The adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) in 2018 marked a historic milestone for rural justice. However, eight years later, the full implementation of the rights recognized in the Declaration remains an urgent challenge.

Geneva, 16 September 2026 – During the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Working Group of Experts on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas at the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council, peasant representatives from Latin America, Africa and Europe highlighted the growing threats facing peasant seed systems worldwide and called for stronger implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP).

Speaking before the Human Rights Council, representatives of La Via Campesina, with the support of its allied organizations CETIM and FIAN International, stressed that peasant seeds are not merely agricultural inputs. They are the foundation of food sovereignty, biodiversity, rural livelihoods, cultural heritage, and communities’ capacity to confront climate change.

Defending Peasant Seeds Against Corporate Control

Diego Montón, peasant farmer and La Via Campesina representative from Latin America, warned about the growing pressure exerted by transnational corporations to control seeds and criminalize peasant seed systems.

He highlighted the alarming loss of agricultural biodiversity over recent decades and denounced legislative reforms promoting intellectual property regimes that restrict peasants’ rights to save, exchange and reproduce seeds. Referring to ongoing efforts to align national legislation with UPOV 1991 in several South American countries, he underlined the importance of Article 19 of UNDROP and called on the Working Group to support States in protecting peasant rights and food sovereignty.

“Over the last 30 years, as a result of the prohibition and criminalization of farmers’ own use, exchange and access to seeds, thousands of agricultural species and varieties have been lost, with 75 per cent of the crops that currently form the basis of our diet now concentrated in just 12 species. This loss of biodiversity makes agricultural systems more vulnerable to climate change and exacerbates rural poverty.”

Agrobiodiversity as a Response to Climate and Food Crises

Isabel Vilalba Seivane, peasant farmer from Europe, emphasized that traditional peasant seeds are essential for addressing climate change, emerging plant diseases, and growing geopolitical uncertainty.

She recalled that peasant seeds represent the vast majority of agricultural biodiversity and constitute a crucial resource for ensuring food production and resilience. Isabel expressed concern about the recent approval of regulations on products derived from New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), warning that expanded patent systems and intellectual property protections could further concentrate seed markets and undermine the rights recognized in UNDROP. She also highlighted how free trade agreements increasingly export restrictive seed regulations beyond Europe, threatening peasant seed systems in many regions of the world.

“We believe that our key tool for ensuring food production, guaranteeing food supplies for the population and protecting the rights of women farmers, who are the primary custodians of seeds, is agrobiodiversity. Our traditional seeds, which are more resilient, adapted and diverse, account for more than 80 per cent of seed biodiversity and play a fundamental role.”

Seeds, Culture and Sovereignty

Elizabeth Mpofu, peasant farmer from Africa and member of La Via Campesina, reminded the Human Rights Council that seeds are at the heart of peasant life and food production.

“Seeds are not simply agricultural inputs. They are our food, our culture, our livelihoods and our sovereignty.”

Drawing attention to the growing influence of commercial seed laws and trade policies across Africa, she warned that reforms inspired by UPOV 1991 threaten the traditional rights of peasants to save, exchange and reproduce seeds. She called on Member States to renew the mandate of the UNDROP Working Group of Experts so that it can continue supporting governments in implementing the rights recognized in the Declaration.

“Seed is at the centre of everything I do. Every day, my family grows and eats food from seeds selected and saved, mostly by women, and exchanged among peasants. For generations our seeds have been selected, saved and exchanged.”

Renewing the Commitment to UNDROP

As debates continue at the Human Rights Council, La Via Campesina reiterates that the implementation of Article 19 of UNDROP is fundamental to protecting peasant seeds and traditional knowledge. Renewing the mandate of the UNDROP Working Group of Experts is a necessary step to support States in advancing these rights and strengthening public policies that place peasants and rural communities at the centre of food systems.

Why Renew the Mandate of the UNDROP Working Group?

The renewal of the Working Group is essential because no existing UN Special Procedure covers the full spectrum of rights recognized in UNDROP. While thematic mandates such as the Special Rapporteurs on the right to food, the environment, extreme poverty, Indigenous Peoples, human rights defenders, or water and sanitation address specific dimensions of rural realities, none focuses on peasants and other people working in rural areas as rights holders in their own right.

UNDROP recognizes that peasants’ rights are interdependent and indivisible. No other UN mechanism brings these issues together within a coherent framework. Existing mandates examine specific rights but do not address the holistic situation of peasants and rural communities, the systemic violations they face, or the policies needed to protect their livelihoods, social fabric, contributions to biodiversity, environmental protection and food production.

Importantly, UNDROP does not refer only to peasants in the narrow sense.

Article 1 of the Declaration defines its scope broadly. It applies to “any person engaged in artisanal or small-scale agriculture, crop planting, livestock raising, pastoralism, fishing, forestry, hunting or gathering, as well as handicrafts related to agriculture or other related occupations in a rural area.” The Declaration also recognizes the rights of dependent family members of peasants.

This broad scope means that UNDROP concerns a diverse range of rural rights holders, including small-scale farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, forest-dependent people, agricultural workers, migrant and seasonal workers, Indigenous Peoples and others working in rural areas.

Without a dedicated Special Procedure, implementation of UNDROP risks becoming fragmented and inconsistent.

Many groups recognized under international human rights law, including Indigenous Peoples, migrants, women, persons with disabilities and people of African descent, benefit from dedicated UN mechanisms that address their rights as a whole. Peasants and the many other people working in rural areas covered by UNDROP also need a dedicated mechanism capable of addressing their rights in their entirety.

The UNDROP Working Group provides a unique space within the UN human rights system to examine the implementation of the Declaration as a whole, bring the experiences of rural rights holders to the Human Rights Council, engage with States and develop recommendations addressing the interconnected challenges they face.

Renewing its mandate is therefore essential to ensure that the rights recognized in UNDROP remain visible and are effectively implemented across different regions and rural contexts. It would also enable the Working Group to continue supporting States, engaging with rural communities and civil society, and strengthening the implementation of the Declaration throughout the UN system.

The diversity and scale of the communities covered by UNDROP underscore the importance of maintaining a dedicated UN mechanism. Rather than fragmenting their concerns across different thematic mandates, the Working Group can address the interconnected rights, realities and challenges of peasants and other people working in rural areas within the framework established by the Declaration.