RES/26/26 Promotion and protection of the human rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas

GE.A/HRC/26/48. 4-08361 (E)

*1408361*

Human Rights Council Twenty-sixth session Agenda item 5 Human rights bodies and mechanisms

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

26/26 Promotion and protection of the human rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Recalling also the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

Recalling further the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and all other relevant human rights instruments,

Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 13/4 of 24 March 2010, 16/27 of 25 March 2011 and 19/7 of 22 March 2012 on the right to food, and in particular Council resolution 21/19 of 27 September 2012 on the promotion and protection of the human rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas,

Determined to foster strict respect for the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations,

Underlining the imperative need to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 in order to contribute to making the right to development a reality for everyone,

Welcoming General Assembly resolution 66/222 of 22 December 2011, in which the Assembly declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming,

Gravely concerned that hunger, like poverty, is still predominantly a rural problem, and that in the rural population it is those who produce food who suffer disproportionately, and alarmed that 75 per cent of people suffering from hunger live in rural areas, particularly in developing countries, and 50 per cent are small-scale and traditional farm holders, as well as subsistence farmers, and that they are especially vulnerable to food insecurity, malnutrition, discrimination and exploitation,

Recognizing that livelihoods in rural areas are disproportionately affected by poverty, climate change and lack of access to land, water, development and scientific progress,

United Nations A/HRC/RES/26/26

General Assembly Distr.: General 15 July 2014

Original: English

Convinced of the need to strengthen the protection and realization of the human rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas,

Welcoming the report of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on its first session,1 held from 15 to 19 July 2013, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 21/19, and in particular the inputs from Governments, regional groups, civil society and relevant stakeholders,

Taking note of the expert seminar on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas held on 8 and 9 April 2014 at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, with the participation of experts from academia, international organizations, civil society, States as observers and other relevant stakeholders,

Bearing in mind the development of this issue,

1. Decides that the working group with the mandate of negotiating, finalizing and submitting to the Human Rights Council a draft United Nations declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas shall hold its second session for five working days before the twenty-ninth session of the Council;

2. Requests the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the working group to conduct informal consultations with Governments, relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, regional groups, intergovernmental organizations, United Nations mechanisms, civil society and representatives of peasants and other people working in rural areas, as well as other relevant stakeholders and other relevant specialized agencies of the United Nations system before the second session of the working group;

3. Also requests the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the working group to prepare a new text on the basis of the discussions held during the first session of the working group, including on the draft declaration presented by the Advisory Committee, and the informal consultations to be held, and to present it to the working group at its second session for consideration and further discussion;

4. Invites States, civil society and all relevant stakeholders to contribute actively and constructively to the work of the working group;

5. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the working group with the human, technical and financial assistance necessary for it to fulfil its mandate;

6. Requests the working group to submit to the Human Rights Council for consideration at its thirtieth session a report on progress made, which should be published as an official document in all official languages of the United Nations.

39th meeting 27 June 2014

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 29 to 5, with 13 abstentions. The voting was as follows: In favour:

Algeria, Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Ethiopia, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation,

Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam

Against: Czech Republic, Republic of Korea, Romania, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America

Abstaining: Austria, Botswana, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia]