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UAWC Statement after Israeli military raid on headquarters
by La Via Campesina 09 Jul '21

09 Jul '21

UAWC STATEMENT AFTER ISRAELI MILITARY RAID ON HEADQUARTERS 9 JULY 2021 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY [1] 9 July 2021 (Download PDF UAWC statement [2]) On Wednesday 7 July 2021 at around 3:00 am, Israeli occupation forces raided the headquarters of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) in Ramallah/Al-Bireh, leaving behind a standard military order dictating the closure of our main office for 6 months. When invading, the Israeli occupation forces demolished our entrance door, caused a mess in the office and damaged part of our furniture (see photos and this video [3]posted on twitter). In addition, they stole five hard drives, one laptop, a digital video recorder, as well as several books and documents. UAWC condemns the Israeli raid, the damage done to our office and the military closure order in the strongest terms. This order is illegitimate and clearly politically-motivated. It targets our headquarters in order to disrupt our organization as a whole. The raid and closure order represents a particularly provocative assault on Palestinian sovereignty, considering the fact that our headquarters are located in Area A of the West Bank, which is under full control of the Palestinian Authority, to which we respond. We have moved to another office, where we are continuing our work with high determination to fulfil our obligations and commitments towards thousands of vulnerable Palestinian farmers and their families in Area C. The Israeli raid and closure order cannot be seen detached from the aggressive defamation and defunding campaign by the Israeli government and organizations affiliated with it, directed at UAWC and Palestinian civil society at large. These campaigns have been documented [4]by international NGOs and been recognized [5]and condemned [6]by the UN. More specifically, the Israeli raid on our headquarters cannot be seen in isolation from the 'review' the Dutch government has launched last year into UAWC, in response to pressure from the Israeli government and organizations affiliated with it. This investigation has had a catalysing effect on the defamation and defunding campaign UAWC has been exposed [7]to for years, to disrupt our work in Area C. While UAWC has cooperated with the Dutch review, we cannot ignore it has already done tremendous damage to our organization, partners and and beneficiaries - without any wrongdoing or neglect on UAWC's part having been established so far. We call on our partners and donors, and the Dutch government in particular, to condemn the Israeli raid and closure order against UAWC and to pressure the Israeli authorities to retract that order, so we can restore our organizational capacity. Doing so is also relevant to protecting Palestinian civil society at large against the escalating Israeli campaigns and measures, aimed at entrenching the Israeli occupation and annexation of Palestine and at defeating the Palestinians in their struggle for freedom, human rights and dignity. Following the Israeli raid on and closure of our headquarters, we have received countless solidarity calls and e-mails from local and international civil society organizations and diplomatic missions. We are most grateful for these heartening expressions of support for UAWC. In addition, we warmly welcome all international solidarity and fundraising campaigns (see La Via Campesina Fundraising Campaign [8]) in support of UAWC - they are essential at this critical hour. _UAWC headquarters in Ramallah/Al-Bireh, after Israeli military raid on 7 July 2021 around 3:00am:_ -- Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/international-solidari… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/2021-07-09_S… [3] https://twitter.com/RZabaneh/status/1412678967467913217?s=20 [4] https://target-locked-obs-defenders.org/IMG/pdf/obs_palestine2021ang-1.pdf [5] https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21279&amp… [6] https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-operations-undermined-delegiti… [7] https://www.972mag.com/palestinian-funding-uawc-israel-lobby/ [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/act-now-to-support-gazas-farmers-farmworkers-an…

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LGBTQIA+ Peasants in Struggle: Free Our Land, Free Our Bodies
by La Via Campesina 07 Jul '21

07 Jul '21

Umut Vedat, La Via Campesina LGBTQIA+ PEASANTS IN STRUGGLE: FREE OUR LAND, FREE OUR BODIES BUILDING PRACTICES FOR LIBERATION AND TACKLING LGBTQIA-PHOBIA IN RURAL AREAS ARE ONGOING PROCESSES IN LA VIA CAMPESINA. By Capire Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual. June 28th is International LGBTQIA+ Pride Day. The LGBTQIA+ struggle is diverse and faces different challenges in different parts of the world. The LGBTQIA+ grassroots feminist peasant struggle encompasses and transcends the sense of pride one feels in their own existence--it's about the action of a collective will to promote change toward a world without the fences that control the land and without those that control bodies and sexualities. But this peasant struggle is usually hidden behind hegemonic discourses about who LGBTQIA+ subjects are, as if this were an urban or individual issue. CAPIRE spoke with Paula Gioia, Yeva Swart, Cony Oviedo, and Alessandro Mariano, members of La Via Campesina in Europe and South America, about the participation and the contributions of LGBTQIA+ people to the collective political knowledge of the peasant movement. Paula Gioia is a Brazilian migrant apiarist in Germany, a member of the Association for Peasant Agriculture (_Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft--_AbL), and a representative for Europe in the International Coordination Committee of La Via Campesina. Yeva Swart is a Dutch sheepherder in France and a member of Farmers for the Future _(T__oekomstboeren)_. Cony Oviedo is an educator, communicator, poet, and member of the National Coordination of Indigenous and Rural Women Workers' Organization (_Coordinadora Nacional de Organización __de Mujeres __Trabajadoras Rurales __e Indígenas_--CONAMURI) in Paraguay. Alessandro Mariano is an educator and a member of the National LGBT Collective of the Landless Workers' Movement (_Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra--_MST) in Brazil. THE REAL LIVES OF LGBTQIA+ PEASANTS In the world we live, coming out as gender nonconforming often means feeling lonely. Gender binarism and heteronormative family standards often become obstacles to experiencing diversity, a control that can lead to silence, violence, depression, and alienation. The media and religious sectors promote prejudicial stereotypes that dictate what an LGBTQIA+ person "looks like" or "doesn't look like." "There is an association with an image of someone who likes to have fun, and not someone who can be disciplined or have a life project," Cony Oviedo says. > When people find out you are a lesbian, they say, "you don't look like it" In several parts of the world, people leave rural territories to escape precarious wage work and conflicts with destructive megaprojects imposed by big corporations, pursuing promises of a "better life" in the city. Additionally, family traditions and moral standards in the countryside are also reasons that lead LGBTQIA+ peasants to leave rural areas. "Although in Europe there is not the same level of violence that LGBT people face in other countries, rural areas are often still not a welcoming place for gender diverse people," Paula Gioia says. "It's important to understand and highlight that, when you don't need to worry about hiding yourself, your sexuality, and gender identity, you can contribute much more to our common struggle towards food sovereignty [1]." Especially after the hardships that emerged during the pandemic, many young people are willing to return to the countryside. Organizing communities is a possible strategy to come back stronger and promote mutual support. "Building and living as communities is already such a queer way of living and working together." > For fear of the stigma, many sisters and comrades hide themselves and will only say "I'm lesbian," "I'm bisexual," when they are in spaces they trust... In the communities, there is a culture that passes on from generation to generation. We must promote a cultural change in our behaviors and roles and formulate ways to stop seeing these commands that seem right as if they were natural. Cony Oviedo _Laís Alann, MST, Brasil_ Rural areas are diverse and vast [2], although this is often invisibilized. Indigenous communities, people from traditional Black communities, peoples from forests and waters, small farmers, herders, fishers, beekeepers, migrants, and seasonal workers, who have such diverse ways of living and forms of experiencing their sexuality. In the global South, these multiple possibilities have been and continue to be obstructed by colonial, slave-like, imperialist interventions. "How does the violence imposed against our ancestors' bodies continue to this day against our bodies as well?" Alessandro Mariano asks. FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND FREEDOM TO BE AND LOVE THE WAY WE WANT LGBTQIA+ people are struggling to continue to live in rural areas, resisting agribusiness [3] and producing healthy food and healthy relationships. "Between capitalism and patriarchy, they want to tell us it's all divided, that we are not one," Cony says. For La Via Campesina, these are not different fronts, and separating them into different "boxes" leads to fragmentation that blocks change. The peasant, feminist, Black, Indigenous, migrant, and LGBTQIA+ struggle is a comprehensive struggle for the liberation and self-determination of _body-territories_ and _land-territories._ There is a direct relationship of solidarity between those who produce food and struggle for food sovereignty and the people who need food the most. Yeva Swart says, "often the rhetoric around LGBTQ people is about love, and I think it is much more than that. LGBT struggles and food sovereignty is also about questioning certain powers." Paula adds, "the problems that we have are based on patriarchy and power relations, not on what nature actually offers." MST Brasil THE LGBTQIA+ STRUGGLE IS FEMINIST AND ANTI-PATRIARCHAL For many years, La Via Campesina has been building grassroots peasant feminism [4] as a tool for women's struggle and organizing [5]. In Europe, the movement is also working on the concept of queer feminism, fighting the binary model of patriarchy. By promoting a feminist conversation and practices that are rooted in their territories, the women in the movement face violence and the sexual division of labor, while playing a key role in food sovereignty, producing food, protecting seeds, and sustaining life. According to Cony Oviedo, "La Via Campesina's grassroots peasant feminism is built from the needs of our sisters. It's feminism from everyday life, struggling against agribusiness, mining, and extractivist companies, and it carries the flag for agroecology [6] and food sovereignty." "We live in a binary world where genders overlap. Transsexuality disrupts that, including nonbinary," Alessandro Mariano adds. Sexual and gender diversity is not just about being able to love whoever you want, but also about being able to exist as you are: trans, homosexual, bisexual, intersexual, or asexual. The struggles waged by women and LGBTQIA+ people come together as they challenge the control and violence perpetrated by racist and heteropatriarchal capitalism against bodies and territories. They also come together in the desire to promote change toward an equal and free society. > Peasant feminism is actively fighting against intersectional prejudices faced in today's society. The core of it is that LGBT people and women are questioning gender roles, and the imposed division of work Yeva Swart Grassroots organizations are tasked to radically change society, and this includes building relationships of camaraderie, respect, and parity. This way, organizing spaces can be territories that are free from inequality, exploitation, and discrimination. "In the long-established tradition of the peasant struggle, which is deep-rooted in the idea of male leaders, there is a process of expanding this struggle to include women and all this diversity. More women, more trans, lesbian, and bisexual people," Alessandro says about the challenges facing La Via Campesina. The experience in Europe also points to the need to change the bases of patriarchal relationships. "The roles for male and female on the farms are often very strict. There are a lot of similarities in the different European countries and the discussion that we launched in the European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) was important to realize and understand that each of us is not alone and, secondly, to start developing strategies to strengthen ourselves and our contributions to the movement as well," Paula says. European Coordination Via Campesina [7] (ECVC), 2018 GRASSROOTS PRACTICES IN EVERYDAY LIFE TO FACE LGBTQIA-PHOBIA Around 2015, different organizations with La Via Campesina started to discuss an LGBTQIA agenda and organization [8]. It took courage and sensitivity to conduct this process, considering the cultural, age, and regional diversity of La Via Campesina across the 81 countries where it is present. In Europe, the conversations about these topics started during the 2015 Women's Assembly in the framework of the ECVC General Assembly, where the debate really started to get traction. "One of our member organizations, _Sindicato Labrego Galego _[Galician Peasants' Union], immediately adopted this agenda to their work and, as they usually say, 'they came out as an organization,'" Paula says. In 2017, the Basque Country hosted the 7th International Conference of La Via Campesina, which became a milestone as the starting point for building the LGBTQIA+ struggle on an international level within the organization [9]. Paula explains that "gender diversity was not part of the official agenda of the conference. We managed to prepare, previously to the conference, some actions for the conference. We organized an exhibition with pictures, articles, and materials from different regions. People were walking around the conference with stickers and pins with the rainbow flag. Our strategy was to start bringing this agenda in 'homeopathic doses' to the movement." This process eventually led to the 1stLGBTIQ Meeting of the European Coordination Via Campesina [10], in 2018, dedicated to building spaces for sexual and gender diversity within peasant organizing. On June 28th, La Via Campesina Europe takes the opportunity on International LGBTQIA+ Pride Day to launch the publication _Embracing Rural Diversity: Genders and Sexualities in the Peasant Movement_ [11],in Spanish, English, and French, featuring militants' political stories about their personal and collective experiences and reflections. The seed of the LGBT collective of La Via Campesina Brazil [12] was planted in 2015, when it started to organize seminars and meetings. The collective was effectively established in 2020, with the participation of ten organizations, holding monthly meetings and formulating a synthesis that was organized in a publication [13]. In Paraguay, the CONAMURI started to collectively build a process in 2016 to tackle LGBTQIA-phobia, inspired by the Brazilian experience. That same year, the _Aireana_collective, an organization of lesbian peasant women, proposed that the CONAMURI should organize a landless LGBTI meeting in Paraguay. Later, in 2017, the CONAMURI also became closer to the Panamby collective of trans women who create art interventions. The exchanges and activities were fundamental for the national coordination of the CONAMURI to take on the topic as part of its agenda. Today, the militants of the two countries are organizing to build a regional effort of LGBTQIA+ people with La Via Campesina in South America. This way, LGBTQIA+ peasants feel more welcomed by the organization, because their existence is no longer defended just individually, but by the entire movement. In May this year, in Brazil, the MST lost Lindolfo Kosmaski, a militant, peasant, teacher, and gay man who was killed in his own community. For militants, the murder of Lindolfo is a consequence of the hate resulting from the rise of conservatism. > Patriarchy destroys, capitalism wages war, LGBT blood is landless blood too! MST According to Yeva, talking about gender diversity is the right thing to do in face of the current political situation. "There is a growing right-wing in Europe with a lot of anti-LGBT laws being adopted. People are struggling against patriarchy and religious ideas as well about gender and about sexuality. From the situation of women or LGBT people, the same issues arise when it comes to peasants' rights, for example regarding access to land and inheritance." About this international movement building, Paula recalls that, "in some countries where we have membership, being homosexual or transexual is still reason for you to go to jail. In some places it's so prohibited that people are killed." This is why the struggle is not homogeneous. Paying attention to specific aspects that are different in every place is a powerful way to build a multiple and diverse organization of LGBTQIA+ peasants, who are political actors fighting for food sovereignty. "That's why it is so important for us to build very strong regional processes of discussion. Once we have different strong regional processes we can build it at the international level. We are working in that direction and the work from some regions can serve as inspiration to other regions." _Manon Roland illustration on "Embracing Rural Diversity," 2021_ Words by Helena Zelic and Bianca Pessoa Translated from Portuguese by Aline Scátola Original languages: Portuguese, Spanish, and English Links: ------ [1] https://capiremov.org/en/tag/food-sovereignty/ [2] https://capiremov.org/en/multimedia/gallery/peasant-struggles-and-food-sove… [3] https://capiremov.org/en/analysis/the-struggle-for-food-sovereignty-is-the-… [4] https://capiremov.org/en/interview/pancha-rodriguez-food-sovereignty-is-abo… [5] https://capiremov.org/en/analysis/popular-peasant-feminism/ [6] https://capiremov.org/en/experience/peasant-women-nurturing-feminism-and-ag… [7] https://www.facebook.com/ECVC1/?__tn__=-UC*F [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/gender-diversity-in-the-peasant-movement/ [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-peasants-initiate-debate-gende… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/peasants-and-farm-workers-in-europe-call-it-tim… [11] https://www.eurovia.org/embracing-rural-diversity-genders-and-sexualities-i… [12] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/videos/543765863171822 [13] https://www.cptnacional.org.br/attachments/article/5462/PDF_CARTILHA_LGBTI_…

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Act Now to Support Gaza’s Farmers, Farmworkers and Fisherfolk! Help Gaza Feed Itself!
by La Via Campesina 22 Jun '21

22 Jun '21

ACT NOW TO SUPPORT GAZA'S FARMERS, FARMWORKERS AND FISHERFOLK! HELP GAZA FEED ITSELF! 22 JUNE 2021 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY [1] The recent spate of bombings by Israeli forces in Gaza has killed over 260 people, including 60 children and 40 women and forcibly displaced more than 120,000 people from their homes. Missiles pounded the region for 11 consecutive days inflicting catastrophic damages to the lives and livelihood of the people of the area. Gaza's Ministry of Agriculture estimated around $27 million in damages, including greenhouses, agricultural lands and poultry farms. Union of Agricultural Workers Committee (UAWC), a member of La Via Campesina, informs that thousands of peasant workers, farmers and fisherfolk in Gaza have suffered crop losses and damages to farm and fishing infrastructure. Agricultural facilities such as animal farms, wells and irrigation networks have been severely damaged. A full closure of the sea and destruction of fishing boats have disrupted fishing activities and threaten the food security of over 3600 fisher families. A rapid assessment by UAWC in Gaza estimates crop loss in over 50 hectares. Missile attacks have impacted the soil heath and inflicted severe damages on irrigation and transmission networks. Hundreds of greenhouses have been destroyed. The assessment team also informs that scores of agricultural ponds are polluted or covered under rubble. Extensive damage to sewage stations, sewage networks, water wells pose a humungous challenge and leading to health risks due to unsanitary conditions. The United Nations said approximately 800,000 people in Gaza do not have regular access to clean piped water, as nearly 50 per cent of the water network was damaged in the bombing. HOW CAN YOU HELP? Gaza's food system is in ruins. Palestinians now seek to restore their water wells, greenhouses, animal barns and fishing boats, among other needs, and La Via Campesina wants to help by contributing USD $250,000 by August 31st, 2021. By contributing funds through THIS LINK [2], you can directly help the people of Gaza, particularly the family farms and fisherfolk, to rebuild and reclaim their dignity and livelihood. Every amount counts. As compassionate citizens of this planet, let us stand with the people of Gaza in their struggle to rebuild their lives and access justice. GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE, GLOBALIZE HOPE! LA VIA CAMPESINA Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/international-solidari… [2] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/gaza-appeal-farmers-fishers-2021

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New edition of the Nyéléni Newsletter is now online!
by La Via Campesina 16 Jun '21

16 Jun '21

NYÉLÉNI NEWSLETTER: COMMUNICATING FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY The new edition of the Nyéléni Newsletter is now online! Food sovereignty, among the multitude of ideas that it encompasses, is also about defending the billion diversities that exist on this planet, and is a celebration of our many unique practices, tastes, cultures and customs. An important pillar in this struggle for food sovereignty is the role played by popular rural cultures, of peasants, fisher-folk, family farmers and Indigenous Peoples. These communities are inheritors of a rich and diverse tradition of oral and visual forms of communication, whether in the form of folklore, legends, tales, proverbs, songs, murals and more. These varied forms of communication are also the recorded histories of human struggles and survival. However, this diversity is, today, under threat. Just as the agro-industrial complex pushes for a homogeneous, singular view of a global agrifood system, the international-corporate-media complex has also resulted in a singular, centralized form of mainstream communication. A handful of corporations today control much of what we read or watch and how people access information. Despite the challenges, organized peoples and communities around the world are countering this marginalization of peoples' culture. The current edition of the Nyéléni newsletter focuses on the wide variety of popular, community-driven communication approaches, drawing inspiration from local symbols, context and culture. It explores how these approaches are integral to pedagogy among peasants, family farmers, Indigenous Peoples and fisher-folk, crucial for political formation and popular education, and an essential element of our struggle for food sovereignty. _Click here to download the English edition_ [1] or read it directly on the website at www.nyeleni.org [2] ! Links: ------ [1] http://www.nyeleni.org/ccount/click.php?id=158 [2] http://www.nyeleni.org

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Newsletter #4 | Colombia Peace Agreement Monitor
by La Via Campesina 07 Jun '21

07 Jun '21

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* This newsletter is the result of La Via Campesina's collective effort to make visible and accompany the implementation of the Peace Accords in Colombia. To subscribe click here [1] COLOMBIA: DESPITE STATE VIOLENCE, THE STRIKE CONTINUES Protests unleashed by President Duque's tributary reform have turned into a nationwide protest for historic injustices and the deepening economic crisis behind the pandemic. read the full press release [2] of La Vía Campesina. COLOMBIA: IS ACCESS TO LAND DEMOCRATIZED? Sub-point 1.1 of the Peace Agreement establishes mechanisms for access to land for the benefit of peasants without land or with insufficient land, mainly through land allocation processes and formalization of rights. READ MORE... [3] COLOMBIA: IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON PEACE The crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has had various impacts, amongst them, the increase in poverty numbers, the deepening of food insecurity, the deterioration of the security crisis and the limitations in the implementation of the Peace Agreement. READ MORE... [4] COLOMBIA: GLYPHOSATE AERIAL SPRAYING FORCES COMMUNITIES TO SEEK LEGAL ACTION The processes of voluntary eradication of illicit crops are supported, but marginally, compared to the force eradication operations prioritized by the government. READ MORE... [5] SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS DENOUNCE LIMITATIONS ON PARTICIPATION IN TERRITORIAL FOCUSED DEVELOPMENT PLANS (PDET) IN COLOMBIA Territorial Focused Development Plans - PDET, in Spanish, are designed by the Agreement as participatory territorial planning instrument to implement as a priority the components of Integral Rural Reform - RRI. READ MORE... [6] COLOMBIA: ARMED CONFLICT REACTIVATED IN 2021 During the year 2020 acts of violence with great intensity are recorded, there has been an increase in the assassination of social leaders, massacres, and confrontations among armed groups. READ MORE... [7] RURAL INTEGRAL REFORM IS EXCRUCIATINGLY SLOW IN COLOMBIA The assessments of the implementation of the Peace Agreement made by different institutions and social organizations highlight the lack of political will for the materialization of what has been agreed and the constant failings on the part of the government regarding principally the Rural Integral Reform - RRI, in Spanish. READ MORE... [8] COLOMBIA: CALL FOR LIFE, DEMOCRACY AND PEACE! La Via Campesina stands in solidarity with the struggles and protests of the Colombian people in the NATIONAL STRIKE that began on April 28th and remains active even now. READ MORE... [9] COLOMBIA: END THE STATE-SANCTIONED VIOLENCE, INVESTIGATE THE CRIMES OF THE COLOMBIAN STATE! A month into the National Strike against the neoliberal reforms that seek to undermine rights, promote privatization and labor flexibilization. READ MORE... [10] SOLIDARITY WITH THE WORKING CLASS OF COLOMBIA We, the undersigned popular organisations of the peoples of the countryside, of the waters and of the forests, and other organisations of the whole world, lend our solidarity to the peasant, indigenous and Afro-descendant people who, allied to the working class of the cities, are demonstrating in Colombia to defend human rights as basic as the right to live in peace and dignity. READ MORE... [11] [12] Omar Moreno, life and peasant struggle [13] HYMN OF THE INDIGENOUS GUARD YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE AUTONOMY OF OUR MOVEMENT ------------------------- As a supporter who has contributed financial resources to La Via Campesina, and as an activist who joins us on the streets and in the fields, your support is always welcome and put to good use. YOU CAN RENEW YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO LA VIA CAMPESINA BY CLICKING HERE [14]. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [1] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [1] Links: ------ [1] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-despite-state-violence-the-strike-cont… [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-is-access-to-land-democratized/ [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-impacts-of-covid-19-on-peace/ [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-glyphosate-aerial-spraying-forces-comm… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/socia-l-organizations-denounce-limitations-on-p… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-armed-conflict-reactivated-2021/ [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/rural-integral-reform-is-excruciatingly-slow-in… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-call-for-life-democracy-and-peace/ [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-end-the-state-sanctioned-violence-inve… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/solidarity-with-the-working-class-of-colombia/ [12] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhOgyaHgiJc [13] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwR6VgQ1mOE [14] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/viacampesina [15] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [16] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL [17] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [18] https://www.instagram.com/la_via_campesina_official/ [19] https://viacampesina.org/

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05 June, World Environment Day: Call for Mobilization | La Via Campesina
by La Via Campesina 02 Jun '21

02 Jun '21

05 JUNE, WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY: CALL FOR MOBILIZATION | LA VIA CAMPESINA 2 JUNE 2021 CAMPAIGN AGAINST AGROTOXICS [1], CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE [2], LAND, WATER AND TERRITORIES [3], TRANSNATIONAL COMPANIES AND AGRIBUSINESS [4] _THIS WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, LA VIA CAMPESINA CALLS FOR ACTIONS TO PROTECT MOTHER EARTH AND DEMAND THE URGENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN DECLARATION FOR THE RIGHTS OF PEASANTS AND OTHER PEOPLE WORKING IN RURAL AREAS._ LIFE OVER PROFITS – THIS PLANET IS OUR ONLY HOME! (Harare: June 2, 2021) By now it is evident that the capitalist system causes predatory actions against the environment, leading to severe damage to our planet. The extractive industrial model, together with increased militarization to keep imperialist hegemony, destroys our lands and rivers, forests and seas, reduces biodiversity, pillages our territories and criminalizes our struggles. The effects of this model are becoming more and more serious: violent storms, cyclones, droughts, heat waves, floods, migrations, over-consumption and food waste, as well as toxic foods that cause illness and kill across the world. Moreover, high-cost diseases (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome [SARS] such the current COVID-19 pandemic with over 3.3 million deathsso far) seem to be linked to contaminated food and livestock, and particularly affecting people with underlying health conditions such as malnutrition, obesity, and diabetes. We can affirm that industrial farming methods have led to untold environmental and social destruction globally as they oversimplify complex systems. This has nothing to do with feeding people, since the number of people affected by hunger and malnutrition continues to raise, but it's about accumulation of power and control by a few. Worldwide, we the peasant and indigenous communities of every nation feed 70% of the world's population while having access only to 25% of agricultural resources. Women and migrants represent more than 60% of laborers in agricultural production, yet they continue to suffer exploitation, racism, violence and a systematic violation of their human rights. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! We, peasants, indigenous peoples, women, migrants and rural communities want food sovereignty based peasant agroecology to reduce emissions and achieve social justice. The fight for food sovereignty is a social, political and ecological vision that brings together multiple groups within a single movement to challenge capital, build relationships with nature and defend systems of shared control over and access to the requirements of life. NO TO FALSE SOLUTIONS! We denounce and reject all the false solutions being put on the table to face the environmental and climate crisis by our governments working closely with transnational corporations (TNCs). Climate Smart agriculture, soil sequestration programs, Nature based solutions, payments for environmental services (PES), etc., allow capitalism to keep polluting to the detriment of the environment and our rights. These false solutions increase the risk of land grabbing the control of seed diversity by transnational corporations and the use of agrotoxics and expanded genetic manipulation. All this has led, among other things, to the emergence of superweeds and superbugs, putting the survival of life as we know it on a cliff's edge. TIME TO TRANSFORM! NO FUTURE WITHOUT FOOD SOVEREIGNTY! As La Via Campesina, we believe that action must be taken without delay for a complete turnaround, transforming our societies, 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 change must be implemented through a real social transformation that will only be possible if the rights of peasants, indigenous peoples, women, migrants and all those working in rural areas are fully respected. This means ending all forms of violence against all people and having access and democratically controlling land, water, territories and other common resources WE, THEREFORE, CALL OUR MEMBERS, ACTIVISTS AND ALLY MOVEMENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS, ON JUNE 5TH THE WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, TO SUPPORT OUR ACTIONS TO PROTECT MOTHER EARTH AND OUR EFFORTS TO ENSURE THE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF PEASANTS AND OTHER PEOPLE WORKING IN RURAL AREAS (UNDROP) BY NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS. WE MUST ALSO URGENTLY UNITE AGAINST THE FORTHCOMING CORPORATE LED UN FOOD SYSTEM SUMMIT AS IT PROMOTES FALSE SOLUTIONS WHICH WILL NOT ONLY WORSEN THE CURRENT CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS BUT WILL ALSO CONSTITUTE A SERIOUS ATTACK TO OUR RIGHTS AS PEASANTS, INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, WOMEN, MIGRANTS AND RURAL COMMUNITIES. LET'S ORGANIZE SOLIDARITY ACTIONS ON JUNE 5TH AT 12.00 MIDDAY #INDEFENSEOFTHEPLANET, INCLUDING PLANTING TREES. HASHTAG #InDefenseOfThePlanet #NoFuturewithoutFoodSovereignty DOWNLOAD AND READ THE INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF ANTI-IMPERIALIST STRUGGLE MANIFESTO IN DEFENSE OF THE PLANET IN ENGLISH [5], SPANISH [6], PORTUGUESE [7] GLOBALISE THE STRUGGLE, GLOBALISE HOPE Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/transnational-comp… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/climate-change-and-agr… [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/agrarian-reform/ [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/transnational-comp… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/en-5-june-manifesto-the-planet-before-profits-o… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/es-manifiesto-5-de-junio-el-planeta-por-encima-… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/pt-manifesto-5-de-junho-o-planeta-acima-do-lucr…

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Call for International Solidarity with Colombia & Palestine | La Via Campesina
by La Via Campesina 28 May '21

28 May '21

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* La Via Campesina | Call for International Solidarity with Colombia & Palestine 28 MAY 2021, HARARE: A month into the National Strike against the neoliberal reforms that seek to undermine rights, promote privatization and labor flexibilization, La Via Campesina joins social organizations and movements to express our solidarity with the people of Colombia and demand an immediate halt of the brutal state and parastatal violence exerted on young people, women, farmers, workers and indigenous peoples who have been manifesting tirelessly in defense of their rights. Read the full statement [1] 23 MAY 2021, HARARE: La Via Campesina calls for a United Nations fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations in occupied Palestine and for the entire movement and committed allies to join the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israeli apartheid in our beloved occupied Palestine! Apartheid is a crime! Read the full statement [2] www.viacampesina.org [3] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [4] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-end-the-state-sanctioned-violence-inve… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/solidarity-with-palestine-now/ [3] http://www.viacampesina.org [4] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en

