Via Info EN September 2015

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[Info EN] You are destroying the Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources
by La Vía Campesina 29 Sep '15

29 Sep '15

YOU ARE DESTROYING THE TREATY ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES [1] TO MEMBER GOVERNMENTS OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE INTERNATIONAL TREATY ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES (IT PGRFA), MEETING IN ROME 5-9 OCTOBER 2015 We want to tell you that you are in the process of destroying the treaty. It is organising the theft of our seeds and our knowledge. We can no longer continue to give them to researchers and other prospectors that come and collect them in our fields, to then put them in the Treaty's gene banks. _As long as you do not ban all bio-pirated patents, as long as farmers do not have a right to keep, use, exchange and sell seeds from their own harvests then we will not collaborate with research and gene banks that serve the multinational seed companies._ The grains kept in genetic resource banks run by the multilateral system of the Treaty on Plants (IT PGRFA) belong to us: they are our inheritance from many centuries of peasant selection, and they have been collected in our fields. However we are often refused access to peasant variety seeds because we are not researchers. Sometimes we obtain some grains on the condition that we do not use them for agricultural production: they can only be used for research purposes. We have stated that their conservation in cold chambers is not appropriate and that they need several years of new selection before the harvests can be donated in the current growing conditions. However those of us who undertake the collection the genetic resources are forbidden by laws created by seed companies in the majority of member countries of the treaty to exchange or sell them to other peasants. _The treaty promised equitable sharing of the profit created in industry using our seeds for their own selections. After 10 years we have not seen this, rather a shift in the opposite direction._ Peasants have given seeds to industry; industry never paid for them, and the little money that governments donated has not been given to peasant organisations, but has consolidated international industry's research programmes. We gave our seeds free of charge to the seed banks, and we accept that industry uses the useful varieties. But when we use these varieties laws in the majority of signatory countries require us to pay royalties, or forbid us to use the seeds that have come from our own harvests, asserting that they are now property of industry. _We inherited our seeds from our parents, we have looked after them carefully, selected and conserved them for future generations. We have given them to the treaty along with our knowledge, as we have always been proud to share the results of our work. We thought that we were protected against their being appropriated by industry property laws, such as plant breeders' laws and patents. But now you say that you are going to launch the Divseek programme, to dissect the genetic sequences of the resources in the gene bank so as to publish them in electronic databases._ This programme was not created for us, we do not grow genetic sequences, or megabytes, and we do not need this information. But industry created the search engines and software to process all of the 'genetic information' in their database, for it to be patented and associated with some favourable characteristic, useful for agriculture, or the industrial processing of harvests. These patents on the 'functional units of heredity' are already legal in many countries and they prevent us from growing our seeds, the very seeds that we gave free of charge to the treaty seed banks. _We had a period of dialogue with the treaty. But despite the governing body's decision in Bali in 2011 and in Oman in 2013, spaces for dialogue closed up, _preventing us from participating in an efficient manner and formalising working groups with expert consultants, respecting our organisational autonomy. Peasant organisations that are working in their fields to implement article 5 and 6 of the Treaty on in situ conservation and the sustainable use of seeds and those that fight for the implementation of article 9 on the rights of farmers are always considered as 'observers', with the same statute