A/HRC/26/48 I. Introduction 1. The open-ended intergovernmental working group on a United Nations declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas was established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 21/19 with the mandate of negotiating, finalizing and submitting to the Human Rights Council a draft United Nations declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas, on the basis of the draft submitted by the Advisory Committee (A/HRC/19/75, annex) and without prejudging past, present and future views and proposals. In the same resolution, the Council decided that the working group should hold its first session for five days in 2013, before the twenty-third session of the Council; requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to provide the working group with the human, technical and financial assistance necessary for it to fulfil its mandate; and requested the working group to submit a report on progress made to the Council for consideration at its twenty-sixth session. 2. The Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group invited the Rapporteur of the Advisory Committee drafting group on the draft declaration to participate in the first session of the working group, and, echoing the Human Rights Council, invited intergovernmental organizations, States, civil society, non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions, representatives of peasants and other people working in rural areas and all relevant stakeholders to contribute actively and constructively to the work of the working group. II. Organization of the session A. Opening and duration of the session 3. The working group met from 15 to 19 July 2013. 4. The session was opened by the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights on behalf of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Deputy High Commissioner recalled that the work of the United Nations had the ultimate objective of enhancing the full enjoyment of all human rights. She said that the international community was looking to the working group to find a comprehensive, human rights-centred development paradigm for examining the existing protection measures for people living and working in rural areas and identifying any possible protection gaps. She also expressed the readiness of OHCHR to assist the working group in all its endeavours. B. Attendance 5. Representatives of the following States Members of the United Nations attended the meetings of the working group: Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt (on behalf of the Like-Minded Group), Ethiopia, France, Gabon (on behalf of the African Group), Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain 3