International Day of Peasant Struggles was created by La Via Campesina. It finds its roots in the tragic events of 17 April 1996 in Eldorado dos Carajás, Brazil, where landless workers were killed while peacefully advocating for land rights. It stands as a reminder of the ongoing struggles for equitable access to land, food sovereignty, and agrarian justice across the world. In South Africa, the legacy of land dispossession and structural inequality continues to shape the lived realities of many rural communities.

Despite constitutional guarantees, access to productive land, water, and adequate support for small-scale producers remains uneven. These challenges are compounded by climate change, rising food costs, and persistent rural poverty.

The Commission reaffirms that the rights to food, dignity, equality, and access to land are interdependent and protected under the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. In line with its constitutional mandate, the SAHRC continues to monitor, investigate, and engage on issues affecting food security and agrarian reform. Notably, the Commission recently convened the first leg of a national investigative inquiry into the food systems of South Africa, held from 12 to 20 March 2026 at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg. The National Investigative Hearing emanates from complaints received, and monitoring work which highlighted a greater challenge of lack of access to adequate food. 

On this day, the SAHRC calls on all spheres of government and relevant stakeholders to:

• Accelerate equitable land reform processes that prioritise justice, sustainability, and inclusivity;
• Strengthen support for smallholder and subsistence farmers, particularly women and youth in rural areas;
• Protect and promote agroecological practices and indigenous knowledge systems;
• Ensure accountability and coordination in implementing policies aimed at achieving food security and sovereignty.

The Commission further emphasises that meaningful participation of rural communities in decision-making processes is essential to building just and resilient food systems.

As we commemorate this day, the Commission, led by the Office of Commissioner Philile Ntuli, will join the Rural Women’s Assembly Webinar themed “Rural Women Farmers and Fishers Advancing Peasant Rights and Food Sovereignty”, which seeks to engage on the lived realities facing rural women farmers and fishers.
Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84777690023?pwd=M12hwn9d9JOruAznPPuL9lNrTrCWJy.1 

The SAHRC stands in solidarity with peasant movements and rural communities in South Africa and globally. The struggle for land, food, and dignity is a human rights imperative that demands sustained commitment and action.

ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION