A/HRC/39/67
rights of existing property owners. It does not protect the majority of those in rural areas:
those who are landless or those whose relationship to land is difficult to formalize in
individualistic legal terms. Second, States cannot evict settled communities that rely on a
piece of land but lack legal title to it, without first meeting certain conditions. Specifically,
States must ensure that: a) evictions serve a legitimate public purpose; b) are not
discriminatory; c) meet the requirements of due process; and d) provide communities with
fair compensation.
The States are reminded that agrarian reform, accompanied by the necessary incentives and
extensive services, can be an effective mechanism to prevent migration. In this respect,
States should see integral rural reforms as a way to prevent migrations.
Article 18
The right to a healthy environment is recognized in detail in article 29 of the United
Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in regional instruments (InterAmerican Court of Human Rights), reports by the Special Rapporteur on Environment and
Human Rights and the Framework Principles on Environment and Human Rights.
Article 19
There is an unjustified appropriation of the traditional knowledge of peasants and other
people working in rural areas, which has caused them harm for the exercise of their peasant
activity. Furthermore, the digitalization of genetic information can generate a negative
impact for the peasants that would also affect future generations.
The primacy of human rights derives from the provisions of the Charter of the United
Nations, article. 103 interpreted systematically with articles 55 c and 1.3, and has been
reiterated in general observations No. 12, 15, 24 of the ICESCR.
Article 20
The reference to the right to biological diversity should be maintained. The prior informed
consent or approval and involvement of peasants and other people working in rural areas
should be obtained for access to genetic resources where they have the established right to
grant access to such resources.
Prior informed consent or approval and involvement of peasants and other people working
in rural areas is obtained for access to genetic resources where they have the established
right to grant access to such resources.
Regarding the elimination of the word “Right”, it should be remembered that the right
concept implies two dimensions: on the one hand, the objective right, which implies that
States must develop and adopt normative and political frameworks, and on the other,
subjective rights (entitlements), which are those that right holders may require in
administrative, quasi-judicial and judicial bodies.
Article 21
This article is not about water management, it is about the right to water and this article is
not about just drinking water, is about water as a resource. On 28 July 2010, through
Resolution 64/292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the human
right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are
essential to the realization of all human rights. It is a prerequisite for the realization of other
human rights. Furthermore, the Committee on Food Security recalls the essentiality of
water of “appropriate quality and quantity (…) for food production (fisheries, crops and
livestock), processing, transformation and preparation”. General Comment 15 of CESCR
calls to focus on providing equitable access to water and management systems. General
Comment 15 refers to Article 1, paragraph 2 of the ICESCR which states that people may
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