A/HRC/39/67 6. The Chair-Rapporteur stated that the Working Group would proceed with the complete reading of the draft declaration and requested participants to provide specific language on matters that still deserved attention. He noted that proposals received from delegations and civil society organizations since the last session had been incorporated into the revised text. C. Opening statements 7. A statement was delivered by the representative of FAO, who referred to global initiatives relevant to the rights of peasants, including the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, proclaimed in 2016. In her statement the FAO representative highlighted the importance of peasants as key actors for sustainable and healthy food production and the need to support small-scale production. Despite the huge contribution of peasants to food security, they faced increasing levels of vulnerability, hence the need to strengthen their protection. She emphasized that the draft declaration was linked to global goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the Zero Hunger Challenge. 8. A video message from the President of the Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Section of the European Economic and Social Committee was also shown. He highlighted the challenges faced globally by peasants and other people working in rural areas, including in Europe, where small-scale labour-intense farming had been crowded out by cheaper mass-produced products. He advocated that people in rural areas should have their rights recognized in the same way as people living in cities and called on all participants to support the draft declaration and its resolution. 9. The Chair-Rapporteur recalled the developments that had taken place since the fourth session of the working group held in May 2017, including the meetings the previous Chair-Rapporteur had held with various stakeholders during the intersessional period. III. Panel discussion 10. The Chair-Rapporteur invited eight experts to contribute to the fifth session of the working group: Million Belay, Ramona Duminicioiu, José Esquinas-Alcazar, Christophe Golay, Diego Montón, Smita Narula, Yiching Song, and Ana Maria Suarez Franco. 1 In an initial panel discussion, five experts spoke of how the declaration would address challenges such as the right to seeds, the rights of rural women, food sovereignty, collective rights and the rights to land and to food.2 IV. General statements 11. The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on behalf of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, stressed that poverty eradication was the greatest global challenge and that the rural population suffered disproportionally from poverty and hunger, particularly in developing countries. Food security and nutrition were essential aspects of sustainable development. High volatility in global food prices directly challenged the right to food. The speaker reiterated the support of the Movement for the right to food and the commitment to fight hunger and malnutrition and welcomed the efforts of the Chair in finalizing the draft declaration. 12. The representative of the European Union highlighted the importance it attached to the rights of peasants and shared its concern over significant inequalities with regard to the full realization of all human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights, between persons living in rural areas and persons living in urban areas. The speaker expressed the commitment of the European Union to exploring various possibilities for protecting the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas, including through 1 2 4 Biographies of the experts are available on the website of the fifth session of the Working Group. The summary of statements by panellists is reflected in annex II of the report.