Via Info EN July 2014

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[Info EN] Urgent Call to Action in Solidarity with the Palestinian People: We Condemn the Murder of Family Members of UAWC Leader and Call for Justice!
by La Vía Campesina 25 Jul '14

25 Jul '14

HUMAN RIGHTS URGENT CALL TO ACTION IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE: WE CONDEMN THE MURDER OF FAMILY MEMBERS OF UAWC LEADER AND CALL FOR JUSTICE! [1] Published on Friday, 25 July 2014 17:27 AND TO DEMAND AN END TO THE WAR OF OCCUPATION IN GAZA BY THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND ITS INDISCRIMINATE TARGETING OF PALESTINIAN CIVILIANS! (Harare, July 24, 2014) On Sunday evening (July 20), the Israeli air force struck the house of Mr. Saad Ziada killing six members of his family (his mother, three brothers, a sister-in-law and a nephew). At the moment of the attack, Mr. Ziada was away from his home, which saved his life. Saad Ziada is a leader of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a member of La Via Campesina. This event occurred two days after La Via Campesina issued a solidarity call condemning the Israeli government's illegal war of occupation on Gaza and its targeting of Palestinian civilians which constitutes a war crime, violating international law. This act is clear evidence that the Palestinian people are facing tremendous threats and extrajudicial killings whilst the disgraceful silence of the international political community continues. Meanwhile social movements globally have denounced this recent expression of collective punishment of the Palestinians in Gaza. This assault in which 80% of fatalities have been Palestinian civilians, along with the on-going siege and closure of Gaza, constitute a clear violation of international humanitarian law. La Via Campesina expresses solidarity with Mr. Saad Ziada and demands justice for Ziada's and all families who have fallen victim to such gruesome, targeted attacks. We extend this solidarity and our sense of outrage to these families - children, women and men -who are killed every day, victims of the incessant crimes against humanity wrought by the Israeli State. We call upon our member organizations, our allies, social movements and the international community in general to: -Demand justice for Saad Ziada, his family and all those who have lost loved ones, have been severely wounded, have been displaced and have had their possessions and goods destroyed by the Israeli occupation and deliberate military targeting of civilians. -Join the various acts of protests that social movements from around the world are organizing to demand an end to this brutal war against the people of Palestine, an end to the Israeli occupation, and to actively demand respect for international law and treaties including the 4th Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilians in times of war. -Join the call issued by public figures and the intellectual community, including Nobel laureates, to demand that international institutions denounce the illegal Israeli occupation and aggression that violated international and humanitarian law. -The State of Israel could not continue its assault on Gaza if the U.S. government did not approve it. The U.S. government gives Israel upwards of $3 billion a year in military aid, which it uses to procure weaponry from multinational corporations that profit from this ongoing war. We support the calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions of products and corporations that profit from Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. La Via Campesina International Peasants Movement Links: ------ [1] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-m…

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[Info EN] Via Campesina solidarity call with the people of Palestine
by La Vía Campesina 18 Jul '14

18 Jul '14

LA VIA CAMPESINA INTERNATIONAL PEASANT MOVEMENT SOLIDARITY CALL WITH THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE La Via Campesina International -representing around 200 million farmers from 73 different countries around the world- condemns the Israeli war on Gaza and the crimes against the Palestinians that violate the international and humanitarian laws. Since July 7th 2014, 214 Palestinians were killed, including at least 164 civilians of whom 44 were children and 29 women. 1,585 Palestinians were injured of whom 435 are children and 282 are women. 1,660 homes were destroyed or severely damaged in Gaza directly displacing 9,900 persons. 22,600 were displaced people hosted at UNRWA schools. 900,000 people are without water supply due to inability to repair and operate infrastructure. LVC calls the International organizations and movements in addition to the activists around the world to pressure the policy makers in their countries to stop the war on Gaza immediately , hold Israel accountable for its crimes against civilians and end the collective punishment policy of the siege on Gaza, This letter is an invitation to take an action to save the Palestinian farmers and fishermen. La Via Campesina International Peasant Movement

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[Info EN] La Via Campesina calls for the International Treaty on seeds to reject biopiracy
by La Vía Campesina 07 Jul '14

