Via-info-en June 2023

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Urgent: La Via Campesina and ECVC express their dismay at the authoritarian drift in France
by La Via Campesina 29 Jun '23

29 Jun '23

LA VIA CAMPESINA AND ECVC EXPRESS THEIR DISMAY AT THE AUTHORITARIAN DRIFT IN FRANCE Bagnolet | 28 June 2023: Instead of finding real answers to the environmental, social and democratic crises, the French government is choosing to imprison activists and ban movements critical of the extractivist agro-industrial model. On 21 June, the French government announced the dissolution of the movement Les Soulèvements de la Terre, which campaigns against land and water grabbing and the destruction of ecosystems. That same week, dozens of activists were arrested by the anti-terrorist police, on the pretext that they had taken part in demonstrations against mega-basins, extractivist industries or agro-industry and its pollution. On June 28th, two peasant trade unionists from the _Confédération Paysanne_, Nicolas Girod and Benoît Jaunet, along with Julien LeGuet, spokesperson for the collective _Bassines non merci_, were arrested by the police for their involvement in organizing these collective gatherings as representatives of their respective organizations. They were released later in the day but received court summonses for the month of September. Such acts of repression against legitimate protests are unacceptable and unjust, creating a negative precedent and seeking to intimidate all defenders of fundamental rights. In this context it seems that the FNSEA, a French farmers' union, has also been calling for the dissolution of La Confédération Paysanne. We, La Via Campesina and European Coordination Via Campesina, stand together with our member organisation in France, La Confédération Paysanne. We firmly reject these threats and will act decisively in Europe and around the world to ensure that La Confédération Paysanne and its members can continue to defend peasant agriculture and its workers. We express our support for Les Soulèvements de la Terre (the Uprisings of the Earth ). These tens of thousands of young people mobilising to ensure land and water are shared fairly, which is an expression of the acute sense of responsibility that young people have in the face of social inequalities and the destruction of ecosystems. We call on the French Government to cease its violations of human rights, and in particular of the rights recognised in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Rural Workers (UNDROP), such as freedom of thought, opinion and expression, freedom of association and the right to participation. We call on our member organisations and allied organisations to mobilise in support of the Confédération Paysanne and social movements in France, in particular by sending letters to French embassies and the French government and by organising rallies in front of French embassies. ------------------------- For interview requests and queries, contact: Morgan Ody , ECVC CC Member, LVC General Coordinator, Member of La Confédéraation Paysanne (FR, EN, ES) ECVC/LVC press offices: press(a)eurovia.org , press(a)viacampesina.org ------------------------- Sign petition Click here [1] Links: ------ [1] https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/i/kOOHb1po

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Nyéléni Newsletter No. 52: Recognizing the power of people’s movements
by La Via Campesina 17 Jun '23

17 Jun '23

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Nyéléni process: Recognizing the power of people’s movements *The new edition of the Nyéléni newsletter is online!* In 2007 the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) played a vital role in uniting small-scale food producers and their allies to establish a shared vision of food sovereignty and implement strategies to make it a reality. Over time, a robust global movement for food sovereignty emerged, gaining significant political recognition. Together, we have achieved the democratization of global food and agricultural arenas, including the reform of the Committee on World Food Security. Our struggles also influenced food sovereignty policies in various national contexts and successfully secured political acknowledgment of peasants as rights holders through the ratification of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas. However, our achievements are now under threat due to an extended period of systemic crises. Right-wing forces, authoritarian regimes, and the corporate capture of democratic governance spaces are on the rise globally, accompanied by the dismantling of the United Nations multilateral system. Human rights violations against peasant and Indigenous communities, along with climate change, biodiversity loss, armed conflicts, and hunger, are escalating rapidly. Furthermore, renewed threats to food sovereignty come from new business configurations, in which hedge fund speculation firms and digital technology titans join forces to oil the wheels of the failing agro-industrial production system. In this context, the IPC advocates for a new global Nyéléni process, leading up to the next Nyéléni Global Forum in India in 2025. Recognizing the power of people’s movements, we aim to strengthen solidarity and unity by bridging local and global struggles. We are striving to adopt an intersectional perspective to address the multi-dimensional global crisis effectively. By collaborating with climate justice, workers’ rights, feminist, solidarity economy, anti-war, youth, and other movements, we seek to resist the corporate takeover of governance spaces, safeguard human and collective rights worldwide, protect ecosystems, and secure a dignified life on Earth for present and future generations. /IPC for food sovereignty, Friends of the Earth International, La Via Campesina, Transnational Institute/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ /Click here to download the English edition (pdf)/ <https://nyeleni.org/DOWNLOADS/newsletters/Nyeleni_Newsletter_Num_52_EN.pdf> or read it directly in the website <https://nyeleni.org/en/category/newsletters-nyeleni-in-english/newsletter-n…>! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For any further information, contact info(a)nyeleni.org – www.nyeleni.org *Circulate it!* /... Illustration: /Andrés Mateo Ayala Luna @calma_88 <https://www.instagram.com/calma_88/> Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL> Twitter <https://twitter.com/via_campesina> Link <https://www.instagram.com/la_via_campesina_official/> Website <www.viacampesina.org/en> To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here <https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en> For questions or comments, email *communications(a)viacampesina.org* <mailto:communications@viacampesina.org> *Website:* www.viacampesina.org <www.viacampesina.org/en>

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Political Declaration of the Youth Articulation Meeting in Indonesia
by La Via Campesina 14 Jun '23

14 Jun '23

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Political Declaration of the Youth Articulation Meeting in Indonesia Bagnolet | June 13, 2023 We, the peasant youth delegates of Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe of La Via Campesina gathered at the International Youth Articulation Meeting in Banten, Indonesia from 29 May to 2 June, 2023. Dozens of us traveled from our communities to strengthen our relationships, prepare for the VIII Conference and our 5th international youth assembly, develop a collective strategic action plan, and ultimately, demonstrate our commitment to La Via Campesina. United in our diversity, during our time together we shared common challenges, strategized about alternatives together, and committed ourselves to carry forward collective proposals in a spirit of solidarity, internationalism and systemic transformation. We reflected on our respective regional processes, concerns, and dynamics in the framework of the common struggle for food sovereignty and the fight for peasants’ rights. We recognize the significance of connecting not only with our cultural roots, but to learn from and with senior members of our organizations and communities to bring their experiences and wisdom to our current struggles. We understand the importance of walking hand in hand with the goal of expanding our bases, reaching those fighting capitalism, imperialism, and colonization on different fronts, and forging alliances with other youth movements. Together, we will strive for a world built on solidarity, human dignity, and social justice, amplifying our presence in all the spaces where we fight. Today, more than ever, we are convinced that peasant agroecology, peasants’ rights, and Popular Peasant Feminism, are critical pathways towards food sovereignty and climate justice. With strength and unwavering passion, during our time together in Banten we outlined our course of action to confront the challenges of our time. We stand in solidarity with the struggles for food sovereignty and commit ourselves to advancing our political priorities for the empowerment of our movement. Additionally, we pledge to intensify our fight against the climate crisis and engage in profound discussions about agricultural systems and new technologies, emphasizing the primacy of agriculture for and by peasants, including the preservation of biodiversity and the integration of indigenous technological knowledge (ITK). Crucially, we came to clear understanding that the crisis of generational renewal in agriculture is global in scope. Both our organizations and the countryside are suffering from the increasing lack of young peasant farmers. Land grabbing, free trade agreements, and a lack of access to markets and financial resources, among others, were identified as critical causes of youth flight from agriculture. Simultaneously, we are observing a phenomenon of forced youth migration, as they are compelled to depart from their countries and enter the workforce as exploited cheap labor within the agribusiness sector. We stand in solidarity with migrants, and we commit to expanding the mobilization of young peasants within our communities by asserting our rights protected under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP <https://viacampesina.org/en/tag/undrop-booklet-2022/>). We believe that young peasants are the future of food, but we need drastic systemic change to ensure there are adequate resources and support to guarantee dignified livelihoods in agriculture for us and the next generations. We, the peasant youth, possess the determination to change the world. We are the agents of a vibrant future, wielding the collective power to dismantle existing systems and propel society forward. We dare to dream of utopia, to strive for what may seem impossible, to nurture revolutionary aspirations for a just and equitable world. We cultivate radical hope, as we strive , fight, and emerge as the heralds of tomorrow. Now is the time to infuse our movement with joy and creativity and share our visions and solutions far and wide. We possess the potential to be the turning point, shaping the future of the world and society. United, we stand against converging forces of hegemonic food systems: patriarchal capitalism, authoritarian governments, and multinational corporations . These neo-colonizers and capitalists, shielded by their wealth from the realities of the world, will not listen to us. But this shouldn’t discourage us: we must create the alternative systems we seek to live in. To do so, we must be organized, disciplined, and committed to expanding our movement and carry our collective goals. Let our voices reverberate across the planet, reaching every corner. To achieve food sovereignty across scales, the youth must embrace farming and political organization dynamics, prioritize peasants’ rights, climate justice, peasant agroecology, seed sovereignty, and generational renewal in agriculture, as the cornerstones of our discourse. In order to achieve political and systemic goals, we must be organized. During our gathering, we committed to specific tasks related to communicating our struggles, developing political education strategies, and strengthening our organizational structures. Over the next four years we will work together and hold ourselves accountable to implementing the action plan that we created collectively. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Unity in diversity, youth peasants change the world!* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For more information, please contact us at press(a)viacampesina.org Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL> Twitter <https://twitter.com/via_campesina> Link <https://www.instagram.com/la_via_campesina_official/> Website <www.viacampesina.org/en> To unsubscribe from the mailing list click here <https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en> If you have any questions or comments, please send an email to *viacampesina(a)viacampesina.org* <mailto:viacampesina@viacampesina.org> *Website:* www.viacampesina.org <www.viacampesina.org/en>

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Via-info-en June 2023