Declaration of Rights of Peasants ‐ Women and Men · Declaration of Rights of Peasants ‐ Women...

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LaViaCampesinaInternationalPeasantMovement

DeclarationofRightsofPeasants‐WomenandMen


Declaration of Rights of Peasants ‐ Women and Men

La Via Campesina

Peasants of the World need an International Convention on the Rights of Peasants

I. Introduction

Almost half of the people in theworld are peasants. Even in the high‐techworld,peopleeatfoodproducedbypeasants.Small‐scaleagricultureisnotjustaneconomicactivity;itmeanslifeformanypeople.Thesecurityofthepopulationdependsonthewell‐being of peasants and sustainable agriculture. To protect human life it isimportant to respect, protect and fulfill the rights of the peasants. In reality, theongoingviolationsofpeasants'rightsthreatenhumanlife.

II. Violations of Peasants' Rights

‐ Millionsofpeasantshavebeenforcedto leavetheir farmlandbecauseof landgrabsfacilitatedbynationalpoliciesand/orthemilitary.Landistakenawayfrompeasantsforthedevelopmentoflargeindustrialorinfrastructureprojects,extractingindustrieslikemining,touristresorts,specialeconomiczones,supermarketsandplantationsforcashcrops.Asaresult,landisincreasinglyconcentratedinafewhands.

‐ States neglect the farm sector and peasants receive inadequate income from theiragricultureproduction.

‐ Monoculturesfortheproductionofagrofuelsandotherindustrialusesarepromotedin favor of agribusiness and transnational capital; this has devastating impacts onforests,water,theenvironmentandtheeconomicandsociallifeofpeasants.

‐ There is an increasingmilitarization and a number of armed conflicts in rural areaswithsevereimpactsonthefullrealizationofcivilrightsofpeasants.

‐ As they lose their land, communities also lose their forms of self‐government,sovereigntyandculturalidentity.

‐ Foodisincreasinglyusedforspeculationpurposes.‐ Thepeasants'struggleiscriminalised.‐ Slavelabor,forcedlaborandchildlaborarestillfoundinruralareas.‐ Women's and children's rights are the most affected. Women are victims of

psychological,physicalandeconomicviolence.Theyarediscriminatedintheiraccesstolandandproductiveresources,andmarginalizedindecisionmaking.

‐ Peasantshavelostmanylocalseeds.Biodiversityisdestroyedbytheuseofchemicalfertilizers, hybrid seeds and genetically modified organisms developed by thetransnationalcorporations.

‐ Accesstohealthservicesandtoeducation isdecreasing inruralareasandpeasants’politicalroleinsocietyisundermined.


‐ As a result of these violations of peasants' rights, todaymillions of peasants live inhunger and suffermalnutrition. This is notbecause there is not enough food in theworld, but because food resources are dominated by transnational corporations.Peasants are forced to produce for export instead of producing food for theircommunities.

‐ The crisis in the agricultural sector causesmigration and themassive displacementanddisappearanceofpeasantsandindigenouspeople.

III. The policies of neo‐liberalism worsen the violations of Peasants' Rights

The violations of peasants' rights are on the rise because of the implementation ofneoliberal policies promoted by the World Trade Organisation, Free TradeAgreements(FTAs),otherinstitutionsandmanygovernmentsintheNorthaswellasintheSouth.TheWTOandFTAsforcetheopeningofmarketsandpreventcountriesfrom protecting and supporting their domestic agriculture. They push for thederegulationintheagriculturesector.

Governmentsofdevelopedcountriesandtransnationalcorporationsare responsiblefortradedumpingpractices.Cheapsubsidisedfoodfloodslocalmarketsthusforcingpeasantsoutofbusiness.

TheWTOandotherinstitutionsforcetheintroductionoffoodsuchasGMOsandtheunsafe use of growth hormones in meat production. Meanwhile, they prohibit themarketingofhealthyproductsproducedbypeasantsthroughsanitarybarriers.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has implemented structural adjustmentprograms (SAPs) leading to massive cuts in subsidies for agriculture and socialservices. Countrieshavebeenforcedtoprivatizestatecompaniesandtodismantlesupportmechanismsintheagriculturalsector.

Nationaland internationalpoliciesdirectlyor indirectlygivepriority to transnationalcorporationsor foodproductionandtrade.TNCsalsopracticebiopiracyanddestroygenetic resources and biodiversity cultivated by peasants. The capitalist logic ofaccumulationhasdismantledpeasantagriculture.

IV. The struggle of the Peasants to uphold and protect their Rights

Facingtheserealities,peasantsallovertheworldarestrugglingtolive.Allovertheworld, thousandsofpeasant leadersarebeingarrestedbecause theyare fighting toprotect their rightsand livelihood.Theyarebeingbrought to courtbyunfair justicesystems, incidentsofmassacre,extrajudicial killings, arbitraryarrestsanddetention,andpoliticalpersecutionandharassmentarecommon.

The global food crisis in 2008 precipitated and exacerbated by policies andtransnationalcorporations(whichunilaterallyactaccordingtotheirownself‐interest)clearlyshowsthe failure inpromoting, respecting,protectingand fulfilling therights


of peasants. This affects all people in the world, in developed and developingcountries.Whilepeasantsworkhard toensure the sustainabilityof seedsand food,theviolationoftherightsofpeasantsdamagestheworld’scapabilitytofeeditself.

The struggle of the Peasants is fully applicable to the framework of internationalhuman rights which includes instruments, and thematicmechanisms of the HumanRightsCouncil,thataddresstherighttofood,housingrights,accesstowater,righttohealth,humanrightsdefenders,indigenouspeoples,racismandracialdiscrimination,women’s rights.These international instrumentsof theUNdonot completely covernor prevent human rights violations, especially the rights of the peasants. We seesomelimitationsintheInternationalCovenantonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRights(ICESCR)asaninstrumenttoprotectpeasants'right.Also,theCharterofthePeasant‐produced by the UN in 1978, was not able to protect peasants from internationalliberalization policies. The other international conventions, which also deal withpeasants' rights, can not be implemented either. These conventions include: ILOConvention 169, Clause 8‐J Convention on Biodiversity, Point 14.60Agenda 21, andCartagenaProtocol.

V. The Peasants need an International Convention on the Rights of Peasants

Because of the limitations of those conventions and resolutions, it is important tocreate an international instrument to respect, protect, fulfill, and uphold peasants'rights ‐‐ the International Convention on the Rights of Peasants (ICRP). There arealready conventions to protect vulnerable groups of people, such as indigenouspeoples,women,childrenandmigrantworkers.TheICRPwillarticulatethevaluesofthe rights of peasants, which will have to be respected, protected and fulfilled bygovernments and international institutions. The ICRP will be supplemented byoptionalprotocolstoensureitsimplementation.

During the Regional Conference on Peasants' Rights in April 2002, Via CampesinaformulatedtheDeclarationoftheRightsofPeasantsthroughtheprocessofaseriesofactivities, including theWorkshop on Peasants' Rights inMedan North Sumatra on2000, the Conference of Agrarian Reform in Jakarta April 2001, the RegionalConference on Peasants' Rights held in Jakarta in April 2002 and the InternationalConference of Via Campesina also held in Jakarta, in June 2008. The text of thedeclaration isattachedtothisdocument.ItshouldformthebasisoftheICRP,tobeelaborated by the United Nations, with the full participation of Via Campesina andotherrepresentativesofcivilsociety.

We are looking forward to the support of the people who are concernedwith thepeasants'struggleandthepromotionandprotectionoftherightsofpeasants.