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La Via Campesina | April, 2021 | e-Newsletter
by La Via Campesina 26 May '21

26 May '21

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* This edition of the newsletter is the result of a collective effort of organisations that are part of_ La Via Campesina's_ global movement. To subscribe to our monthly newsletter click here [1] CELEBRATION OF 25 YEARS OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND THE MOVEMENT WE BUILT AROUND IT ------------------------- Today, as in 1996, food sovereignty remains as the most coherent solution for a systemic shift, it remains the most coherent proposal to guarantee access to local and nutritious food for all and to defend peasants' and people's rights. Peasants, indigenous communities, small scale fishers, pastoralists, waged workers need to be involved in the formulation of solutions, we need to be part of policy making processes. And we cannot allow that the dominant forces that are strongly working to reshape governance spaces turn the table. This is not a game! Life is at stake! So, it is indeed time to celebrate the 25 years of our joint struggle for food sovereignty, but much more, it is time to recharge our energies and to reaffirm our commitment, using the convictions, spaces and alliances we built since 1996, to strongly fight for a world based on solidarity, justice and dignity - especially considering our future generations. READ MORE [2] Fighting for food sovereignty also means fighting to have women farmers' work acknowledged as well as to reorganize domestic, care, and food preparation work. This international virtual gallery features photographs of the archives of La Via Campesina, Friends of the Earth, and the World March of Women [3]. The pictures show how women are fundamental for sowing the seeds of a political, peasant, grassroots, diverse struggle for a society with no fences and no toxic chemicals. Food Sovereignty is about deciding to change the world. It is not just about producing. It's the right to agrarian reform, to land, to water, the right to remain a peasant man or woman. READ MORE [4] 25 years ago, on April 17th 1996, a group of landless peasants were killed by military police in Brazil's state of Para. A look at the history of the day and why we stand with peasants worldwide. READ MORE [5] The word "agribusiness" brings to mind instant associations like "soybeans," "Brazil," or "the Mennonites." Why? When did this word first enter common parlance? READ MORE [6] Achieving food sovereignty is not a linear, uniform process: it looks different in each community and region. Just as communities and geographies vary across the country, so too do the struggles for food sovereignty. READ MORE [7] On April 28, South Korea constituted a 'UNDROP Forum' to implement and promote the UN Declaration on Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) at the national level. The forum will be active for about eight months until the end of this year. READ MORE [8] In a letter to the European Commission and CAP legislators, European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) and civil society members demand that the EU policy must support and increase the number of small-scale farmers. READ MORE [9] In a letter addressed to the President of Sri Lanka, the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) has supported the government decision to ban the import of all agrochemicals with immediate effect. READ MORE [10] The Indonesian Peasants Student Movement (Gema Petani) held its First Conference in Jambi, attended by student delegations from 13 provinces covering eastern, central and western Indonesia. READ MORE [11] NEW PUBLICATION The Path of Peasant and Popular Feminism in La Via Campesina ------------------------- Edition: 2021 Download the PDF copy (32MB) [12] FEATURED VIDEO [13] "Formation" in La Via Campesina with a perspective of human emancipation has the historical task of contributing to forging collective political subjects, capable of mobilizing consciences, resources, and processes for the construction of an emancipatory political project and to transform the reality, the living conditions in the countryside and in the cities. "A movement in formation" that first premiered on 18 April 2021, explores this construction in the movement, with different voices and actors from all over the world, showing the different practices and methodologies but with the same objective, since to globalize the struggle and the hope is not just a slogan, it is our permanent task. YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE AUTONOMY OF OUR MOVEMENT ------------------------- As a supporter who has contributed financial resources to La Via Campesina, and as an activist who joins us on the streets and in the fields, your support is always welcome and put to good use. YOU CAN RENEW YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO LA VIA CAMPESINA BY CLICKING HERE [14]. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [1] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org [20] TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org [21] To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [1] Links: ------ [1] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/celebration-of-25-years-of-food-sovereignty-and… [3] https://capiremov.org/en/multimedia/gallery/peasant-struggles-and-food-sove… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/pancha-rodriguez-food-sovereignty-is-about-deci… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/a-look-at-the-history-of-the-day-and-why-we-sta… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/paraguay-the-struggle-for-food-sovereignty-is-t… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/nfu-statement-on-the-international-day-of-peasa… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/south-korea-undrop-forum-to-mainstream-peasants… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/ecvc-sends-open-letter-to-the-institutions-for-… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/srilanka-monlar-backs-government-decision-to-ba… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/gema-petani-indonesia-peasant-youth-and-student… [12] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/srbBEf3YnYZGRYz [13] https://vimeo.com/534888854 [14] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/viacampesina [15] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [16] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL [17] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [18] https://www.instagram.com/la_via_campesina_official/ [19] https://viacampesina.org/ [20] http://www.viacampesina.org [21] http://www.tv.viacampesina.org

