A/HRC/13/32 maternal education, household assets and the agro-ecosystem play important roles in determining the nutritional status of children, particularly in developing countries. 61. Until recently, the international framework for the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples was relatively weak, the only international instrument offering specific protection being ILO Convention No. 169. Addressing the continued vulnerability of indigenous people, despite the existing legal framework, the Human Rights Council adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at its first session (resolution 2006/2, annex); the declaration was then adopted by the General Assembly in September 2007. The declaration is particularly relevant to the right to food. It recognizes that indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination and rights over land and resources, acknowledging the historical injustices of colonization but also addressing the contemporary threats posed by economic globalization, offering protection of traditional knowledge, biodiversity and genetic resources, and setting limits to the activities of third parties on the territories of indigenous communities without their consent. This new instrument, even if it is not a treaty, represents an important new tool that indigenous peoples can use to claim their rights, including their right to food, and seek appropriate remedies in case of violations. Since its adoption in 2007, it has inspired new constitutions in Bolivia and Ecuador; the whole declaration, or part of it, has been incorporated in national laws. IV. Good practices A. Peasant agriculture, identity, certificates of product origin and products with identity 62. The global fight against hunger has mobilized various relevant actors. The international movement of peasants, La Via Campesina, defends the rights of peasants and rural women by “promoting gender parity and social justice in fair economic relations; the preservation of land, water, seeds, and other resources; food sovereignty; and sustainable agricultural production based on small- and medium-sized producers.”41 Legal groups such as the Permanent People’s Tribunal on the Right to Food and the Rule of Law in Asia investigate the protection of food and water rights.42 The Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development mobilizes women to resist “the corporate control of food, agriculture, and the lives of women and their communities.”43 In Burkina Faso, the Welthungerhilfe and the farmers’ organization Zood Noma teach farmers cultivation and farming techniques. It also works with bank cooperatives to ensure that farmers have access to microcredit, especially for income-generating activities and for food during the dry season.44 B. Forms of cooperation, including cooperatives, associations, trade unions and cooperatives of women producers/consumers 63. In 2009, India Together published the remarkable story of two rural women in a remote area of India who “are practicing an agriculture that is ecologically sound, keeps the 41 42 43 44 La Via Campesina, “The International Peasant’s Voice,” at www.viacampesina.org. See www.foodjustice.net/about. See www.apwld.org/aboutus.htm and www.apwld.org/riw.htm. Global Hunger Index: The Challenge of Hunger 2008 (http://ifpri.org/pubs/cp/ghi08.pdf). 17