Declaration of Rights of Peasants ‐ Women and Men

PeasantsoftheWorldneedanInternationalDeclarationontheRightsofPeasants

The Declaration

Affirming that peasants,men andwomen, are equal to all other people and, in theexercise of their rights, should be free from any form of discrimination, includingdiscriminationbasedonrace,color,sex,language,religion,politicalorotheropinion,national orAffirming that peasants,men andwomen, are equal to all other peopleand, in the exercise of their rights, should be free from any formof discrimination,includingdiscriminationbasedonrace,color,sex,language,religion,politicalorotheropinion,nationalorsocialorigin,property,wealth,birthorotherstatus,

Acknowledging that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the InternationalCovenantonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRightsandtheInternationalCovenantonCivil and Political Rights, as well as the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action,affirm the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights, civil,cultural,economic,politicalandsocial,

Emphasizing that in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and CulturalRights,Stateshaveundertakentoensuretherealizationof theright toanadequatestandard of living for ourselves and our family, including the right to food, and ourrighttobefreefromhungerthroughthegenuineagrarianreform,

Emphasizing that according to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights ofIndigenousPeoples,allIndigenouspeoples,includingpeasants,havetherighttoself‐determination and that by virtue of that right they freely determine their politicalstatusandfreelypursuetheireconomic,socialandculturaldevelopment,havingtheright to autonomyor self‐government inmatters relating to their internal and localaffairs,aswellaswaysandmeansforfinancingtheirautonomousfunctions,

Recalling thatmany peasants all over theworld have fought throughout history fortherecognitionoftherightsofpeasantsandforjustandfreesocieties,

Considering that the current agricultural conditions threaten the lives of peasants,worsening the environment, decreasing peasants' productivity and decreasing thelivelihoodofthepeasants,

Considering that peasants’ conditions are worsening because of governments’exclusion of peasants from policy decision making, because of the use of military,and/or paramilitary groups to displace peasants and allowing transnationalcorporationstoexploitnaturalresources,

Considering that capitalist globalization imposed through some internationalagreementshashadastrongnegativeimpactonthepeasantsector,


Considering that peasants strugglewith their own resources andwith other groupswhosupportthepeasants’demandsforlife,environmentalprotectionandincreasingproductivity

Considering the increasing concentration of the food systems in the world in thehandsoffewtransnationalcorporations

Consideringthatpeasantsconstituteaspecificsocialgroupwhichisvulnerablesothatthe realization of the rights of peasants require special measures to truly respect,protect and fulfill the human rights of peasants enshrined in international humanrightslaw;

Acknowledging that small‐scale peasant agriculture, fishing, livestock rearing cancontributetomitigatetheclimatecrisisandtosecureasustainablefoodproductionforall;

Reminding States to comply with and effectively implement all their obligations astheyapplytopeasantsunderinternationalinstruments,inparticularthoserelatedtohumanrights,inconsultationandcooperationwiththepeasants,

BelievingthatthisDeclarationisanessentialstepforwardtherecognition,promotionandprotectionoftherightsandfreedomsofpeasants,includingtheelaborationandadoptionofanInternationalConventionontheRightsofPeasants,

Recognizing and reaffirming that peasants are entitledwithout discrimination to allhumanrightsrecognizedininternationallaw,

SolemnlyadoptsthefollowingDeclarationontheRightsofPeasants:

Article I

Definition of peasants: rights holders

Apeasant isamanorwomanof the land,whohasadirectandspecial relationshipwith the land and nature through the production of food and/or other agriculturalproducts. Peasants work the land themselves, rely above all on family labour andothersmall‐scale formsoforganizing labour.Peasantsaretraditionallyembedded intheirlocalcommunitiesandtheytakecareoflocallandscapesandofagro‐ecologicalsystems.

The term peasant can apply to any person engaged in agriculture, cattle‐raising,pastoralism,handicrafts‐relatedtoagricultureorarelatedoccupationinaruralarea.ThisincludesIndigenouspeopleworkingontheland.