as academics or journalists, but there are the main actors and on the front line of managing the very genetic plant resources that the Treaty defends! Yet Industry is courted and imposes its own solutions. _As long as the Treaty is not reformed to fully apply articles 5, 6 and 9, we will continue to create our own multilateral system for exchange between peasants. We are calling on governments to support out movement, based on the principles of food sovereignty._ TO SIGN OR SUPPORT THE APPEL, PLEASE SEND US BACK THE NAME OF YOUR ORGANIZATION: Mauro Conti, IPC (International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty): ipc-cip(a)foodsovereignty.org Émilie Lapprand, French Farmers' seeds network (Réseau Semences Paysannes) : emilie(a)semencespaysannes.org SIGNATORIES, FARMERS AND GARDENERS ORGANIZATIONS - September 25th, 2015. (SEE UPDATE LIST OF SIGNATORIES HERE [2]) * African Centre for Biodiversity, Afrique du Sud et Tanzanie * AJAC LUKAAL, l'Association des Jeunes Agriculteurs de Casamance "Plantons", Sénégal * ANAFAE, Asociación Nacional de Fomento a la Agricultura Ecológica, Honduras * ANAMURI, Asociación Nacional l de Mujeres Rurales e Indígenas, Chili * ANMI, Asamblea Nacional de Mapuches de Izquierda, Chili * Association des Producteurs de Semences Paysannes, Sénégal * BEDE ( Biodiversité : Echanges et Diffusion d'Expériences ), France * Bio Burkina Faso, Burkina Faso. * Biowatch South Africa. * Campaña Semillas de Identidad, Colombie. * CCPA, Cadre de Concertation des Producteurs d'Arachides du Sénégal. * COASP, Comité ouest africain des Semences Paysannes et l'ensemble de ses membres. * Commons for EcoJustice, Malawi * CONAPROCH, Confederación Nacional de Pequeños Productores, Chili * CENESTA,Centre for Sustainable Development and Environment, Iran * Confédération Paysanne, France * COPACO-PRP, Confédération Paysanne du Congo, République Démocratique du Congo * Copagen, Coalition Ouest Africaine pour les Semences paysannes, Sénégal * Crocevia, Italie * ECVC, Coordination européenne Via Campesina * Fahamu Africa et le mouvement des femmes " Nous sommes la solution", Afrique de l'Ouest * Farmworker Association of Florida, USA. * Ferme école Agroécologique Benkadibugu, Mali * FOOL AVOINE, pour une biodiversité sans OGM ni brevet, France * GIPA (Groupement Inter villageois des Producteurs d'Arachides des Communes de Thiomby/Gandiaye), membre CCPA, Sénégal * Grupo Semillas, Colombie * Landworkers' Alliance , Royaume-Uni * MAELA, Mouvement agroécologique de l'Amérique latine et les Caraïbes * MABD, Mouvement de l'Agriculture Biodynamique, France * MPA, Movimento dos pequenos agricultores, Brésil * Ranquil, Confederación Nacional Campesina y de Pueblos originarios, Chili * Red de Semillas Campesinas, Argentina * Rede de Agrobiodiversidade do Semiárido Mineiro, Brésil * Redes de semillas campesinas (RSC), Columbia * Red de Semillas Libres, Colombia * Red de Semillas "Resembrando e Intercambiando", Espagne * RESACIFROAT, Réseau d'Appui à la Citoyenneté des Femmes Rurales d'Afrique de l'Ouest et du Tchad * Réseau Semences Paysannes (RSP), France * Rete Semi Rurali, Italie * Stop OGM Pacifique, Nouvelle Calédonie * Union Paysanne, Canada. * Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum, Zimbabwe. * La Via Campesina SUPPORTS * AHCC, Alianza Hondureña de Cambio Climático, Honduras * Alkhalachofa, grupo de consumo responsable, Alcala de Henares, Espagne * Australian Food Sovereignty, Australie * Burkinature, Burkina Faso * CEHPRODEC, Centro Hondureño de Promoción al Desarrollo Comunitario, Honduras * Chile Sustentable, Chili * Community Alliance for Global Justice, Seattle WA USA * CONROA, Coalición nacional de Redes y organizaciones Ambientales, Honduras * Doman chalosse vivante, France. * Enda Pronat, Sénégal * FIAN, Colombie * Foro Ambiental Santiagueño, Argentine * IRPAD/Afrique, Institut de Recherche et de Promotion des Alternatives en Développement, siège Mali. * JINUKUN : Réseau national pour une gestion durable des ressources génétiques , Point focal de la COPAGEN, Bénin * Laura Gutiérrez Escobar, Red de Semillas Libres de Colombia et FIAN, Colombie * MADGE, Australia * Myriam del Carmen Salazar Villarreal Doctora en Agroecología, Colombie * Terra Nuova ONLUS, Italie * Vía Orgánica, Mexique Links: ------ [1] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [2] http://www.semencespaysannes.org/2015_appel_reseaux_semences_paysannes_pou_…

