The Development Law Service participates in the 15th FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Management
Rome, 14 - 18 November 2022
LEGN’s participation in the 15th FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Management (JMPM), consolidated LEGN’s support to the Secretariat of JMPM, hosted by the Pesticide Risk Reduction team in the Plant Production and Protection Division (NSP).
LEGN has so far made substantial contributions to the work of the JMPM. It has prepared legal sections for the Guidance Documents on the phasing out, illegal trade online sales of Pesticides. In collaboration with the WHO Gender, Equity and Human Rights Team, LEGN also developed and presented a paper on human rights and pesticides. This paper specifically addresses the connection between pesticide management and the human right to life, the right to the highest attainable standards of health, the right to adequate food, and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, among others. The paper explains the international law obligations of States regarding human rights in the context of pesticide management, as well as the implementation of these legal obligations and standards through concrete case law in national and international jurisdictions. The paper also dedicates a specific section to the legal obligations of States to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of Indigenous Peoples and provides legal considerations on the amendment of the Code of Conduct and aligns its provisions with international human rights law, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ILO Convention 169 and other international law treaties and environmental conventions.