Thetermpeasantalsoappliestolandless.AccordingtotheUNFoodandAgricultureOrganization (FAO 1984) definition[1], the following categories of people areconsideredtobelandlessandarelikelytofacedifficultiesinensuringtheirlivelihood:

1. Agriculturallabourhouseholdswithlittleornoland;2. Non‐agriculturalhouseholdsinruralareas,withlittleornoland,whosemembersare

engaged in various activities such as fishing, making crafts for the local market, orproviding services; 3. Other rural households of pastoralists, nomads, peasantspractising shifting cultivation, hunters and gatherers, and people with similarlivelihoods.

Article II

Rights of peasants

1. Womenpeasantsandmenpeasantshaveequalrights.2. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttothefullenjoyment,asacollectiveoras

individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in theCharter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights andinternationalhumanrightslaw.

3. Peasants(womenandmen)arefreeandequaltoallotherpeopleandindividualsandhavetherighttobefreefromanykindofdiscrimination,intheexerciseoftheirrights,in particular to be free from discriminations based on their economic, social andculturalstatus.

4. Peasants (women and men) have the right to actively participate in policy design,decisionmaking, implementation, andmonitoring of any project, program or policyaffectingtheirterritories.

Article III

Right to life and to an adequate standard of living

1. Peasants (womenandmen)have the right tophysical integrity, tonotbeharassed,evicted,persecuted,arbitrarilyarrested,andkilledfordefendingtheirrights.

2. Women peasants have the right to be protected from domestic violence(physical,sexual,verbalanpsychological)

3. .Women have the right to control their own bodies and to reject the use of theirbodiesforcommercialpurposes.Allformsofhuman(womenandgirls)traffickingareinhumanandhavetobecondemned.

4. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoliveindignity.5. Peasants (women and men) have the right to adequate, healthy, nutritious, and

affordablefood,andtomaintaintheirtraditionalfoodcultures.6. Peasants (women and men) have the right to the highest attainable standard of

physicalandmentalhealth. Therefore, theyhavetheright tohaveaccess tohealthservicesandmedicine,evenwhentheyliveinremoteareas.Theyalsohavetherighttouseanddeveloptraditionalmedicine.


7. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoliveahealthylife,andnotbeaffectedbythe contamination of agrochemicals (such as chemical pesticides and fertilisers thatarecreatingfertilityproblemsandcontaminatingbreastmilk).

8. Peasant(womenandmen)havetherighttodecideaboutthenumberofchildrentheywanttohave,andaboutthecontraceptivemethodstheywanttouse.

9. Peasants (womenandmen)have the right to the full realizationof their sexualandreproductiverights.

10. Peasants (womenandmen)have the right to safewater, transportation, electricity,communicationandleisure.

11. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoeducationandtraining.12. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoanadequateincometofulfilltheirbasic

needsandthoseoftheirfamilies.13. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoadequatehousingandclothing.14. Peasants (women and men) have the right to consume their own agricultural

production and to use this to satisfy their families’ basic needs, and the right todistributetheiragricultureproductiontootherpeople.

15. Therightofpeasants(womenandmen)tolifeandthefulfillmentoftheirbasicneedsshouldbeprotectedbythelawandbythestate,withtheassistanceandcooperationofothers,withoutdiscriminationofanykind.

Article IV

Right to land and territory

1. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoownland,collectivelyorindividually,fortheirhousingandfarming.

2. Peasants(womenandmen)andtheirfamilieshavetherighttotoilontheirownland,andtoproduceagriculturalproducts,torearlivestock,tohuntandgather,andtofishintheirterritories

3. Peasants (womenandmen)havetheright to toilandownthenon‐productivestatelandonwhichtheydependfortheirlivelihood.

4. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttosafewaterandadequatesanitation.5. Peasants (women and men) have the right to water for irrigation and agricultural

productioninsustainableproductionsystemscontrolledbylocalcommunities.6. Peasants (women andmen) have the right tomanage thewater resources in their

region.7. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttosupport,bywayoffacilities,technology

andfunds,fromthestatetomanagethewaterresources.8. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttomanage,conserve,andbenefitfromthe

forests.9. Peasants (womenandmen)havetheright to rejectallkindsof landacquisitionand

conversionforeconomicpurpose.10. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttosecurityoftenureandnottobeforcibly

evictedfromtheirlandsandterritories.11. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoagriculturallandthatcanbeirrigatedto

ensurefoodsovereigntyforgrowingpopulation.


