New Publication Outlines Concrete Recommendations to Implement the Right to Seeds in Europe

Pumpkin seeds Pumpkin seeds

20 May 2019

The United Nations (UN) Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas (UN Declaration) adopted in December 2018 recognizes the right to seeds and defines correlative states obligations.

Our new publication The Right to Seeds in Europe focuses on the steps that the European Union (EU) and EU member states shall take, via the implementation of the UN Declaration, to better protect this right in Europe.

Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Seed Systems versus the Right to Seeds and Peasant Seed Systems

For over 10,000 years, peasants have always saved, selected, exchanged and sold seeds, and used and reused them to produce food. This is essential to peasants' right to food, as well as to global food security and biodiversity.

But the protection of intellectual property rights over seeds at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), and the promotion of commercial seed systems have posed serious challenges to the protection of these customary practices, and to the maintenance of peasant seed systems and agro-biodiversity.

Prevalence of the UN Declaration and the Right to Seeds over Other International Instruments

The publication starts with an analysis of the protection of the right to seeds and intellectual property rights in international law, their potential tensions, different monitoring mechanisms and unequal implementation. It then presents the UN Declaration, outlines its definition of the right to seeds and related states’ obligations, and explains why it shall prevail over other international instruments, including those protecting intellectual property rights, as well as national and regional laws and policies.

‘In the EU and EU member states, seed laws and regulations have been designed with the aim to further develop the agricultural industry in the continent, and the rights of peasants have been largely neglected. The implementation of the UN Declaration represents a unique opportunity to rebalance the lack of support given to peasant seed systems worldwide, Europe included, compared to the support given to industrial seed systems in recent decades. This is essential for the protection of the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of peasants, as well as the interest of all in the preservation of crop biodiversity’ underlines Dr Adriana Bessa, Senior Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy and co-author of the publication.

The Right to Seeds in Europe and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants EU

Key Recommendations

The publication ends with a presentation of the challenges to the protection of the right to seeds in European law, and proposals to better protect the right to seeds in the EU and EU member states.

‘The publication notably underlines that the EU and EU member states shall ensure that their laws and policies, as well as the international agreements to which they are a party, do not lead to violations, but to better protection of peasants’ right to seeds. They shall modify their normative framework so that peasants’ seed systems not only exist but fully operate and thrive as production and conservation systems; ensure the full and meaningful participation of peasants in decision-making on matters relating to seeds; guarantee the right of peasants to maintain, control, protect and develop their own seeds and traditional knowledge; make sure that agricultural research and development is oriented towards the needs of peasants; and support the establishment and growth of strong and independent organizations of peasants’ explains Dr Christophe Golay, Senior Research Fellow at the Geneva Academy and co-author of the publication.

The Right to Seeds in Europe and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants News

Presentation in Brussels, Paris and Vienna

The publication will be presented in several European cities, including Brussels, Paris and Vienna, in partnership with EU institutions, EU member states, peasant organizations and seed networks.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Human Rights Tiles News

From Signals to Action: Strengthening the UN's Conflict Prevention Efforts

31 March 2025

Our recent research brief series explores how the United Nations' human rights system can enhance its role in early warning and conflict prevention.

Read more

neurodata graphics News

New Research Brief Evaluates the Effectiveness of GDPR in Mitigating Risks Associated with the Distinctive Nature of Neurodata

21 January 2025

Our recent research brief, Neurodata: Navigating GDPR and AI Act Compliance in the Context of Neurotechnology, examines how effectively GDPR addresses the unique risks posed by neurodata.

Read more

United Nations Geneva Event

‘Urgency Measures’ to face a triple crisis – what insights can be taken from the Treaty Body strengthening process?

4 June 2025, 13:30-15:00

This side event represents a critical opportunity to reflect on the innovative approaches taken through the treaty body strengthening process and to consider the future direction of the treaty body system.

Read more

AI for Good Event Event

AI for human rights: Smarter, faster, fairer monitoring

8 July 2025, 14:00-16:00

The event, as part of the AI for Good Summit 2025 will explore how AI tools can support faster data analysis, help uncover patterns in large datasets, and expand the reach of human rights work.

Read more

Open dump Training

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

15-19 September 2025

Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.

Read more

Town Hall Meeting Training

Localizing International Human Rights

8-10 October 2025

This training course, specifically designed for staff of city and regional governments, will explore the means and mechanisms through which local and regional governments can interact with and integrate the recommendations of international human rights bodies in their concrete work at the local level.

Read more

surveillance image of people Project

Human Rights in a Digitalized World: Mapping Risk, Strengthening Regulation and Promoting the Development of International Human Rights Law

Started in August 2023

To unpack the challenges raised by artificial intelligence, this project will target two emerging and under-researched areas: digital military technologies and neurotechnology.

Read more

Neutrotechology Project

Neurotechnology and Human Rights

Started in August 2023

This project addresses the human rights implications stemming from the development of neurotechnology for commercial, non-therapeutic ends, and is based on a partnership between the Geneva Academy, the Geneva University Neurocentre and the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee. 

Read more

Cover of the publication Publication

Briefing N° 25: Localizing Multilateralism

published on March 2025

Domenico Zipoli, Ludovica Chiussi Curzi, Kamelia Kemileva

Read more

Cover page of the working paper Publication

AI Decoded: Key Concepts and Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring

published on January 2025

Milica Mirkovic, Jennifer Victoria Scurrell

Read more