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[Info EN] La Via Campesina: For the Right of all the people, to free and quality Public Health Care!
by La Via Campesina 02 Mar '21

02 Mar '21

FOR THE RIGHT OF ALL THE PEOPLE, TO FREE AND QUALITY PUBLIC HEALTH CARE! "Physical Distancing, Yes; Social Isolation, Never! Collective care to prevent the virus spread, Yes; Demobilized and Silent, Never". ------------------------- (HARARE, FEBRUARY 2021): We are more than a year into the crisis caused by the COVID19 pandemic around the world. This health crisis has caused the death of approximately two million people, and, according to official reports, more than 77 million have been infected so far. However, taking into account unofficial figures, this number could be even higher. Those infected face the possibility of lifelong physical and mental health consequences. The set of simultaneous economic, political, health and environmental crises that our societies are undergoing has led to a profound social crisis - with severe setbacks in rights, unemployment, corruption, misery, hunger, and violence throughout the world; more so in the economically disadvantaged countries. Though necessary, the pandemic-related lockdown with its suddenness and lack of proper planning had grave consequences for the working class. Few countries have responded to the issues their people faced with economic and social support policies. In most countries, workers were laid off, others saw their wages halved. A vast majority of those who depend on informal work to earn an income and support their families, be they migrant workers in the fields, peasant families on their plots or fishers in their territories, had to bear the brunt of this crisis without complementary income policies that would enable their families to stay at home. Neglect of rural areas continued. Agricultural workers - forced to work under dangerous conditions to survive - and despite being the ones who feed the world, have no policy to protect them from the virus or provide them with decent access to health care. Some governments, especially those with authoritarian and pro-Corporate leanings, have even adopted measures that allow big businesses to work with minor restrictions. Doing this has significantly put at risk the health of workers. RIGHT TO FREE AND PUBLIC HEALTH – INCLUDING PREVENTION, VACCINATION AND LONG-TERM TREATMENT! As La Via Campesina, we demand the Right to public and free health care for all peoples, including the processes of prevention, vaccination and long-term treatment. We fight for health to be recognized as a human right, especially in this global crisis. We demand that governments honour their obligation to protect their populations and ensure that everyone has access to preventive, curative and quality health care. This is also recognized by the Article 23 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP), adopted by governments in 2018, which states the Right to have access in rural areas to health services and necessary treatment. However, most of the treatments and vaccines are under the control of large companies and states, which in a non-transparent way, with a lot of corruption, speculate with life and seek to increase profits. They are distributing the available vaccines mainly among rich countries, leading to competition between these governments, making the vaccine available to the highest bidder. Likewise, some rich governments are hoarding vaccines, buying doses up to five times their population, while in dozens of poor and exploited countries, vaccines have not yet arrived. The commodification and politicization of vaccines will create a huge gap between the populations of rich countries and those of poor countries who cannot afford them. These people are entirely dependent on the availability of the market and the willingness and ability of governments to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies. These are the same multinational companies that dominate the markets and have the technology to manufacture vaccines; they control the market for equipment, medical supplies and the logistics for vaccine transportation, storage and distribution. AS LA VIA CAMPESINA WE AFFIRM THAT SCIENCE MUST BE AT THE SERVICE OF HUMANITY All members of society must have access to information and be able to evaluate the treatments offered. We also demand the recognition of intercultural and popular health, ancestral knowledge present in our societies, that has a holistic view of health and has sustained communities during the pandemic. We affirm that health care must begin with a healthy, sustainable diet that strengthens the immune system, as proposed by Food Sovereignty, a way of caring for the well-being of both people and the environment. It is unacceptable that vaccines are patented, leaving them under the control of large transnational corporations and the market with its constant attempts to commodify life. We demand an end to patents and to reinstate the Right to information and public control. Today the pandemic is a global problem, and all societies must mobilize so that the UN, through the WHO (World Health Organization), and the governments guarantee free public vaccination for the entire world population. As La Via Campesina, we affirm the Right to free public health and timely access to prevention, vaccination and treatment in every country in the world. ------------------------- LET'S FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO A DIGNIFIED AND HEALTHY LIFE! GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE, GLOBALIZE HOPE! -------------------------

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[Info EN] #8M2021 Against the Virus of Patriarchy and Capitalism, the Vaccine of Feminism and Solidarity!
by La Via Campesina 25 Feb '21

25 Feb '21

#8M2021 AGAINST THE VIRUS OF PATRIARCHY AND CAPITALISM, THE VACCINE OF FEMINISM AND SOLIDARITY! 25 FEBRUARY 2021 CAMPAIGN TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN [1], PATRIACHY [2], TRANSNATIONAL COMPANIES AND AGRIBUSINESS [3], WOMEN [4] MARCH 8, 2021 – WORKING WOMEN'S DAY (Harare: February 25, 2021) This March 8th 2021, organized in our diversity and together with one single voice we declare: _Against the Virus of Patriarchy and Capitalism, the Vaccine of Feminism and Solidarity!,_ while highlighting the essential role of rural women and peasants as a whole, who represent around 60% to 70% of world food production and are the front line in the production of agroecological and healthy food that sustains life. On the 25th anniversary of the collective construction of Food Sovereignty, this is our tangible and sustainable way to face the different crises we live today. We need to end the systemic violence of capitalism and patriarchy, which today violate the rights of women, diversities, children, and the working class, even excluding them from public and free access to a vaccine, which should be considered, as well as food, a human right, as we advocate in our international call for the Right to Public and Free Health for all populations! In this world, the political, social and economic role of women is vital, even more in the midst of this COVID pandemic, yet we continue receiving lower wages, we are in the informal sector, we face precarious employment, we are exploited, we are migrants, single mothers, agricultural workers, fisherwomen, and shepherds. We have less access to land, technology and public policies on health, protection against violence, education and culture. The greatest obstacle we face in the countryside is the lack of access to means of production such as the land. In the market, women barely own 1% of the land and yet we face the challenge of continuing to guarantee food and care for communities, families and the world under conditions of political, economic and social inequality. That is why on this day we also demand that states implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) [5]. It recognizes women and peasants as subjects of rights. This UN Declaration is a strategic tool to strengthen the struggles and proposals of rural movements. It also establishes jurisprudence and an international legal perspective to guide legislation and public policies at all institutional levels for the benefit of those who feed the world. The prevailing agro-business model is standardized by the economic power of the agro-industry; it is the large multinational corporations that control what will be produced, what we eat, how much and at what the price; they lobby governments and even multilateral organizations, as we have denounced is the case of the Food Summit organized by the FAO [6] for this year with the objective to continue monopolizing the food market even more. This dynamic generates high profits for corporations, and very serious costs for the health of societies and the planet. Throughout history, we women have been in the struggle as subjects of transformation, mobilization and consciousness raising. Thus, as La Via Campesina we salute all the movements and comrades who resist in India, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Cuba, Kurdistan, Palestine, the Zapatistas, the diverse women organized in the World March of Women and other allied networks, who are actively participating in the changes that our societies need, for justice and dignity for the majority of the people. TAKE ACTION: This March 8, like every Working Women's Day, we call on our member organizations, allies and friends to mobilise from all the spaces where we are, in our communities, streets, public squares, markets, schools and jobs, in defense of life, let us continue to denounce and raise awareness, pushing states to commit to the historic struggles of working class rural and urban women. AGAINST THE VIRUS OF PATRIARCHY AND CAPITALISM, THE VACCINE OF FEMINISM AND SOLIDARITY! Send your press releases, photos, videos to lvcweb(a)viacampesina.org [7] Reproduce and share our materials! To download the official 2021 poster and social media materials, click here [8]. Follow us on social media with the hashtags: #8M2021 #WOMENINTHESTRUGGLE #FOODSOVEREIGNTYNOW Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/patriachy/campaign… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/patriachy/ [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/transnational-comp… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/who-are-we/women/ [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-pea… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/position-paper-a-summit-under-siege-corporate-c… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/8m2021-against-the-virus-of-patriarchy-and-capi… [8] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/2wbeJ3cc3mBcBQp

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[Info EN] This 26th of January, light a 'candle of solidarity' for India’s farmers
by La Via Campesina 21 Jan '21

