UN Declaration supports rights of pastoralists

In the South Centre Research Paper 123 “The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas: one step forward in the promotion of human rights for the most vulnerable” (2020, 61pp), Maria Natalia Pacheco Rodriguez and Luis Fernando Rosales Lozada describe the process of developing the Declaration adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2018. They assess the Declaration’s contributions to international human rights law and stress its potential for poverty reduction and food security, in line with the SDGs and the UN Decade on Family Farming.

The Declaration gives attention to pastoralists’ rights in several ways. For example, Article 7 stipulates their right to recognition everywhere as persons before the law and the obligation of States to take appropriate measures to facilitate freedom of movement. Particularly crucial for pastoralists who depend on cross-border mobility for their livelihoods is the demand for States to cooperate in addressing transboundary land use by such mobile peoples.

Article 17 on the right to land includes the water sources and grazing areas used by pastoralists. It also contains State obligations to legally recognise and protect legitimate tenure right and stipulates that States should prohibit arbitrary and unlawful displacements and evictions.

According to Article 20 on biodiversity, States shall take appropriate measures to promote and protect the traditional knowledge, innovation and practices of peasants and other people working in rural areas, including pastoralists, relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

The UN Declaration is included in the annex.

Posted on 5 December 2020 in General Policy Documents, Pastoralism, Policy & Power, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition