A/HRC/39/67 development assistance to national efforts. Although the text of the revised draft declaration had improved, divergent views persisted and problems in the text remained, including in relation to notions of extraterritoriality, rights to seeds, land and the means of production, food sovereignty and biodiversity. The speaker expressed concern about creating new rights in a non-binding document and stated that as a whole, the European Union was not in a position to support the draft declaration in its current version. 13. On behalf of the African Group, the representative of Togo expressed the commitment of the Group to the rights of peasants, as small family farmers were the backbone of development in Africa and African women were major contributors to food production and food security. The draft declaration recognized the historical and persistent discrimination suffered by peasants, and the vulnerability of family farmers due to globalization. 14. The representative of Guatemala stated that combating rural poverty was a national priority. However, it was regrettable that the revised draft did not include proposals put forward in the previous session. The speaker expressed reservations on the totality of the text. 15. The representative of Mexico noted the references to food sovereignty in the draft declaration. The speaker emphasized that peasants should be defined by their vulnerability and not by their economic activity and reiterated the need to avoid duplication with existing instruments. 16. The representative of the Russian Federation stressed the support of the country for the process of drafting the declaration, which should seek consensus, particularly on new rights. The speaker welcomed the revised draft but cautioned against extrapolating existing standards to other groups. 17. The representative of Paraguay recognized that improvements had been made to the draft text and called for the challenges and barriers faced by peasants within the existing human rights framework to be addressed. 18. The representative of Uruguay focused on the importance of guaranteeing the full enjoyment of human rights for all, without discrimination, including for peasants and other rural workers. The speaker reaffirmed the position of Uruguay that the draft declaration should focus on the implementation of existing human rights, aiming to reduce the current disparities between the countryside and the cities regarding the enjoyment of human rights. In addition, it shared concerns about some of the concepts included in the draft declaration, such as food sovereignty, the right to land and the right to natural resources, considering that those were part of discussions in other forums and could create confusion in the negotiations on the draft declaration. 19. The representative of the Republic of Korea highlighted the support of the country for the rights of peasants through policies and programmes to improve life in rural areas. The speaker stated that some articles of the draft declaration might be in conflict with domestic laws and international obligations, and would require further review. 20. The representative of South Africa stated that the country attached the highest priority to the rights of peasants and had implemented programmes on land reform, training and skills development, socioeconomic transformation, job creation and food security. The human person, including peasants and other people working in rural areas, was an essential subject for development and should be an active participant and beneficiary of the right to development, a fundamental human right. 21. The representative of India noted the improvements to the revised draft, however key issues required broad-based consensus, including the definition of peasants, their rights and the obligations of States, traditional knowledge and extraterritoriality. The inclusion of proposals by delegations would allow for wider support for effective implementation of the rights of peasants. 22. The representative of Peru stated that the country attached importance to the negotiation of the draft declaration and noted that suggestions had been incorporated into 5