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[Info EN] Via Campesina promotes international declaration on the rights of peasants in United Nations Human Rights Council
by La Vía Campesina 24 Sep '15

24 Sep '15

VIA CAMPESINA PROMOTES INTERNATIONAL DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF PEASANTS IN UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL [1] (Geneva, September 24, 2015) A delegation of La Via Campesina peasant men and women from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe have come to Geneva for the 30th session of the Human Rights Council, which is soon to vote on continuing its work to complete an "international declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas". For many years, La Via Campesina, with the support of NGOs, has called on this UN body, denouncing the fact that peasants and rural populations are victims of human rights violations on every continent, though exclusion, land grabbing, repression of peasant leaders and the effects of agrochemicals on health. "The world food crisis, International Year of Family Farming, Year of Soil 2015 and work towards achieving the millennium development goals have created an increased awareness of the fundamental role played by farmers and peasants and the unquestionable need to strengthen their rights with the appropriate instruments" says Geneviève Savigny, peasant in France. Since the Office's decision in 2012, which created the mandate for an open-ended intergovernmental working group to draft a declaration on the rights of peasants, the process has received growing support from the 47 states in the Human Rights Council. La Via Campesina now expects more support in the next vote, above all from the most reticent European and (industrialised) states. "This matter is urgent, as every day thousands of farms disappear, peasant men and women are displaced from their land, transnational companies attempt to mercantilise food, privatise seeds, swamp us with genetically-modified products and pesticides, and speculate on the hunger of the people, while at the same time unemployment and migration continue to rise" claims Diego Monton, peasant in Argentina. "It is peasants who feed the world and combat global warming. We are determined in our struggle. We are building hope!" recalls Ndiakhate Fall, peasant in Senegal. "For this reason, this declaration is not only for peasant men and women, it is also a necessity for all the world's peoples" makes clear Zainal Airifin Fuat, peasant in Indonesia. We call on the world's governments to listen to the voice of the people and support this declaration. We invite allies, trade unions, peasants, indigenous peoples and social movements to join this process. _CONTACTS_ Ndiakhate Fall - CNCR/ Sénégal tel +221775508907 Zainal Arifin Fuat - Indonesian Peasant Union / Indonesie +627991890 - +6201311155365 Diego Monton - MNCI-CLOC-LVC / Argentine Amerique Latine +5492615615062 Geneviève Savigny - Coordination Européenne Vía Campesina - France Europe +33625551687 Staff Coordination : Uniterre-Switzerland-Valentina Hemmeler Maïga, v.hemmeler(a)uniterre.ch MORE PHOTOS OF LA VIA CAMPESINA DELEGATION PREPARING ITS PARTICIPATION FOR THE 30TH SESSION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL [2] CLICK HERE TO READ THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF PEASANTS - MAN AND WOMEN [3] Links: ------ [1] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-m… [2] http://tv.viacampesina.org/La-Via-Campesina-at-30th-session?lang=en [3] http://viacampesina.net/downloads/PDF/EN-3.pdf

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[Info EN] The European Coordination Via Campesina in solidarity with migrants
by La Vía Campesina 23 Sep '15

23 Sep '15

The European Coordination Via Campesina in solidarity with migrants [1] Published on Wednesday, 16 September 2015 16:38 ___Press release_ Brussels, 14th September 2015 In view of the humanitarian crisis that we are living in Europe, the peasants of La Via Campesina Europe want to _show their sincere solidarity with all refugees who were and who are forced to leave their villages and their countries._ We show our solidarity especially with Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans, Kurds, those coming from all different regions of Africa dying by the hundreds on their way to Europe. _We would like to denounce the current cruel European migration policies, as well as all measures put in place to prevent or to complicate the free access to Europe._ Even though the media rarely talk about it, we want to call the reasons that force refugees to flee their countries to mind. We have to tackle the problem at its roots in order to end the aggressions and to change the living conditions these people suffer from in their home countries. Finally, we want to remind that once more civil society as well as peasants have reacted faster and much better than most of our governments. With our commitment and solidarity we aim to build a Europe where human beings are more important than neo-liberal economic interests. See also We who come from Africa, the Maghreb and other countries [2] _Spokespersons on this issue:_ Unai Aranguren, ECVC Coordination Committee, 0034 636 451572, (ES) Paula Gioia, ECVC Coordination Committee , 0049 178 1390024, (DE, PT, EN, ES) Links: ------ [1] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/migrations-and… [2] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/migrations-and…

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[Info EN] The new edition of the Nyéléni Newsletter is now online!
by La Vía Campesina 22 Sep '15

22 Sep '15

FOOD JUSTICE AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN USA [1] Published on Wednesday, 16 September 2015 15:26 THE NEW EDITION OF THE NYÉLÉNI NEWSLETTER IS NOW ONLINE! _ [2]Read the first edition of the newsletter about the situation of one region! This edition explores the relation between Food Justice and Food Sovereignty in the United States._ Food Sovereignty emerged as La ViaCampesina's bold response to the "free trade" regimes destroying livelihoods around the world. It's been taken up widely by communities around the World reeling from the spread of agrofuels, GMOs, land grabs and the "privatization of everything." Food Sovereignty reflects the deep resistance of people's historical struggles against exploitation, oppression and colonization. When communities fighting for their rights discover the principles of food sovereignty, their reaction is often "Yes! That's what we're doing!" Food justice is one such struggle. The radical roots of food justice in the United States are deep in the movement for Black Liberation. Click here [3]to download the English edition or read it directly in the website at www.nyeleni.org [4] Links: ------ [1] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/publications-mainmenu-30/1863-food-jus… [2] http://viacampesina.org/en/images/nyeleni%202.jpg [3] http://viacampesina.org/en/images/stories/pdf/2015-09-Nyeleni_Newsletter_Nu… [4] http://www.nyeleni.org/

