Via Info EN November 2019

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[Info EN] With Rights and in Democracy, we will continue building Social and Climate Justice! - Communique: La Via Campesina – COP 25
by La Via Campesina 29 Nov '19

29 Nov '19

WITH RIGHTS AND IN DEMOCRACY, WE WILL CONTINUE BUILDING SOCIAL AND CLIMATE JUSTICE! 29 NOVEMBER 2019 AGROECOLOGY AND PEASANTS'SEEDS [1], CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE [2], INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY [3] COMMUNIQUE: LA VIA CAMPESINA – COP 25 (Harare, November 29, 2019) Convinced that_ WITH RIGHTS AND IN DEMOCRACY, WE WILL CONTINUE BUILDING SOCIAL AND CLIMATE JUSTICE_, La Via Campesina calls for action in Madrid and Santiago in the context of the United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP 25. We unite our voice with that of the Chilean People in their mass mobilizations against President Sebastián Piñera and his neoliberal extractivist policies, demanding nothing less than a new Constitution. Moreover, we condemn the State of Chile's brutal violence and its attempt to continue its 'presidency' of the COP 25 while unilaterally renouncing its responsibilities under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The fact that COP 25 was transferred from Santiago de Chile to Madrid only serves to strengthen our firm belief that there is only one way to ensure Food Sovereignty and Social and Climate Justice: full democracy and an inviolable respect for human, peasant and indigenous peoples' rights, and the rights of all those who fight and resist. This is why the People's Summit [4] in Santiago is still on and why the Social Summit on Climate [5] is now being organized for Madrid. La Via Campesina will be mobilized in both of these spaces of solidarity and exchange, working alongside peoples and youth from throughout the world fighting the capitalist system. For years now, La Via Campesina has denounced the co-option of the UNFCCC by transnational corporations and the governments that represent their interests. The numerous contradictions of the Paris Agreement (COP 21) - including its non-binding nature and inability to overcome the logic of markets - are a direct result of this co-option. This is also true of COP 25, where mechanisms of 'international cooperation' are set to be defined so that 'Intended Nationally Determined Contributions' can be met. In other words, market mechanisms will be sought that allow certain countries - and their transnational corporations - to keep polluting to the detriment of the climate and our rights. In 2018 and 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed what our peoples and organizations have been saying for some time: the climate crisis has already hit Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas; agribusinesses has played a major part in creating the crisis; and we must take urgent action to completely transform our societies! We are already witnessing multiple examples of the climate crisis: Cyclone Idai in Mozambique; the flooding of Karnataka and Maharastra in India; heatwaves of over 45° C that have devastated Europe and North America; and the burning of the Amazon in South America. La Via Campesina believes firmly that the climate should not change. Instead, action must be taken without delay for a complete turnaround, changing the capitalist system that exploits, pollutes and uses up our commons, which are the heritage of peoples throughout the world. This urgent and much needed transformation must be implemented through a just transition and will only be possible if the rights of peasants, indigenous peoples and all those working in rural areas are fully respected. This means ending all forms of violence against women and diverse people; and democratically controlling land, water, territories and other commons. Peasant communities across the world already feed the majority of people (70% of the world's population) with minimal access to agricultural resources (25%). Meanwhile, monocrop agribusinesses exporters destroy biodiversity, cause illness, displace communities, drive global warming and massacre those who stand up against them. La Via Campesina categorically rejects all false solutions to the climate crisis, including carbon markets (especially on farmlands), REDD and REDD+, agrofuels, GMOs and the so-called 'climate-smart agriculture', not to speak of the extremely dangerous geoengineering. We want food sovereignty based on peasant agroecology, social and climate justice through a just transition and respect for the majorities. This is what we work for in our respective countries, day in and day out. History has taught us that solutions come from the peoples. At COP25, we insist that our so-called "representatives" assume their responsibilities instead of simply serving the interests of capital. There is no better example of the relationship between rights, democracy and climate justice than the current criminal coup d'état in Bolivia. In the Plurinational State of Bolivia, an anti-democratic opposition party, alongside the financial elite and transnational powers - with the complicity of the Bolivian army and police - aim to impose total privatization. They are doing this with guns, lies and censorship. The indigenous and peasant majority population of Bolivia was an honourable partner in the work that led to the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants. Now, the doors of democracy and rights are being slammed in their faces. La Via Campesina demands an End to the Coup d'état in Bolivia! >From Santiago to Madrid to La Paz, and every corner of the planet, we will stand up to tell the world: _WITH RIGHTS AND IN DEMOCRACY, WE WILL CONTINUE BUILDING SOCIAL AND CLIMATE JUSTICE!_ PRESS CONTACT DETAILS: * Javier Sanchez +34 625 09 27 49 | jsanchez(a)agrazar.com * Isabel Salcedo Quiroga +34 677 16 13 19 | isabelsalcedoquiroga(a)gmail.com Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/biodiversity-and-genet… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/climate-change-and-agr… [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/international-solidari… [4] https://cumbredelospueblos2019.org/ [5] https://cumbresocialclima.net/

