A/HRC/30/55
important to clarify the distinction between drug trafficking and illicit crops, as some
peasants had been arrested for drug trafficking for growing certain plants.
84.
The Vice-Chair informed participants that they were able to submit comments in
written form and closed the meeting, as there were no further requests.
85.
The Chair-Rapporteur opened the final meeting to States, civil society and all
participants of the working group for comments on the proposed language of the conclusion
and the recommendations.
86.
One delegation suggested changing the word “negotiations” to “discussions” as, it
argued the word “negotiations” suggested that a formal dialogue had taken place during the
second session of the working group. That position was supported by a number of
delegations, who highlighted that they were not entering into negotiations because they had
not been given a formal mandate by their Governments. They furthermore noted that the
text of the draft declaration had not been translated into all official United Nations
languages and had been distributed late. The delegations suggested including a change to
the text in paragraph 91 (a) to include the word “continue”. Those positions were also held
by other delegations.
87.
A number of delegations noted that they disagreed with the other delegations and
that negotiations had indeed taken place throughout the week because the very nature of
holding a working group was to negotiate, and that the word “negotiation” was specifically
mentioned in the various resolutions that set out the mandate of the working group. One
delegation noted that, although the word “negotiation” was open to interpretation, they
understood that any informal consultation held in the United Nations was by default a type
of negotiation. One participant noted that they agreed that the word “negotiations” should
remain and that they supported the delegations’ arguments.
88.
The Chair-Rapporteur thanked all the participants and suggested taking out the word
“negotiation” from where it was first mentioned in section 91 (b) but leaving the word in
paragraph 91 (a), and the remaining text, while including the suggested word “continue”.
89.
Hearing no objections from the floor, the text was adopted and the Chair-Rapporteur
informed the participants that they could send any suggested changes to the secretariat by
20 February 2015. The Chair-Rapporteur also thanked the participants for their
participation in the working group and closed the session.
VI. Conclusions
90.
At the final meeting of its second session, the open-ended intergovernmental
working group on a draft United Nations declaration on the rights of peasants and other
people working in rural areas welcomed the participation of the Chief of the Development
and Economic and Social Issues Branch from OHCHR, as well as a number of independent
experts who took part in the panel discussions, acknowledged the constructive dialogue that
took place between Governments, regional and political groups, civil society, nongovernmental organizations and all other relevant stakeholders and took note of the inputs
received from them.
VII. Recommendations of the Chair-Rapporteur
91.
Following the second session of the open-ended intergovernmental working
group on a United Nations declaration on the rights of peasants and other people
working in rural areas, the Chair-Rapporteur recommended to the Human Rights
Council that:
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