A/HRC/36/58 The proposed reference to “their seeds”, that is the seeds that have been developed and improved by peasants over thousands of years of farming, could resolve a potential conflict by differentiating the traditional seeds system from the commercial seeds system. There must be recognition and respect for both types of seeds: the formal system of protected seed varieties through agreements such as TRIPS; and the traditional seeds system of peasants characterized by biodiversity on which improvements by farmers are based. Article 9 of ITPGRFA Proposed article 19 is compatible with ITPGRFA and other international instruments and the language is necessary to clarify doubts. Replacing article 19 with article 9 of ITPGRFA would be restrictive as this article includes issues referred to in many other sections of the Treaty and is also based on the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol. Annex 1 of the Treaty, which on the multilateral system for access and benefitsharing contained in articles 10 to 15 of the Treaty, has no relation with article 9 on the rights of farmers. Proposed deletion of 1(a) of the draft declaration There has never been a problem with the recognition of the right of farmers to their traditional knowledge throughout decades of negotiations at FAO. Traditional knowledge is basic and should be protected not only for producers but also for the humanity. It is contained in the Convention on Biological Diversity and UNESCO instruments. Compatibility with intellectual property rights regime A parallel could be made to the question of potential conflict between the recognition of the right to medicine as part of the right to health with intellectual property rights. The former Commission on Human Rights affirmed unconditionally the right to medicine as part of the right to health. Conciliation between these rights took place outside the human rights forum with the WTO Doha Declaration which allows for the production of generic medicines and their export. Article 20 Right to biodiversity There are many legislations at national and regional levels that recognize the right of communities to biological resources. There is no dichotomy between the recognition of these rights in the declaration and the international conventions to which States may be members. It is not an issue of access but the right to use the resources to which their knowledge is associated. It has important consequences in terms of conservation and preservation of resources. Associated traditional knowledge Beyond saving and protecting plants, the protection of the methods developed throughout centuries by communities for their use is absolutely vital. It is not a question of patenting it. It is about protecting local communities from the patents of people coming from outside that may prevent their local use. 81