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[Info EN] La Via Campesina defends the Peace Agreement in Colombia
by La Via Campesina 22 Nov '19

22 Nov '19

LA VIA CAMPESINA DEFENDS THE PEACE AGREEMENT IN COLOMBIA 22 NOVEMBER 2019 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY [1] _Third anniversary of the signing of the Peace Agreement in Colombia - La Via Campesina Press Release_ (Harare: November 22, 2019) On November 24, 2019, the Colombian people and the entire world saw with hope the signing of the Final Agreement for the End of the conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP) and the Colombian State. This fact constitutes a historic opportunity to building peace in a country that for more than 50 years has suffered the wrath of violence materialized in multiple economic, political and social dimensions, in addition to seriously weakening the country's social structures. Three years into the process of building peace, La Via Campesina - organization that brings together millions of peasants in the world and was designated by the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP as an international accompanying partner in the implementation process of the agreements - observes with deep concern the meagre progress in the materialization of the commitments for the termination of the conflict and, worse still, what seems to be a misrepresentation of the spirit of what was agreed in Havana. This situation is evidenced by the lack of significant advances in the implementation of the agreement which, as of February 28, 2019, had only about 23% of its aspects implemented fully[1] [2]. It should be noted that the legislative procedures necessary to continue with the implementation have not been made and 57% of the required regulations are still pending processing in Congress. Some examples are the Law for the Creation of the Multipurpose Cadastral System, the law on Differentiated Criminal Treatment for small farmers linked to crops used for illicit purposed and the Land Adaptation Law, whose bills for discussion in Congress are on file, although they constitute priority implementation laws for the development of the first point of the Agreement referring to Integral Rural Reform. We are concerned with the fact that not even the first hectare of land has been distributed through the Land Fund[2] [3]. According to the National Development Plan of the current Government, progress in the point of Access to Land will be registered in accordance with the titles formalized and not in relation to the hectares to be distributed - an approach that distorts what is established in the Framework Plan for the implementation of the Agreement. During the first year of Ivan Duque´s government, a total of 73,465 hectares of small- and medium-sized holdings have been formalized. This represents only 8.7% of the formalization that should be achieved annually to meet the goal established in the Agreement (to provide and formalize 10 million hectares through the Land Fund). Furthermore, the mentioned goal is based on a total term of 12 years, contrary to what is established in the agreement which is 10 years for formalization[3] [4]. The situation of crops used for illicit purposes is equally disappointing. To address this issue, the Peace Agreement prioritizes voluntary eradication, through consultation between the State and the communities. However, the current Government has put forward the use of coercive strategies to eradicate illicit crops, using aerial spraying with glyphosate according to the terms recently established by the Constitutional Court. The approach Duque´s government has adopted results in the stigmatization, repression and prosecution of small farmers and ignores the social and economic nature of this problem. We note with concern that by prioritizing forced eradication, the current Government approach does not consider the implementation of the National Comprehensive Program for the Substitution of Illicit Crops (PNIS) and the Integral Rural Reform (RRI), a