#25Nov: Breaking the silence, ending the violence. Resist patriarchy, Resist capitalism!
by La Via Campesina
#25NOV: BREAKING THE SILENCE, ENDING THE VIOLENCE. RESIST PATRIARCHY,
RESIST CAPITALISM!
25 NOVEMBER 2018, NEGOMBO, SRI LANKA:
We the peasant women of La Via Campesina coming from Americas, Africa,
Europe and Asia and assembled here in Negombo, Sri Lanka this week for
the Global Meeting of Women Articulation, unanimously condemn all forms
of violence and discrimination against women and girls everywhere.
We say this while we realise that much remains to be done - to ensure
that the violence that has occurred and is still occurring today in our
countries, in our homes, in our organizations, rooted in patriarchy,
taking the form of rape and commodification of women, is erased from our
society, our territories, our bodies and lives.
On this 25th of November and every day, the peasants of La Via Campesina
say:
"Let us put an end to violence against women, break the silence, resist
and confront patriarchy and capitalism. We are against all types of
violence that still affect many women in rural and urban areas. We must
overcome barbarism, fascism and the lack of respect for the most
fundamental rights. We must fight today and every day as a working
class. We understand that capitalism is the main source of inequality
and that many forms of violence emerge from these inequalities. That is
why this struggle is such a class struggle.
Our proposal and our tools for transformation come from the land in
which we women are anchored. It comes from the land cultivated in
agroecology to achieve food sovereignty; from the collective research we
carry out for the construction of equality in our spaces of action and
study; from the marches and struggles in which, women participate to
build the NEW WOMAN AND THE NEW MAN that will build the new society.
It is clear to us that the only way to end machismo is to confront
oppression and exploitation and that only women and men organized in our
popular, peasant, urban, fishing and forest peoples' movements can carry
out this struggle for the construction of equality.
We peasants of the world of Via Campesina, present in the 81 countries
of the world, say YES to equality, and END to violence against women. We
want and commit ourselves daily to building a life without violence,
discrimination and exploitation against women.
THE SOCIETY WE WANT IS FREE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN!
CONTACT FOR INTERVIEWS:
ES: Nury Martinez |Fensuagro Colombia| +57 310 772 0098
FR: Ehaibi Torkia| 0026 93116634
EN: Anuka de Silva|Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform|Sri
Lanka|+94 71 588 3723
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Two years after the signing of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia (FARC)
by La Via Campesina
TWO YEARS AFTER THE SIGNING OF THE PEACE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COLOMBIAN
GOVERNMENT AND THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA (FARC)
LA VIA CAMPESINA
As is widely known, on November 24th, 2016, the government of President
Juan Manuel Santos, on behalf of the Colombian State, and the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia-FARC (which has now become a
legal political party) signed a peace agreement. This agreement brought
to an end an armed conflict which had debilitated the people of Colombia
for more than 50 years, and which had profound economic, political and
social effects, creating painful divisions in Colombian society, its
social fabric and within families.
La Vía Campesina, an organisation bringing together 200 million women
and men peasants from all over the world, which, at the request of the
concerned parties, is one of the guarantors of the peace process, is
very worried to see that, two years after being signed, key aspects of
fundamental points in the Agreement for the Ending of the Conflict and
the Building of a Stable and Lasting Peace have been modified by the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Colombian State.
Thus, for example, Point 1, known as Comprehensive Rural Reform, calls
for a rural registry to be created during the next ten years in order to
clarify problems of land ownership. It provides for the creation of a
Land Fund of 3 million hectares for landless or land-poor peasants, as
well as for the massive clarification and formalization of property
titles on 7 million hectares of landholdings. There has been practically
no compliance with these provisions involving a total of 10 million
hectares.
With regard to Point 4: Solving the Illicit Drugs Problem is another
vital point for the Colombian countryside and for rural communities. It
calls for comprehensive plans, voluntary eradication, the participation
of local and departmental authorities, and for government funding of
substitution projects and programmes, all including dialogue with
communities and community participation. These engagements have not been
complied with; they have been replaced by criminalisation, prosecution,
and punishment. Such departures from the Agreement had already started
under the previous government of Juan Manuel Santos. They have been
accentuated by the policies of the new president, Iván Duque, who has
decided to give priority to forced eradication and aerial spraying with
glyphosate, which has had serious effects on the health of human beings,
animals and plants. These policies concretise a military and legally
punitive approach to a problem that is above all social and economic.
