in a world that moves too fast and forgets the true values of life”. He is a member of the Mouvement d’Action Paysanne (MAP) in Belgium, and played an active role in drafting…

MAP Belgium’s Peasant Towns Charter: an example of using UNDROP at local level
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MAP Belgium’s Peasant Towns Charter: an example of using UNDROP at local level

ByDefending Peasants' Rights

The Mouvement Action Paysanne (MAP) is a Belgian association of peasants and citizens who have set up an “ Independent Peasant School ” (ASBL EPI) to pass on peasant knowledge and know-how. MAP and EPI are committed to public recognition of the existence, content and specific nature of peasant agriculture and the peasant profession. On…

Anticolonial struggles in the Global South: A peasant perspective
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Anticolonial struggles in the Global South: A peasant perspective

ByEmma Labasse (CETIM)

On Thursday March 14, 2024, a conference “Anticolonial struggles in the Global South: A Peasant Perspective” organized by CETIM, La Via Campesina (LVC), Uniterre, Le Silure, FIAN International/FIAN Switzerland and the Movement for Peasant and Citizen Agriculture (MAPC), was held in Geneva. This conference was organised on the occasion of the visit of an LVC…

Nyeleni: Introducing the message of pastoralist communities – a voice from the land
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Nyeleni: Introducing the message of pastoralist communities – a voice from the land

ByNyeleni Newsletter

We publish here the Nyeleni Newsletter n°46: Introducing the message of pastoral communities, a voice from the field. This newsletter was published in December 2021. We publish it to carry the voice of pastoral communities, communities recognized and endowed with rights by the UNDROP. In this newsletter, you’ll find testimonials from communities, as well as…

Peasant Protests in Europe
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Peasant Protests in Europe

ByChristophe Golay

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…

Proposal for an EU Directive on Agricultural Land
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Proposal for an EU Directive on Agricultural Land

ByEuropean Coordination Via Campesina

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…

Ever so current archive: the situation of peasants in Europe still demands UNDROP rights – Interview with Vincent DelobelEver so current archive:
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Ever so current archive: the situation of peasants in Europe still demands UNDROP rights – Interview with Vincent DelobelEver so current archive:

ByDefending Peasants' Rights

Vincent Delobel, a peasant farmer in Belgium, describes the situation of peasants in Europe. First of all, it’s very difficult for peasants to earn a decent income from their work, and secondly, it’s impossible for many young people to set up or take over a farm because of the financial cost and pressure on land….