The United Nations Working Group on the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas

Geneva Academy’s press release, 13 January 2025

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 (UN) Working Group (WG) on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.

This Research Brief is available in English, French and Spanish. It is part of our project on the rights of peasants.

The UN WG on UNDROP as a Catalyst for Promoting and Protecting Peasants’ Rights

In October 2023, the Human Rights Council created the Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas, composed of 5 independent experts. The Working Group started its activities in May 2024.

The Working Group is mandated to promote the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) adopted in 2018, to identify gaps in its implementation, to disseminate good practices, to facilitate exchanges and international cooperation, and to report to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly.

The Working Group is mandated to collaborate with States, UNDROP’s rights holders and their representative organizations, specialized agencies, funds, programmes, bodies and organizations of the UN system, international, regional and national human rights mechanisms, international and regional organizations, civil society and academia.

The Working Group can act as a catalyst for UNDROP, by providing visibility and support to advance the promotion and protection of the rights enshrined in the Declaration, by clarifying the implications of the Declaration, by identifying key challenges to its implementation, and by recommending concrete measures to be adopted by States and other actors.

Collaboration with Fastenaktion/Action de Carême and RAISE

This Research Brief is published with Fastenaktion/Action de Carême and RAISE. The project Rights-based and Agroecological Initiatives for Sustainability and Equity in Peasant Communities (RAISE) was launched in 2022, with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It promotes the agroecological transition and UNDROP’s implementation in India, Nepal, Kenya, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and South Africa. Fastenaktion/Action de Carême is coordinating this project, in collaboration with Rural Women Assembly, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Switzerland, DKA Austria, Center for Minority Rights Development, Reseau Billital Marobee and the Social Work Institute. The Geneva Academy is a strategic partner in this project.