Essential features of fundamental parts of the Agreement, such as the
Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), were modified by the different
branches of power. For instance, the obligation of third parties to
testify at investigations has been eliminated. This not only prevents
society from learning about the real participation of multinationals and
that of national actors with ties to the banking and trading sectors and
to cattle ranching and agribusiness - as well as the involvement of
civil servants and civilian agents of the Colombian state in organising,
funding, and supporting paramilitary groups and other structures and
organisations that took part in the protracted armed conflict. As if
this were not enough, the JEP has suffered another blow to its basic
functioning. Its power to investigate and judge members of the military
has been virtually removed, with the nomination of 14 new judges who are
to assume that function. This change will undoubtedly provide a new
cloak of impunity and immunity for military personnel. It will further
weaken the right of victims to truth, justice, reparation, and
non-repetition, as well as to find out what happened to their family
members who were victims of torture, assassination, or forced
disappearance, and to learn the name and identity of those who were
responsible for planning and perpetrating these crimes. This change will
make the work of the JEP, the Truth Commission, and the Special Unit for
the Search for Missing Persons much more difficult. It is all the more
serious when we consider that victims were the central focus of the
Peace Agreement.
The victims not only suffered a mockery of their rights with respect to
this Point in the Agreement; the Colombian Congress also denied them
their right, which had been stipulated in the Agreement, to 16
congressional seats.
The political reform that was provided for in the signing of the
Agreement is another point which the Colombian government and state
apparatus have not complied with.
In relation to the Reintegration of FARC ex-combatants, the Peace
Agreement stipulates that each ex-combatant should receive a sum of 12
million pesos for productive projects. There are also guarantees for the
construction and repair of highways as well as for the provision of
other basic services such as housing, health, training and educations -
obligations with which the Colombian state has also failed to comply.
What is most serious and most shocking is that, once the Agreement was
signed, a series of murderous attacks was unleashed against the FARC
ex-combatants and their families as well as against leaders and
activists on the political Left, human rights defenders,
environmentalists, peasants, students, indigenous people, and
Afro-descendants, a relentless wave of criminal extermination that
reminds us of the dark period when the Patriotic Union was obliterated.
For its part, the Colombian State has failed to fulfil its commitment to
combat and dismantle the paramilitary forces and to make them subject to
the force of the law. According to spokespersons from the Colombian
police, the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (Fuerza Alternative
Revolucionaria del Común) recently reported that more criminal attacks
are being plotted against its leaders, activists, and members - one more
stage in the campaign of extermination.
The Democratic Centre and Colombian President Iván Duque have made
repeated announcements regarding the Peace Agreement, on some occasions
expressing a desire to tear it to pieces, and on other occasions
declaring their wish to subject it to major changes and reforms.
Our two International Solidarity Missions to Colombia, the first in 2016
and the second in 2017, gave us a first-hand understanding of the
challenges to peace, of the vision of women and peasants in their
territories, and of the necessity for environmental justice as a
precondition for social justice. We are committed to the peace process
and to our role as guarantor. We will be organising our Third
International Solidarity Commission in 2019, in the fervent hope of
finding a people and a government advancing towards a stable and lasting
peace.
For all of these reasons, La Via Campesina is appealing to the Colombian
People, to all of our member organisations in different parts of the
world, as well as to the international community, the United Nations,
the FAO, the ILO, the European Union, the Non-aligned Countries,
governments, organisations, and personalities. We are asking them to
speak out and to demand complete fulfilment, without reforms or delays,
of the Final Agreement for the Ending of the Conflict and the Building
of a Stable and Lasting Peace.
CONTACTS
Nury Martinez | +57 310 772 0098 | nury254(a)gmail.com
Federico Pacheco | +34 690 651 046 | pachecofederico(a)yahoo.es
Veronique Leon | +33 622 161 399 | verobique(a)gmail.com
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UNITED NATIONS: Third Committee approves the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas
by La Via Campesina
UNITED NATIONS: THIRD COMMITTEE APPROVES THE UN DECLARATION ON THE
RIGHTS OF PEASANTS AND OTHER PEOPLE WORKING IN RURAL AREAS
PRESS RELEASE | LA VIA CAMPESINA
19 NOVEMBER. MONDAY, [NEW YORK]
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) of the UN
General Assembly voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the rights of
peasants and other people working in rural areas, through the Resolution
no. A/C.3/73/L.30 [1].
The resolution was approved by 119 votes in favour, 7 votes against and
49 abstentions [2]. It is a significant leap forward in a campaign led
by La Via Campesina, the world's largest peasant movement supported by
many organizations across the world, including FIAN and CETIM.
The UN Declaration aims to better protect the rights of all rural
populations including peasants, fisherfolks, nomads, agricultural
workers and indigenous peoples and to improve living conditions, as well
as to strengthen food sovereignty, the fight against climate change and
the conservation of biodiversity. The endorsement of the UN Declaration
also constitutes an important contribution to the international
community's effort to promote family farming and peasant agriculture.
