UNDROP Thematic Booklet No. 4: “Peasants as Political Subjects” – Now Available

The fourth Thematic Booklet on “Peasants as Political Subjects” is now available! This is the last of four thematic booklets—part of the popular education materials to be used as a crucial step in reconnecting those who inspired and created United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in the Rural Areas (UNDROP).

This final booklet in the series – peasants as political subjects – brings us to the core purpose of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP): defining rights for a distinct social group of diverse, marginalized people. This marginalization by capitalist, colonial, imperialist, and heteropatriarchal forces and the constant threats to peasant lives and livelihoods will continue to provoke political responses and actions, therefore peasants as a group can be considered political subjects. There are many articles in the UNDROP that speak directly to the rights that must be upheld to ensure peasants are respected and our political voices are heard and demands are implemented in the face of repression and rights violations.

The popular educational materials will help us to effectively use the UNDROP in our struggles to assert and advance our collective and individual rights. They will help to create broader awareness, promote deeper understanding and enhance capacities (through training) of rural people’s movements. We should use this booklet as a foundational tool to ensure that the UNDROP will be respected, implemented and promoted at all levels, from local to international, from community customs to policymaking mechanisms. The UNDROP popular educational materials are being developed by La Via Campesina and FIAN International. Access them all here.