21 Jan '21

PEASANTS OF THE WORLD UNITE! THIS 26TH OF JANUARY, LIGHT A CANDLE OF SOLIDARITY FOR INDIA'S FARMERS For over 50 days now, India's peasants and workers have been holding massive protests at the country's national capital, New Delhi. They continue to agitate at several inter-state borders and district centres, urging their national government to recall three controversial legislation that are deemed to corporatise India's agricultural landscape. THESE THREE LEGISLATIONS IF READ TOGETHER [1], the peasants' allege, will dismantle the country's public procurement system, will push down prices of farm produce, will encourage large scale monoculture cultivation through contract farming, and will also allow private businesses to stock up and speculate on essential pulses and cereals, thus driving up food prices. In a country, where nearly 700 million people have their livelihoods tied to agriculture and allied activities, these "reforms" are nothing but devastating news. The protests that are taking place in New Delhi, and other state capitals and inter-state borders prove that people are angry at this move, which may only benefit a handful of private agribusiness corporations in the country. La Via Campesina, as a global movement of peasants and small-scale food producers in 81 countries, is inspired by the struggle led by the peasant movements in India. On behalf of our members worldwide, La Via Campesina extends its solidarity to Bhartiya Kisan Union, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangham and several other organisations and movements who are spearheading this protest at different parts of the country. In December several members of our movement HAD SENT MESSAGES OF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT [2] to their Indian counterparts, resonating their demands and citing adverse examples in their own countries where privatisation led to dispossession and displacement of the peasantry. This act of global solidarity must continue. It will be necessary for peasant movements everywhere to echo our sisters and brothers' struggles in India, who have kept their spirits high and refuse to budge despite adverse weather and an indifferent government. ACCORDING TO BHARTIYA KISAN UNION, MORE THAN 70 PROTESTING FARMERS HAVE SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES SO FAR IN THE BITING COLD AND RAINS OF NEW DELHI. LA VIA CAMPESINA RECOGNISES AND HONOURS THESE MARTYRS, WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE PEASANT STRUGGLE. EVERY PEASANT, WORKER AND INDIGENOUS PERSON ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WILL RECOGNISE AND RELATE TO THIS BRAVE FIGHT THAT INDIA'S FOOD PRODUCERS ARE PUTTING UP. India will celebrate its Republic Day on the 26th of January. The protesting peasants and workers want to step up the pressure, and as a way to make themselves heard, they will be holding a massive "tractor parade" in New Delhi that day. ALL LVC MEMBERS AND ALLIES EVERYWHERE CAN SUPPORT INDIA'S MOVEMENTS AND GIVE VISIBILITY TO OUR GLOBAL SOLIDARITY BY LIGHTING A CANDLE ON THE 26TH OF JANUARY 2021. WHEREVER YOU ARE, WHICHEVER CORNER OF THE WORLD YOU ARE IN, WHEN YOU JOIN THIS SIMPLE ACT OF SOLIDARITY, THE LIGHT OF FRATERNITY WILL REACH OUR PEOPLE IN INDIA AND GIVE THEM THE STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO CONTINUE UNTIL THEIR VICTORY. The struggles of all peasants everywhere are the same. We seek dignity, autonomy, and control over food production, respecting our territories' food sovereignty and remaining in harmony with nature. May this be another moment to globalise our struggles and globalise our hope for our secure collective futures! POST YOUR IMAGES AND MESSAGES WITH THE HASHTAG #SHINEONINDIAFARMERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. LET THE WHOLE WORLD HEAR THE ROAR OF PEASANTS AND WORKERS. -------------------------- LA VIA CAMPESINA Download the posters here [3] Read this appeal in Spanish [4] and French [5]. ---------------------------- Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/india-social-movements-upset-that-the-governmen… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/indian-farmers-protests-farmers-around-the-worl… [3] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/DJrBZ96sFcMoKcX [4] https://viacampesina.org/es/campesinxs-del-mundo-unios-este-26-de-enero-enc… [5] https://viacampesina.org/fr/les-paysan%e2%8b%85ne%e2%8b%85s-du-monde-entier…

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[Info EN] La Via Campesina opposes the inclusion of Cuba in the U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism
by La Via Campesina 18 Jan '21

18 Jan '21

LA VIA CAMPESINA OPPOSES THE INCLUSION OF CUBA IN THE U.S. LIST OF STATE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM STATEMENT: CUBA IS NOT A TERRORIST STATE! _(HARARE, 15 JANUARY 2021)_ We, La Via Campesina - an international peasant movement made up of 182 organizations in 81 countries with some 200 million members - firmly manifest our rejection of the new aggressions by the U.S. government against the sovereignty of the Cuban people and we denounce its renewed inclusion on the unilateral U.S. list of 'States Sponsors of Terrorism'. After almost 6 years off the list, this January 11th, 2021, outgoing U.S. Secretary of State (Mike Pompeo) announced the reinstatement of Cuba to their list of countries they call terrorists, a unilateral measure aimed at continuing the historic and criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade to which the Cuban people have been subjected for six decades. WHILE THE WORLD HAS BEEN SHAKEN BY THE CRISIS PROVOKED BY COVID-19, CUBA MAINTAINS ITS ACTS OF INTERNATIONALISM, SOLIDARITY AND COOPERATION WITH, TO GIVE ONE EXAMPLE AMONG MANY, ITS 1,500+ HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, DOCTORS, SPECIALISTS AND NURSES OF THE 'HENRY REEVE BRIGADE' WHO CURRENTLY SERVE THOSE MOST VULNERABLE TO THE PANDEMIC IN EUROPE, AFRICA, ARAB EMIRATES, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN. While the majority of the world faces the hunger and exclusion imposed by those in power to confront the crisis, Cuba and our beloved National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) respond with more sovereignty, solidarity and social justice. The neoliberal model doesn't resolve the crisis facing humanity; the Cuban model defends life, dignity and unity of the peoples. As an international peasant movement, we stand in solidarity with the Cuban people in the face of the attacks against them and we call on all allied organizations - those that struggle for food sovereignty, agroecological peasant agriculture, and the integral health of the peoples - to join their voice in recognizing Cuba for its efforts in solidarity and cooperation with humanity. CUBA IS NOT A TERRORIST STATE! Globalize the struggle! Globalize hope!

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[Info EN] Young people are the present and the future of small-scale farming. Launch of a new film: "The feast"
by La Via Campesina 11 Jan '21

11 Jan '21

LA VIA CAMPESINA AND ZINTV PRESENT "THE FEAST :TONG-TONG" [1], a film created during a Youth meeting of la Via Campesina in Senegal. What is it like to be a young peasant farmer in Senegal at a time when the authorities and the transnationals are grabbing farmland, parceling it out among them, and turning peasants into farm labourers? SYNOPSIS : This film focuses on the lives of Senegalese farmers who are fighting against powerful legislative and economic forces. From fishing to herding, and from north to south, the pattern is all too familiar. "They ask the young people to stay and work here, but those are just empty words. Where's the resource base for these people? If you want youth to stay, you have to give them something to work with," said one young Senegalese fisherman in Dakar. Internationally, despite the diversity of rural communities, the peasant members of La Via Campesina are proving that these issues are widespread and are offering tools for achieving food sovereignty and peoples' self-determination. Free to Watch on viacampesina.org [1] and ZINTV.org [2] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/event/new-film-the-feast-tong-tong/ [2] https://zintv.org/video/le-festin-tong-tong/

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[Info EN] La Via Campesina: Solidarity and internationalism are the source of our strength! Together united into 2021!
by La Via Campesina 24 Dec '20

24 Dec '20

[1] TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION CLICK HERE [2] This email was sent to viviana.rojas(a)viacampesina.org _why did I get this?_ [3] unsubscribe from this list [4] update subscription preferences [5] La Via Campesina · 197A Smuts Road · Prospect · Waterfalls · Zimbabwe [6] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [2] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [3] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/about?u=89bbab017155e4204481ee9c3… [4] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=89bbab017155e420448… [5] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/profile?u=89bbab017155e4204481ee9… [6] http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&amp…

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[Info EN] La Vía Campesina | Colombia Peace Agreement "Ceasefire" Bulletin | III Edition 2020
by La Via Campesina 22 Dec '20