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[Info EN] La Via Campesina - Electronic Newsletter August 2015
by La Vía Campesina 15 Sep '15

15 Sep '15

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[Info EN] In memory of Lee, the struggle against the WTO continues
by La Vía Campesina 10 Sep '15

10 Sep '15

IN MEMORY OF LEE, THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE WTO CONTINUES [1] LVC CALL TO ACTION: WTO MINISTERIAL 2015 (Harare, 10 September 2015) Today, as la Via Campesina, we celebrate International Day of Peasant Struggle Against the WTO, and remember the life and legacy of our brother and leader Mr. Lee Kyun Hae. A Korean farmer leader whose right to life with dignity was destroyed by the WTO, Mr. Lee sacrificed himself in 2003 to radically denounce those responsible for the disappearance of peasant economies around the globe. Now, in 2015, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is at it again. Promising to force through "all aspects of the Bali Package", the multilateral killer of farmers will convene its 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya from 15 to 18 December, 2015. Further liberalization of trade is not only on the agenda, it is the agenda, with corporate agribusiness looking to destroy the few public policies that still protect some national food systems. Referred to simply as the "Bali Package", the outcomes of the last WTO Ministerial (2013) were hailed as a victory by the WTO for unlocking a series of deadlocked negotiations on trade, agriculture, and development. La Via Campesina warns, however, that this so-called "victory" for the WTO and the Transnational Corporations (TNCs) that back it came at the expense of the world's poor majorities. As peasants, men and women, around the world organize to achieve Food Sovereignty - in which national governments must support and defend rural communities, cultures, and livelihoods - powerful voices inside the WTO are looking to end the so-called "peace clause" which "allows" national governments to protect their food and agricultural systems. La Via Campesina continues to firmly believe that the WTO is an organization for the "developed" countries and the TNCs, pushing free trade rules that only benefit the rich and concentrate even more wealth in the hands of a few. La Via Campesina reiterates its position that the WTO is a failed and delegitimized institution that is desperately trying to revive itself with its "Bali Package" at the high cost of food sovereignty, livelihoods, jobs, and the future of the people and the planet. In short, La Via Campesina reiterates our call for an End to the WTO and the tyranny of the free trade regime. We redouble our efforts in fighting the corporate-led system and pushing for peoples' alternatives. In December, La Via Campesina will be mobilized in decentralized global aimed at pressuring national governments away from the free trade agenda. We will also be on the streets of Kenya supporting our brothers and sisters from across Africa, and around the globe, who will be demonstrating against the WTO in Nairobi. We invite all those in struggle against the WTO to email your plans for action to [nomorewto.kenya.lvc(a)gmail.com] and help make the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference its last. NO MORE WTO! FOOD SOVEREIGNTY NOW! GLOBALIZE STRUGGLE! GLOBALIZE HOPE! SEE: WTO KILLS FARMERS [2]: NYELENI NEWSLETTER NUMBER 16, DECEMBER 2013. Links: ------ [1] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/10-year… [2] http://www.nyeleni.org/DOWNLOADS/newsletters/Nyeleni_Newsletter_Num_16_EN.p…

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[Info EN] La Via Campesina call to action for COP21 in Paris.
by La Vía Campesina 03 Sep '15