07 Jul '14

LA VIA CAMPESINA PRESS RELEASE LA VIA CAMPESINA CALLS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TREATY ON SEEDS TO REJECT BIOPIRACY (Geneva, 7th of July 2014) The International Treaty on seeds (ITPGRFA) celebrated on July 3 in Geneva its 10th anniversary. It has been recognizing for a decade now farmers' rights to use, exchange and sell their seeds. By organizing the sharing of seeds gathered from peasants' field in 131 countries, it makes a critical contribution to global food security. Given climate change is on the rise, these local seeds are often the only ones guaranteeing harvests, while varieties selected in laboratories to work with chemical inputs are unable to adapt to any unexpected stress. The success of the Treaty should not however mask its broken promises. The industry has still to service the debt contracted when "borrowing" for free seeds from peasants to create its commercial seeds. As such, the Treaty is unable to fulfil the sharing of benefits. Meantime, peasants lose their right to use the seeds they generously gave to the Treaty, as the industry contaminates these seeds with its engineered genes or patent them based on their natural features. Farmers' rights cannot remain a statement of general intent and if the Treaty persists to trample on these rights, farmers cannot carry on to graciously give their seeds. Without effective safeguard mechanisms for farmers' rights and fair benefit sharing, along with concrete measures against patents on life, the seeds bank of the Treaty will become biopirates' commons. This Treaty must change, and La Via Campesina is ready to assist. More on www.viacampesina.org

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[Info EN] A victory on our path to an international declaration on the rights of peasants
by La Vía Campesina 07 Jul '14

07 Jul '14

PRESS RELEASE - LA VIA CAMPESINA A VICTORY ON OUR PATH TO AN INTERNATIONAL DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF PEASANTS (Geneva, June 27th, 2014) On June 27th, the United Nations Human Rights Council Assembly passed a resolution authorising the continuation of the process of drafting an international declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas. Bolivia is in charge of starting up informal consultations between States and civil society as well as organising the second session of of the Intergovernmental Open-Ended Working Group, which is scheduled to take place in November 2014. The declaration project originated with the Via Campesina, and it is the fruit of ten years of work on the part of this international movement which is comprised of more than 164 organisations in 73 countries. The Via Campesina set itself the task of categorising the forms of discrimination suffered by people working in rural areas (peasants, agricultural workers, nomads and pastoralists, fishers, indigenous peoples, landless workers, etc.) and, with the support of organisations such as FIAN-international and CETIM (the Europe-Third World Centre), of defining the specific human rights applicable to their situation. In March 2012, the Assembly of the Human Rights Council accepted the final text resulting from a series of studies carried out by the Council's Consultative Committee. In September 2012, the Assembly voted to create an Intergovernmental Open-Ended Working Group that was given the responsibility of drafting a declaration on the basis of the preliminary version annexed to the final study. In July 2013, the intergovernmental group held its first working session. Thus, at the Human Rights Council's 26th session, the member states voted on the resolution (for the renewal of the intergovernmental group's mandate) that was presented by Bolivia. 29 countries supported the resolution; 13 countries abstained; and 5 countries voted against the resolution_ (*)_. For the Via Campesina these figures, which show growing support for the declaration process, are an indication of success (In 2012, there had been 23 votes in favour, 16 abstentions, and 9 in opposition). It should be noted that countries such as France, Austria, Germany, Italy, and Ireland, which had previously opposed the resolution, this time took the option of abstaining. This was not only the result of intense advocacy with their respective governments by the peasant organisations of the European Coordination of the Via Campesina and by civil society organisations, but it was also an encouraging sign that governments are looking upon peasant agriculture more favourably. The various Via Campesina delegations carried out their advocacy work during the session. In the coming months, the Via Campesina and its allies will redouble their efforts to overcome the continuing reticence of certain States and to convince them of the need for a declaration of this kind. At a global level, this international declaration project will serve to protect peasant agriculture as a whole - an agricultural model that produces 70% of the world's food on barely 25% of the land. The Via Campesina is defending small scale peasant agriculture both in the South and in the North of the globe. The Via Campesina expresses its thanks to Bolivia, South Africa, Cuba, and Ecuador for their efforts within the Human Rights Council to bring about constructive advances in the work on this project. _(*) VOTES BY COUNTRY:_ YES (29): Algeria, Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Ethiopa, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Vietnam ABSTAIN (13): Austria, Botswana, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, Macedonia NO (5): Czech Republic, Rep. of Korea, Romania, United Kingdom, United States of America --

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[Info EN] Newsletter La Vía Campesina - June 2014
by La Vía Campesina 01 Jul '14

01 Jul '14

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Via Info EN July 2014