Bolivia, the chair of the process, stressed upon the importance of the
UN Declaration in realising more resilient, sustainable and inclusive
societies:
_"We believe this is a major step towards public policies that recognize
not only the rights and needs of peasants but also their contributions
to the well-being and quality of life of the societies they nurture
through their daily work. We are sure that this instrument will play a
central role in human rights as well as in the eradication of hunger and
poverty, in line with Agenda 2030 for sustainable development and the
Decade of Family Farming, without leaving anyone behind."_
Since its adoption at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in late
September, La Via Campesina and its allies' focus has been to make sure
that this UN Declaration is adopted by the UN General Assembly. La Via
Campesina delegates who have been present in New York since the
beginning of the Third Committee session expressed their satisfaction
after the voting results.
_"In this historic moment, in which financial capital and corporations
are deepening their offensive to monopolize food and concentrate land
and natural goods, at the cost of our lives, the adoption of the
Declaration of Peasant Rights in the Third Committee of the UN General
Assembly is a strategic victory, not only for peasants but for the
peoples of the world as a whole. We will continue on this long path of
struggle and unity, for rights and social justice, convinced that full
democracy is only possible through Agrarian Reform, the social function
of land and the full enjoyment of the rights of peasants", SAID DIEGO
MONTON LA VIA CAMPESINA (CLOC)_
The Committee's approval of the UN Declaration was marked by some debate
but it benefited from a consistent support from Africa, Asia and Latin
America regions. Some negative reactions came from Europe and other
regions, with the US delegation rejecting the text as they have
longstanding concerns about the UN Declaration, which sought to expand
upon existing rights, singling out the human rights of peasants above
those of other groups, and also on the collective rights stipulated in
the contents. The European countries were divided in their response.
_"In the Third Committee, where all the UN countries participate, we
have witnessed a great diversity of positions in Eastern and Western
Europe. For those who supported us, we thank them greatly. Your votes in
favour put human values in human rights, giving hope for millions of
peasants, men and women, across the continent. For those who abstained
or voted against, we wish to tell you that peasants and small family
farmers in your countries cannot be left behind", SAID RAMONA
DUMINICIOIU FROM LA VIA CAMPESINA EUROPE._
_"After December's UNGA approval, we will start a new chapter of the
Rights of Peasants and we are demanding that all UN countries commit
themselves to implementing the Declaration. We are determined to
contribute to a better society, to fight climate change, to end hunger,
to provide diverse and nutritious food for everyone",_ she added.
ZAINAL ARIFIN FUAT, FROM LA VIA CAMPESINA ASIA, said that this
declaration is a landmark moment in the peasants struggle.
_"The Declaration acknowledges the prominent role that peasants play in
solving multiple crises facing us today - food, environmental, social
and economic. Peasants are essential to food security and sovereignty
and the realization of the right to food, particularly in developing
countries where they provide up to 80% of the food locally consumed.
This UN Declaration will also contribute to the humanity's efforts to
end poverty, hunger and achieving our sustainable development goals. In
Asia, we believe that if our rights are recognized and further
protected, people will be able to develop rural areas and then avoid the
rural-urban migration that creates insoluble problems", he added._
_"The scramble for resources that is going on in the African continent
and elsewhere has put peasants in an extremely vulnerable position. The
ongoing attack on peasant seed systems have repercussions that go beyond
those who produce the food. It indeed affects everyone. For 17 years we
have been patiently campaigning for an international instrument that can
protect our rights as peasants and to guard our food systems from being
dismantled to favour a few. It is a proud moment today for millions of
peasants worldwide, who never give up when faced with adversity", SAID
ELIZABETH MPOFU, GENERAL COORDINATOR OF LA VIA CAMPESINA_
_"The power of the peasant movement is being felt at the highest level
of international governance: for this, we must acknowledge the hard work
and passion of so many peasants worldwide. The solidarity of peasants
internationally is a testament to how closely we and our issues are
linked, regardless of where we live. However, today is only a stepping
stone on the long path of human rights justice for rural people. We must
carry forward this momentum and put the declaration into action at every
level of society," SAID JESSIE MACINNIS, LA VIA CAMPESINA NORTH AMERICA_
The UN Declaration will be formally ratified by the UN General Assembly
on December 2018, following the decision taken by the Third Committee
this afternoon.
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EDITOR'S NOTE:
Information Note on UN Declaration can be downloaded here [3]
Full text of the Resolution and Declaration is here [4]
For more information, visit www.viacampesina.org [5]
PRESS CONTACT:
Ramona Duminicioiu (English, French) : +40 746 337 022 ,
ramona(a)ecoruralis.ro
Jessie MacInnis: (English) : +1 (902) 292-1040 ,
jessiemacinnis(a)gmail.com
Diego Monton (Spanish) : +54 9 261 561-5062 , diegomonton(a)gmail.com
Links:
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[1] http://undocs.org/en/A/C.3/73/L.30
[2] http://www.un.org/en/ga/third/73/docs/voting_sheets/L.30.pdf
[3]
https://viacampesina.org/en/information-note-un-declaration-on-rights-of-...
[4] http://undocs.org/A/C.3/73/L.30
[5] http://www.viacampesina.org/
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