03 Sep '15

PEASANT AGRICULTURE IS A TRUE SOLUTION TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS. [1] LA VIA CAMPESINA CALL TO ACTION FOR COP21 IN PARIS. Climate disruptions this year have again caused widespread hunger, migration and the worsening of living conditions for millions of rural families, especially women and youth. While small farmers around the world continue to produce the food most people eat, glaciers are melting at an alarming rate, species of plants and animals are disappearing daily, islands and nations are being reclaimed by oceans, soils are eroding and forests igniting, and catastrophic events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis are becoming commonplace. Meanwhile, the global food system imposed on people by Transnational Corporations (TNCs) is both a total failure and one of the main causes of the human-induced climate crisis - dependent on fossil fuels to produce, transform and transport, it is responsible for an estimated 44 to 57% of all global greenhouse emissions [2]1. Instead of nutritious food for the world's people, TNCs have produced hunger and obesity, land grabs and rural displacement, and a climate crisis they now hope to cash in on with false solutions sold at the United Nations. Some twenty years since Rio ('92) and Kyoto ('97), governments have met over and over again for their Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change). They have continuously failed to protect and advance people's most fundamental human rights - including the Right to Food - sending delegation upon delegation to climate talks that prioritize private interests over public welfare. Previous agreements and negotiations have moved from compulsory or binding accords to simple pledges that are not even likely to be kept. At the same time, TNCs have secured the political support of co-opted governments to get their interests inserted as bottom-line strategies into the agreements. Carbon markets, so-called "Clean Development Mechanisms" (CDMs), REDD and REDD+, bioenergy and agrofuels, as well as agribusiness' proposed "climate-smart agriculture" package, are just a few of the misleading proposals now on the table. Instead of solving the problem, these false solutions only serve to worsen them. Instead of capping emissions, they create artificial markets and opportunities for the grossest of polluters to continue polluting and do little to reduce the effects of climate disruptions. By pushing the interests of capitalism and the privatization of nature, TNCs are putting the lives of ordinary people, small-scale farmers, peasants and indigenous communities - who work with nature to secure our livelihoods - into ever greater jeopardy. When it comes to food, agriculture, and rural livelihoods, peasant agriculture and local food systems have proven themselves capable of feeding people for centuries. According to the UN Environment Programme, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, FAO and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, small farmers today still produce up to 80% of the food in non-industrialized countries (where the majority of the world's people live). That is why we in La Vía Campesina declare once again that Food Sovereignty - based on peasant agroecology, traditional knowledge, selecting, saving and sharing local adoptive seeds, and control over our lands, biodiversity, waters, and territories - is a true, viable, and just solution to a global climate crisis caused largely by TNCs. To implement Food Sovereignty, however, we need far-reaching change. Among other things, we need comprehensive agrarian reforms, public procurement of peasant production, and an end to destructive free trade agreements (FTA's) promoted by TNCs. In short, we need justice - social, economic, political, and climate justice. In the run-up to COP21 - scheduled for 30 November to 11 December in Paris, France - promises are being made that a "universal, legally binding agreement" will finally be agreed upon. We in La Vía Campesina, representing some 200 million farmers in over 150 peasant organizations, call on governments to prioritize people's needs over corporate interests and agree to real climate solutions - including peasant-based food systems that cool the planet - when they meet at COP21. Corporate solutions are false solutions, and will not solve the climate crisis. Our solutions are real solutions, and should be prioritized by the UN. To ensure our voice is heard, we will be mobilized alongside millions of migrants, farmers, workers, women, young people, students, and climate justice activists expected on the streets of Paris. We call on all social movements, people's organizations, civil society and activists from all over the world to mobilize in the context of COP21, to come to Paris in great number and also in a decentralized way in order to advance our proposals and show our opposition to the false solutions TNCs have inserted into the UNFCCC. Governments and delegations have dragged their feet for way too long, and must now meet the needs and expectations of the world's people. Now is the time for true solutions, for Food Sovereignty, and for an end to the corporate capture of the UNFCCC. KEY DATES TO REMEMBER : [November 28th/29th] Initial Mass Mobilizations for Climate Justice; [November 29th] Descentralized Global Mobilizations for Climate Justice ; [December 5/6th] Global Village / Popular Alternatives Fair; [December 9th] "Peasant Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Day"; [December 12th] "Last Word" Mass Mobilizations for Climate Justice. FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IS A TRUE SOLUTION TO THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CRISIS PEASANT AGROECOLOGY FEEDS THE WORLD AND COOLS THE EARTH CLIMATE JUSTICE INCLUDES MIGRANTS, YOUTH AND WOMEN CONTACTS: [French] Josie Riffaud / josieriffaud(a)yahoo.fr / 33.5.56.23.65.09 / Confédération Paysanne (France), LVC International Environmental and Climate Justice Collective; [Spanish] Edgardo Garcia / edgardogarcia2007(a)yahoo.es / 505.888.72973 / Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo (Nicaragua), LVC International Climate and Environmental Justice Collective; [English and Spanish] Carlos Marentes / cmarentess(a)gmail.com / 1.915.873.8933 / Border Farm Workers Project - Unión de Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos (U.S.A.), LVC International Climate and Environmental Justice Collective. [3]1_ [https://www.grain.org/article/entries/4357-food-and-climate-change-the-forg… [4]]_ Links: ------ [1] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/-climat… [2] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/-climat… [3] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/-climat… [4] https://www.grain.org/article/entries/4357-food-and-climate-change-the-forg…

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Via Info EN September 2015