United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants
and Other People Working in Rural Areas
A/RES/73/165
Taking into account the principles proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, 2 the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination, 3 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, 4 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 4 the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 5 the Convention on
the Rights of the Child, 6 the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights
of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, 7 relevant conventions of the
International Labour Organization and other relevant international instruments that
have been adopted at the universal or regional level,
Reaffirming the Declaration on the Right to Development, 8 and that the right to
development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person
and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social,
cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental
freedoms can be fully realized,
Reaffirming also the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples,9
Reaffirming further that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated,
interdependent and mutually reinforcing and must be treated in a f air and equal
manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis, and recalling that the
promotion and protection of one category of rights should never exempt States from
the promotion and protection of the other rights,
Recognizing the special relationship and interaction between peasants and other
people working in rural areas and the land, water and nature to which they are attached
and on which they depend for their livelihood,
Recognizing also the past, present and future contributions of peasants and other
people working in rural areas in all regions of the world to development and to
conserving and improving biodiversity, which constitute the basis of food and
agricultural production throughout the world, and their contribution in ensuring th e
right to adequate food and food security, which are fundamental to attaining the
internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, 10
Concerned that peasants and other people working in rural areas suffer
disproportionately from poverty, hunger and malnutrition,
Concerned also that peasants and other people working in rural areas suffer from
the burdens caused by environmental degradation and climate change,
Concerned further about peasants ageing around the world and youth
increasingly migrating to urban areas and turning their backs on agriculture owing to
the lack of incentives and the drudgery of rural life, and recognizing the need to
improve the economic diversification of rural areas and the creation of non -farm
opportunities, especially for rural youth,
Alarmed by the increasing number of peasants and other people working in rural
areas forcibly evicted or displaced every year,
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2/17
Resolution 217 A (III).
United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 660, No. 9464.
See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1249, No. 20378.
Ibid., vol. 1577, No. 27531.
Ibid., vol. 2220, No. 39481.
Resolution 41/128, annex.
Resolution 61/295, annex.
Resolution 70/1.
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