The Declaration of the Rights of Peasants was adopted by the United Nations in November and, since then, what remained of the General Assembly was to ratify the decision. On December 18, the organization's highest body took this last step, responding to the historical demand of the international peasant movement. The declaration comes after seventeen years of struggle, according to the international peasant movement Vía Campesina.

Recognition of the contribution of baserritars

In addition to recognising the vulnerable situation in which garbage dumps and people working in rural areas are located, the resolution stresses the importance of small farmers. As long as poverty, hunger, inadequate food or the drainage of peoples live, the baserritars produce more than 70 per cent of the food produced around the world.

The declaration includes, among other rights, that of farmers to keep seeds in their hands, to access land, to food sovereignty and to participate in matters affecting their territory, to the question of agrochemicals and to the promotion of agroecology. Alazne Intxauspe, member of EHNE and Via Campesina de Bizkaia, summarized his achievement in the program 97.0 Radio Libre Lur eta Murmur: “What I would emphasize is that he claims baserritarra as a subject with rights.”

Abstention predominates among European countries

"We know that this decision is not binding on all States, and we know which States abstained. Therefore, we are happy with what was achieved, but we also do the analysis from a criticism,” Intxauspe said in the interview. In fact, it is significant that in the vote the Spanish and French states, as well as many other Europeans, also abstained. USA, The United Kingdom, Israel, Guatemala, Hungary, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia opposed it.

The member of Vía Campesina is clear, however, that the declaration is not binding but is an official instrument, and that from now on they must continue to work to demand that governments comply with the declaration. “The declaration has many articles, and these put some frameworks, recognize some rights at the baserritarra. Now it’s our job to enforce all that.”