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La Via Campesina: 2020 Annual Report
by La Via Campesina 12 May '21

12 May '21

LA VIA CAMPESINA: 2020 ANNUAL REPORT 3 MAY 2021 ANNUAL REPORTS [1], MEDIA AND PUBLICATIONS [2] [3] SUMMARY: This annual report [3] highlights the struggles and activities we had and the progress we made in 2020. The year was one of the most challenging years of the last half century. No one ever anticipated that by March, the world would face a pandemic that would bring life as we know it to a halt. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic did that. The pandemic exposed two things: (1) the rotten core and the cracks in the global neoliberal economy and (2) the urgent need for radical policies to usher in change and bring relief, dignity, and equity to billions of people whose survival is hanging by a thin thread. With each crisis desperation has increased leading to unintended outcomes, for instance, the recent rise of the extreme right, fascism, and jingoistic-nationalism. Global inequality is at its peak. Empathy is at its lowest, and destructive economic, social, ecological, and environmental policies are more prevalent than ever. This pandemic is rooted in capitalism and strongly connected to the industrial agriculture model, and is one of the many recent outcomes of such destructive policies. As the turbulent 2020 drew to an end, many hoped that 2021 would be a better year. The surge in new infections in most countries do not show return to the "normalcy" of the pre-COVID times. Urgent actions are needed from the grassroots to the state level to transform and rebuild hundreds of millions of lives pushed to starvation and poverty by the COVID pandemic. The pandemic led us into a period where the understanding of the importance of local food production and the need for public health has increased. Food sovereignty as peoples' right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced with ecologically sustainable methods is important. As La Via Campesina, we have adapted our communication strategy, shifted resources towards communication actions, and intensified our presence in social media. This strategy became more central as a possibility to reach out, "stay at home but not silent", and to mobilize on our agenda. It is key that a movement like LVC remains present in the public eye and in public opinion to mobilize for the right changes! The realization of peasants' rights and those of migrant and seasonal workers by promoting UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People working in the Rural Areas (UNDROP) remains a priority for the peasant movement. We will continue combating the criminalization and repression of peasant leaders, and explore different ideas of creating our own spaces of solidarity, while strengthening the existing solidarity networks.. DOWNLOAD PDF REPORT [3] PUBLICATION DATE: April 2021 AVAILABLE in Spanish [4] and French [5] -- Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/media-and-publications/annual-reports/ [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/media-and-publications/ [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/EN_Annual_Re… [4] https://viacampesina.org/es/la-via-campesina-informe-anual-2020/ [5] https://viacampesina.org/fr/la-via-campesina-rapport-annuel-2020/

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Colombia: Call for Life, Democracy and Peace!
by La Via Campesina 09 May '21

09 May '21

La Via Campesina stands in solidarity with the struggles and protests of the Colombian people in the NATIONAL STRIKE that began on April 28th and remains active even now. The protests unleashed against a proposed tax reform linked to the pandemic have become a national demonstration against the increase in poverty, unemployment, the failure to implement the Peace Accord and the worsening of the violence expressed in the increase of massacres, forced disappearances, displacements and the murder of 1,167 social leaders since the signing of the Accord. The Colombian people express their indignation at these historical injustices and once again share age-old demands of PEACE, LIFE, WORK and LAND; they protest against the mismanagement of the pandemic by the Government of Ivan Duque, which prioritized economic interests and disregarded the lives of humble Colombians. We express our solidarity with the Colombian people who are today exercising their legitimate right to protest. We stand in solidarity especially with the peasant, indigenous and Afro-descendant organisations that are mobilising from the territories most affected by violence in defense of life, land and territory. We ratify our repudiation of the violence exercised by the state and its security forces who criminalise people's movements, and against the state agents who illegally detain, rape, kill, and disappear. Today the state violence in Colombia is reflected in the murder of 37 demonstrators, 831 arbitrary detentions, 222 cases of physical violence, 22 victims of aggression in the eyes, 10 victims of sexual violence by the security forces and 86 people disappeared, all in the context of the National Strike. WE DEMAND FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF IVÁN DUQUE: * an immediate ceasefire against those who demonstrate; * guarantees for the exercise of the right to protest and social mobilisation; * the immediate release of those detained for political reasons; * the investigation and condemnation of murderers and rapists; * the construction of a process of a dialogue with the population; * the implementation of the Peace Accords. We call on the international community and human rights organisations to demand that the necessary measures be taken to stop the violence and advance in the construction of peace. We call on the organizations that are part of La Via Campesina, as well as allied organizations, to raise awareness on the situation, to express our rejection of the governmental actions and stand in solidarity, to strengthen our unity and struggle. LET'S GLOBALISE THE STRUGGLE AND GLOBALISE HOPE!

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