situation that not only violates the spirit of the Final Agreement, whose central axis is voluntary and concerted substitution, but also aggravates the vulnerability of smallholder farmers linked to illicit crops, who are deprived of food and technical assistance to undertake productive alternatives. Only 0.7% of the families that are complying with the substitution agreements are linked to productive projects[4] [5], a situation that affects the medium- and long-term sustainability of the PNIS because small farmers might be forced to return again to crops used for illicit purposes in the absence of productive alternatives. It is necessary to refer to the alarming modifications that the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) has suffered. One of the modifications is the Constitutional Court verdict whereby the third party's obligation to go to the JEP is eliminated. This decision affects the process of knowing the truth, which is the core of transitional justice, violating the right of Colombian society to know what really happened in the context of the armed conflict. In this way, the possibility of knowing about the participation in financing and supporting paramilitary groups and other structures involved in the war by multinational companies, nationals linked to banking, cattle latifundios, agribusiness, public officials and other civilians, is limited to the will of the third parties involved. We want to call attention to the danger that represents the creation of a differentiated procedure for the military within the organic structure of the JEP. The draft legislative act, promoted by the Government's party, aims to create new sections within the Peace Tribunal, which will have the exclusive role of gathering the facts committed by the military in the conflict, a situation that puts in serious threat the Victims' right to know the truth and receive justice, reparation and guarantee of non-repetition, which allows the veil of impunity to be unravelled. Moreover, this devastating draft legislative act violates the right of Colombian society to know the truth about what happened in more than half a century of war, obstructing not only the work of the JEP but also of the Commission of truth, and the commission for the search of missing persons. The rights of the victims, whose protection has been one of the essential characteristics of the Peace Agreement between the Colombian State and the FARC-EP, are not only being violated in relation to the component of the truth, but also in relation to their right to be an active political subject in the process of implementing and building peace. That is the impression left by the fact that Congress has filed the bill that creates the Special Circumscriptions for Peace, a situation that prevents the political representation of these populations and their economic, political, social and cultural rights. The limited advances in the process of reparations for victims are also discouraging. In Colombia 7,155,469 subjects of reparation has been identified; However, since the policy was launched, the country has only made progress in reparations for 898,540 people - roughly 12% of the total. In this regard, it seems that the current Government has no real commitment to the implementation of victim reparation policies, an impression reinforced by the fact that during the first year of the Duque's Government the annual average of victims reparation has been reduced to less than half. We also want to express concerns referring to the reinstatement of former FARC-EP combatants, now grouped in the political party called "Common Revolutionary Alternative Force". There are several commitments made by the State in terms of reinstatement, which include the subsidy for productive initiatives and land titling of the ex-combatant population. The figures indicate that the Government has approved 29 collective productive proposals of the ex-combatants, of which only 19 have received their respective disbursement. Likewise, the number of beneficiaries