Declaration on the rights of peasants and other persons working in rural areas

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment of the European Economic and Social Committee:

• considers it important to express support for agricultural and rural people, acknowledging their specific needs and, at the same time, the crucial role they fulfil for society as a whole,
• recognises that a new international instrument at UN level is likely to better support the existence of peasants and rural workers, especially women and children,
• supports the successful completion of the process of drafting and adopting the "Declaration on the rights of peasants and other persons working in rural areas" currently under discussion in the Human Rights Council in Geneva,
• calls on the European institutions and the Member State governments, in particular those who are members of the Human Rights Council, to actively support this declaration in all future work leading up to its realisation.