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Popular educational material on how to bring the declaration to life – en anglais !

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas: Introductory Booklet

Published by La Via Campesina
Illustration by Sophie Holin.

Sponsored by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation with funds of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany. This publication or parts of it can be used by others for free as long as they provide a proper reference to the original publication.

The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of FIAN International and does not necessarily reflect a position of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation

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To mark the third anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), La Via Campesina and FIAN International launched a booklet to help rural people’s movements deepen their understanding of their rights under UNDROP and advance their collective and individual rights. The booklet was jointly produced by La Via Campesina and FIAN International and funded by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.

Lack of access to land, water and seeds, and other means of production are some of the reasons why the United Nations Human Rights Council began discussing the rights of peasants in 2013. Another five years of struggle led to the adoption of the UNDROP in 2018. UNDROP is a milestone in the development of human rights: it establishes principles, rights, and states’ obligations based on the needs and interests of peasants and other people in rural areas around the world. UNDROP can help to overcome structural discrimination and violence and promote rural ways of life to respond to the current political, economic, social, and ecological crises.

What are the specific rights of peasants and rural people under the UNDROP? How can peasant and rural communities use the declaration to protect and advance their rights? What can they do to urge states, including national human rights institutions and environmental agencies, to implement the UNDROP?

This popular education booklet gives answers to these questions and many more. It is context-based and aims to empower peasants to improve their livelihoods in rural areas. It defends people’s right to protect blatant attempts to grab land, rivers, and oceans. The booklet focuses on specific articles adopted in UNDROP and how affected people can apply it in legal and advocacy spaces.

Furthermore, the purpose of this booklet is to create broader awareness, promote deeper understanding and enhance capacities (through training) of rural people’s movements. In short, using this booklet will bring UNDROP to life, turning it into an effective tool for struggles in rural areas across the world.