PLEASE JOIN US IN HIGH-LEVEL SIDE-EVENT AT THE 55th SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL:
The new Working Group on the Rights of Peasants & Other People Working in Rural Areas: Challenges & perspectives from the field
Palais des Nations – Room XXV
14 March 2024
4-5 PM
Identifying Legal Challenges for Farmers’ Innovation
By Saurav Ghimire
On 9 October 2023, an expert workshop on “Identifying Legal Challenges for Farmers’ Innovation” was organised at the Centre for Private and Economic Law, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, in collaboration with the South Centre and Université Catholique de Louvain. The hybrid event gathered experts to discuss the challenges for farmers’ innovation, particularly those emerging from regulatory regimes. The workshop brainstormed policy and regulatory hindrances to farmers’ involvement in plant breeding, namely, in access to breeding materials, access to the market and reward/protection for the innovation.
The expert workshop was organised as a part of a joint research project, “Farmers as Plant Breeders: Legal Mechanisms to Foster Farmers’ Innovation”, led by Prof. Christine Frison (Université Catholique de Louvain), Prof. Kim Van der Borght (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), and Prof. Carlos Correa (South Centre). The research project is funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO).
Statement
General Debate – Item 3
54th regular session of the Human Rights Council
South Centre
21 September 2023
The South Centre appreciates the presentation of the thematic reports, and the reports of the Working Groups on the Right to Development and Private Military and Security Companies.
The South Centre will continue supporting developing countries for the achievement of these objectives and the provision of innovative solutions for tackling the unique challenges faced by developing and least developed countries.
South Centre Annual Report 2022
Read the South Centre Annual Report 2022 for an analysis of the situation faced by our members & other developing countries & for a summary of the Centre’s activities in 2022.
Respecting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of peasants and other rural workers – A clever move in times of multiple crises
A side-event to the 52 session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council
Palais des Nations, Geneva, 15 March 2023
The side-event was co-organized by the Permanent Missions of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Honduras, South Africa, Luxembourg, South Centre, La Via Campesina, Centre Europe – Tiers Monde (CETIM), FIAN International and the Geneva Academy of international humanitarian law and human rights; with the support of some other partners.
The Right to Seeds in Africa
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas and the Right to Seeds in Africa
Geneva Academy Briefing No. 22
By Karine Peschard, Christophe Golay and Lulbahri Araya
Pursuant to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), the African Union and African states should ensure that their regional & national laws & policies, as well as international bodies to which they are party, lead to effective protection of peasant rights, including their right to seeds.
The Geneva Academy acknowledges the support of the South Centre for the production of this publication.
South Centre Semester Report, January – June 2022
While global inequality continues to grow, developing and least developed countries face multiple crises in the context of a weak recovery from COVID-19, massive outflows of capital, decline of Official Development Assistance, monetary policy tightening, increase in food and energy prices and the impact of climate change. This document presents a brief analysis of the situation faced by South Centre’s members and other developing and least developed countries and provides a summary of the activities undertaken by the Centre in the period January – June 2022.
At the occasion of the 50th session of the Human Rights Council, we would like to invite you to the following event:
Good practices, lessons learned and challenges in the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas
Date: Thursday, 30th of June 2022 Time: 18.30 – 20.00
The side-event will be hybrid.
Organizers: Permanent Mission of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Permanent Mission of South Africa, Permanent Mission of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, La Via Campesina, CETIM, FIAN International, Geneva Academy of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, South Center, OHCHR
With the support of: Friends of the UNDROP Switzerland
South Centre Semester Report, July – December 2021
The South Centre undertakes policy-oriented research on issues, as defined in its Work Program (https://www.southcentre.int/work-program/), that are relevant to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It supports the countries of the South to effectively participate in negotiating processes in order to build up a multilateral system that supports and does not undermine development efforts. It also provides policy and technical advice and capacity building in support of countries and institutions of the South. Catalogues of the publications of the Centre can be found at https://www.southcentre.int/publications-catalogues/.
The South Centre expands its reach and impact by leveraging cooperation with other international organizations, research institutions, academia and civil society.
This Semester Report is an account of how the South Centre’s Secretariat has fulfilled the Centre’s mission through the different workstreams for the period July – December 2021.
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: Saving, Sharing and Taking Care of the Plants and Seeds that Feed the World
By Dr. Kent Nnadozie
This Policy Brief provides an introduction to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and its contribution to conserve, sustainably use and fairly and equitably share the benefits of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, for sustainable agriculture and food security. The brief also provides an update on the involvement of the ITPGRFA in the prevailing issues under discussion in various biodiversity-related fora, including ongoing negotiations for a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
South Centre Semester Report, January – June 2021
This Semester Report summarizes the activities undertaken by the South Centre during the period 1st January to 30 June 2021. It is intended to provide information, organized by themes, about recent developments in the areas covered by the Centre’s Work Program, meetings organized or co-organized by the Centre to examine particular issues or provide analytical support for negotiations taking place in various international fora, and conferences and other meetings where the Centre has participated. It also informs about publications of the outcomes of internal policy-oriented research and external contributions made as a result of cooperation with the Centre.
The Implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas: what is next?
By Luis Fernando Rosales Lozada
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) was adopted in December 2018. However, its application seems challenging. The South Centre organized a virtual meeting to discuss the implementation of the UNDROP on 4th June 2021, aiming to promote a debate about future actions to move forward the implementation of the UNDROP. The meeting provided an opportunity to listen to the views of government representatives, peasants’ associations, civil society organizations and academia. During the meeting, different questions were discussed such as how the current health and social crisis, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, has impacted the situation of peasants, the role of the UNDROP in promoting and protecting peasants’ rights, the latest developments in the realization of the rights of peasants under the UNDROP and what steps are needed to promote its implementation.