is limited, since the approved projects cover only 14% of the population in the process of reinstatement, and those disbursed only cover 9% of this population[5] [6]. This reality leaves the ex-combatants in a situation of uncertainty about the effectiveness of the process of economic and social reintegration. State actions to provide security guarantees to ex-combatants, as well as social leaders and human rights defenders have also been insufficient. We observe with concern the climate of violence unleashed after the signing of the peace agreement, including a special concern for the human rights violations resulting from the systematic murder of the ex-FARC combatants and their families as well as of leftist leaders and activists, human rights defenders, environmentalists, peasants, students, indigenous and Afro-descendants, resembling the past extermination of the Patriotic Union. In this context, it is impossible to identify any government commitment at all to keep to the compromise of fighting and dismantling paramilitarism. Having handed in their weapons as part of the Peace Agreement, the FARC turned Common Revolutionary Alternative Force Party - has denounced the murder of 150 ex-combatants since. During the first year of Iván Duque's government, 236 homicides of social leaders and human rights defenders have also been registered[6] [7]. We perceive the absence of political will to comply with the Security Guarantees contemplated in the agreement due to the inefficiency of the State to face the situation of human rights violations. The peace agreement implementation process suffers from what appears to be a lack of political will from the Government to comply with the agreement. We sound an alarm about the lack of commitment in the development of a peace pedagogy as well as the fact that Government authorities - especially those of the Government's party - attacking congressmen of the Common Revolutionary Alternative Force Party as well as other members of opposition parties and social leaders. This atmosphere appears to be an official state policy reluctant to move forward in a process of reconciliation, while a stigmatization and extermination process of opposition sectors is operating. Given the current status of implementation of the Peace Agreement, LA VIA CAMPESINA calls on the Colombian People, the international community, the United Nations, FAO, the ILO, the European Union, the Non-Aligned Countries, Governments, Organizations and international solidarity in general, to surround the Peace Agreement in Colombia, demand unfettered compliance with the commitments assumed and demand that the dialogue not be replaced with the silence of violence. LA VIA CAMPESINA , 24 NOVEMBER 2019 ------------------------- [1] [8] Kroc Institute for international peace studies. Tercer informe sobre la implementación del Acuerdo de Paz: La implementación sigue Progresando. 2019. [2] [9] CSIVI-FARC. Centro de Pensamiento y Diálogo Político. La implementación del Acuerdo de Paz durante el Gobierno de Iván Duque. Tendencia a la Perfidia y la simulación. 2019. [3] [10] ¿En qué va el Acuerdo de Paz a un año del Gobierno de Duque? Retos y Recomendaciones. Seguimiento multi-partidista a la implementación del Acuerdo de paz. 2019. [4] [11] La implementación del Acuerdo de Paz durante el Gobierno de Iván Duque. Tendencia a la Perfidia y la simulación. CSIVI-FARC. Centro de Pensamiento y Diálogo Político. [5] [12] CSIVI-FARC. Centro de Pensamiento y Diálogo Político. La implementación del Acuerdo de Paz durante el Gobierno de Iván Duque. Tendencia a la Perfidia y la simulación. 2019. [6] [13] Subcomisión de DDHH Cumbre Agraria, Campesina Étnica y Popular, informe para el período del 7 de agosto de 2018 al 4 de agosto de 2019. Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/international-solidari… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [12] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in… [13] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-defends-the-peace-agreement-in…