12. Peasants (women andmen) have the right to benefit from land reform. Latifundiamust not be allowed. Land has to fulfill its social function. Land ceilings to landownershipshouldbeintroducedwhenevernecessaryinordertoensureanequitableaccesstoland.

13. Peasants (womenandmen)have the right tomaintainandstrengthen theirdistinctpolitical,legal,economic,socialandculturalinstitutions,whileretainingtheirrighttoparticipatefully,iftheysochoose,inthepolitical,economic,socialandculturallifeoftheState.

Article V

Right to seeds and traditional agricultural knowledge and practice

1. Peasants (women andmen) have the right to determine the varieties of the seedstheywanttoplant.

2. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttorejectvarietiesoftheplantwhichtheyconsidertobedangerouseconomically,ecologically,andculturally.

3. Peasants (women and men) have the right to reject the industrial model ofagriculture.

4. Peasants (women and men) have the right to conserve and develop their localknowledgeinagriculture,fishing,livestockrearing.

5. Peasants (women andmen) have the right to use the agriculture, fishing, livestockrearingfacilities.

6. Peasants (women andmen) have the right to choose their own products, varieties,amount, quality and the ways of farming, fishing, livestock rearing, individually orcollectively.

7. Peasants (women and men) have the right to use their own technology or thetechnology they choose guided by the principle of protecting human health andenvironmentalconservation.

8. Peasants (women and men) have the right to grow and develop their peasantsvarietiesandtoexchange,togiveortoselltheirseeds

9. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttofoodsovereignty.

Article VI

Right to means of agricultural production

1. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoobtainfundsfromtheStatetodevelopagriculture.

2. Peasants(womenandmen)shouldhaveaccesstocreditfortheiragriculturalactivity.3. Peasants (women and men) have the right to obtain the materials and tools for

agriculture.4. Peasants (women and men) have the right to water for irrigation and agricultural

productioninsustainableproductionsystemscontrolledbylocalcommunities.


5. Peasants (women and men) have the right to transportation, drying, and storagefacilitiesinmarketingtheirproducts.

6. Peasants (women and men) have the right to be actively involved in planning,formulating,anddecidingonthebudgetfornationalandlocalagriculture.

Article VII

Right to information and agriculture technology

1. Peasants (women and men) have the right to obtain impartial and balancedinformation about capital, market, policies, prices, technology, etc, related topeasants’needs.

2. Peasants (womenandmen)havetherighttoobtain informationaboutnationalandinternationalpolicies.

3. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoobtaintechnicalassistance,productiontools and other appropriate technology to increase their productivity, in ways thatrespecttheirsocial,culturalandethicalvalues.

4. Peasants (women and men) have the right to full and impartial information aboutgoodsandservices,andtodecidewhatandhowtheywanttoproduceandconsume.

5. Peasants (women and men) have the right to obtain adequate information at thenationalandinternationallevelsonthepreservationofgeneticresources.

Article VIII

Freedom to determine price and market for agricultural production

1. Peasants (womenandmen)have the right toprioritize their agriculturalproductionfortheirfamiliesandsocieties’needs.

2. Peasants (women andmen) have the right to store their production to ensure thesatisfactionoftheirbasicneedsandthoseoftheirfamilies.

3. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttofostertraditionallocalmarkets.4. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttogetbeneficialpricefortheirproduction.5. Peasants (women and men) have the right to determine the price, individually or

collectively.6. Peasants (women andmen) have the right to get a fair payment for theirwork, to

fulfilltheirbasicneedsandthoseoftheirfamilies.7. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttogetafairpricefortheirproduction.8. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoafairsystemofevaluationofthequality

oftheirproduct,nationallyand/orinternationally.9. Peasants (women and men) have the right to develop community‐based

commercializationsystemsinordertoguaranteefoodsovereignty.


Article IX

Right to the protection of agriculture values

1. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttotherecognitionandprotectionoftheircultureandlocalagriculturevalues.

2. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttodevelopandpreservelocalknowledgeinagriculture.

3. Peasants (women andmen) have the right to reject interventions that can destroylocalagriculturalvalues.

4. Peasants (women andmen) have the right to be respected for their spirituality asindividualsandaspeoples.

Article X

Right to biological diversity

1. Peasants (women and men) have the right to the protection and preservation ofbiologicaldiversity.

2. Peasants (womenandmen)havetherighttoplant,developandconservebiologicaldiversity,individuallyorcollectively.

3. Peasants (women and men) have the right to reject patents threatening biologicaldiversity,includingonplants,foodandmedicine.

4. Peasants (women and men) have the right to reject intellectual property rights ofgoods, services, resources and knowledge that are owned, maintained, discovered,developedorproducedbythelocalcommunity.Theycannotbeforcedtoimplementthoseintellectualpropertyrights.

5. Peasants (women andmen), individually or collectively, have the right tomaintain,exchange, andpreserve genetic andbiological diversity as the richnessof resourcesfromthelocalcommunityandtheindigenouscommunity.

6. Peasants (women and men) have the right to reject certification mechanismsestablishedbytransnationalcorporations.Localguaranteeschemesrunbypeasants’organizationswithgovernmentsupportshouldbepromotedandprotected.

Article XI

Right to preserve the environment

1. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoacleanandhealthyenvironment.2. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttopreservetheenvironmentaccordingto

theirknowledge.3. Peasants (women andmen) have the right to reject all forms of exploitationwhich

causeenvironmentaldamage.4. Peasants (women and men) have the right to sue and claim compensation for

environmentaldamage.


5. Peasants (womenandmen)havetheright toreparation forecologicaldebtandthehistoricandcurrentdispossessionoftheirterritories.

Article XII

Freedoms of association, opinion and expression

1. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttofreedomofassociationwithothers,andtoexpresstheiropinion,inaccordancewithtraditionsandculture,includingthroughclaims,petitions,andmobilizations,at the local, regional,nationaland internationallevels.

2. Peasants (women andmen) have the right to form and join independent peasants’organizations,tradeunions,cooperatives,oranyotherorganizationsorassociations,fortheprotectionoftheirinterests.

3. Peasants(womenandmen),individuallyorcollectively,havetherighttoexpressionintheirlocalcustoms,languages,localculture,religions,culturalliteratureandlocalart.

4. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherightnottobecriminalizedfortheirclaimsandstruggles.

5. Peasants (women and men) have to right to resist oppression and to resort topeacefuldirectactioninordertoprotecttheirrights

Article XIII

Right to have access to justice

1. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttoeffectiveremediesincaseofviolationsoftheirrights.Theyhavetherighttoafairjusticesystem,tohaveeffectiveandnon‐discriminatoryaccesstocourtsandtohavelegalaid.

2. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherightnottobecriminalizedfortheirclaimsandstruggles.

3. Peasants(womenandmen)havetherighttobeinformedandtolegalassistance.

To have a proper Convention, there is a need to include chapters/parts on “stateobligation” and “monitoring mechanism or mechanisms related to measures”, andotherprovisionssimilartootherinternationalconventions.

DocumentadoptedbytheViaCampesinaInternationalCoordinatingCommitteeinSeoul,March2009

Declaration of Rights of Peasants ‐ Women and Men · Declaration of Rights of Peasants ‐ Women...

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