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[Info EN] La Via Campesina’s Call to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
by La Via Campesina 20 Nov '19

20 Nov '19

LA VIA CAMPESINA'S CALL TO THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (Harare, November 19, 2019) From 25 to 30 November 2019, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, La Via Campesina is calling upon its members and allies to carry out mobilizations and actions to strengthen our collective struggle for a conscious and free society, which does not exploit humans and nature. The global peasant movement denounces the capitalist, patriarchal, racist and colonising system that exploits, oppresses and attacks the lives of women and humanity in general. We, as La Via Campesina, unite with all those women and people of diverse identities who resist, organise and struggle to achieve a fair and egalitarian society that works in solidarity, by keeping love and respect at its core. In an environment of structural violence, we see that fascism is gaining strength and is particularly leading to the erosion of the rights of working-class women. The current capitalist patriarchal system harasses and kills poor people, women and those who fight to create a better society. It's alarming to see the growing statistics on a global scale of physical and sexual violence against women, young girls and people of diverse identities. These instances of violence occur against a backdrop of impunity and injustice perpetrated by a sexist, misogynist and patriarchal system. At the same time, it is disturbing to observe the increase in the erosions of workers' rights and social rights, as well as the growing numbers of women in temporary, precarious and demoralising employment. Today, migrant and displaced women and people of diverse identities, including those living in conflict zones, are vulnerable and exposed to all kinds of violence and violations of their rights. Many are used as objects in wars and are tortured and forced to perform sexual services in order to survive. This year we also denounce the disappearance of community leaders who are persecuted, imprisoned and murdered for struggling in defense of their territories and rights in countries such as Brazil, Honduras and the Philippines, amongst others. That is why La Via Campesina is using this International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women to ratify its slogan, which transmits the political message: "No More Violence Against Women!" It is a rallying call to strengthen the commitment to carry out actions, to struggle on a permanent and daily basis against all forms and expressions of violence against women, in support of the International Campaign "No More Violence Against Women", that has been a movement since 2008. To this end, as La Via Campesina, we call on our member organisations, our friends and allies to unite on these Days of Struggle from 25 to 30 November 2019 by organising and carrying out, with our allied organisations, marches and actions that fight and denounce violence, to demand that our States grant us public policies that favour our rights. We need to build mechanisms that punish our aggressors and protect victims so we can finally break the cycle of violence against the lives of women. As a sign of unity, we are sharing our campaign's official poster (download posters here [1]), translate it into your local language, print it for your activities and share it with your friends and allies. We share also other social networking materials: (click here to download [2]). LVC has developed a series of 6 postcards on several articles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas related all peasant women rights - download the postcards [3] in ES, EN, FR and share. We also want to give visibility to all the actions carried out in our different territories, we ask you to send your posters, photos, videos and statements to lvcweb(a)viacampesina.org. #POPULARPEASANTFEMINISM #NOMOREVIOLENCEAGAINSTWOMEN #25NOV GLOBALISE THE STRUGGLE! GLOBALISE HOPE! Links: ------ [1] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/tXe77PpxrC4fHJ4 [2] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/R9y2DrkDDDpq3R7 [3] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/SexGmCnkKmYREp7

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[Info EN] Bolivia: La Via Campesina denounces the Coup d’État
by La Via Campesina 12 Nov '19

12 Nov '19

LA VIA CAMPESINA DENOUNCES THE COUP D'ÉTAT IN BOLIVIA HARARE, 10 NOVEMBER 2019: As an international peasant movement, La Via Campesina expresses our deepest solidarity with the people of Bolivia and condemn the racist, class-based and misogynist _COUP D'ÉTAT_ orchestrated by US imperialism and local conservative oligarchs. Furthermore, we call for constant mobilisation and a democratic solution that guarantees the human rights of social leaders. We denounce the role played by the Bolivian Armed Forces and media who choose to reproduce violence, disinformation and destabilisation, in a clear alliance with local and international elites. For the past two weeks we have been following with great concern the increase in violence in Bolivia, as a result of the opposition´s failure to win the elections of 20 October. And despite multiple efforts to create dialogue, the coup plans went ahead to force President Evo Morales and and other officials to the point that were pressured to resign, in an attempt to safeguard peace and safety for the people and their organisations. In this time of crisis, we call on institutions such as the United Nations (UN) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to be vigilant and safeguard both democracy and justice in Bolivia, as these grave events are a threat not only to the exercise of democracy but also to peace and stability across the continent. In this context, it is imperative to preserve the physical and moral integrity of Evo Morales and all other social activists. We call on our member and allied organisations to mobilise and carry out different actions in solidarity to demand an end to the violence, that these events do not go unpunished and to find a solution that is both just and democratic with the peasant, indigenous and popular majorities who continue resisting in defense of the rights they've recovered during the past decade. > Solidarity is the warmth of the peoples! > All our support to our comrades in Bolivia! ------------------------- _ALSO READ: LA VIA CAMPESINA LETTER TO EVO MORALES AYMA , PRESIDENT OF THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA, IN OCTOBER 2019, THANKING HIS GOVERNMENT FOR THE SUPPORT TO PEASANTS' RIGHTS PROCESS [1]_ Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/10/2019-10-15-L…

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Via Info EN November 2019