22 Dec '20

La Vía Campesina | "Ceasefire" Bulletin | III Edition 2020 Donate [1] This bulletin is the result of a collective effort by La Via Campesina to share information on the implementation of the Peace Agreement in Colombia. To subscribe click here [2] LA VIA CAMPESINA: COLOMBIA PEACE PROCESS CHARACTERIZED BY NON-COMPLIANCE AND SURGE IN VIOLENCE November 24th was the fourth anniversary of the day when the Colombian State and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) signed an agreement to end the oldest armed conflict in Latin America.The hope that this event had raised among Colombian people and the whole world four years ago has vanished since then.Read more ... [3] FEATURED ARTICLES COLOMBIA PEACE PROCESS: FORUM IN NOVEMBER 2020 CALLS FOR COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM On November 24th, La Via Campesina organized a forum to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the signing of the Peace Agreement in Colombia with the objective of sharing reflections on the state of implementation of the Agreement, as well as the challenges facing the peace-building process in the country. Read more ... [4] COLOMBIA PEACE PROCESS: THE ABANDONMENT OF THE PNIS AND THE RESUMPTION OF THE "WAR ON DRUGS" Undoubtedly, the economic, political and social dimensions of drug trafficking have been one of the main factors favoring the persistence of the armed conflict in Colombia. The Peace Agreement includes a chapter aimed at transforming the logic of the failed war on drugs with comprehensive programs to transform the most affected territories, hitting the strongest links in the chain and adopting a differentiated penal treatment for the weakest sectors such as growers and consumers; _INTEGRATED NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR THE SUBSTITUTION OF ILLICITLY USED CROPS – PNIS, __contemplated in point 4 of the Peace Agreement._ Read more ... [5] COLOMBIA: A PEACE AGREEMENT THAT IGNORES DIFFERENTIAL APPROACHES Reports from various entities monitoring the peace process agree that the degree of implementation of the whole Agreement is limited to the legislative execution of the commitments, there is little progress in actual delivery of the transformative challenges of the Agreement. The implementation of the chapters on gender and ethnicity, to date, follows the same logic and there's only advancements in normative and enunciative matters, but none at all has been made in the development of policies containing concrete actions.Read more ... [6] COLOMBIA PEACE PROCESS UPDATE: COMPREHENSIVE RURAL REFORM – ONLY 4% COMPLETION! Since the signing of the Peace Agreement on November 24, 2016, the normative development of the Comprehensive Rural Reform - CRR has been limited to the creation of the Development Programs with Territorial Approach - PDETs, the creation of the Land Fund, the adoption of the procedure for the Formalization of Property, the initiation of the Multipurpose Cadastre, and the adoption of 6 National Plans for the Comprehensive Rural Reform - PNCRR. Read more ... [7] COLOMBIA PEACE PROCESS UPDATE: "IF WE SPEAK, THEY KILL US, IF WE STAY QUIET, THEY KILL US TOO" "If we speak, they kill us, if we stay quiet, they kill us too", this is the statement of one of the Minga representatives who arrived in Bogotá on October 17. Close to 10,000 indigenous, peasant and Afro-descendent people travelled around 600 km from their territories to the capital, their objective: to call for respect for the lives of indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants and peasant communities, for their right to land tenure and for the implementation of the Peace Agreement. In the words of an indigenous reservation leader: . Read more ... [8] PRESS RELEASE: CLOC DENOUNCES ARBITRARY ARRESTS OF PEASANT LEADERS IN COLOMBIA The intensification of violence and stigmatisation of social movements in South America has increased in an abysmal fashion. The pandemic has become an occasion for further dispossession, stigmatisation, and violence in countries like Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Columbia, and in general, the majority of countries in the lower region. These actions are meant to stomp out resistance through the extermination of peasants, students, workers, and social organisations more broadly. Read more... [9] 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 [1]clicking here [1]. [10] [11] Twitter [11] [12] Facebook [12] [13] Vimeo [13] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [2] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org [14] TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org [15] To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [2] -- Viviana Rojas Flores (Biby) La Via Campesina International Operative Secretary (based in Ecuador) Email: viviana.rojas(a)viacampesina.org Phone: (593) 995213177 Skype: bebebiby Links: ------ [1] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/viacampesina [2] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-colombia-peace-process-charact… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-peace-process-forum-in-november-2020-c… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-peace-process-the-abandonment-of-the-p… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-a-peace-agreement-that-ignores-differe… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-peace-process-update-comprehensive-rur… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-peace-process-update-human-rights-if-w… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/press-release-cloc-denounces-arbitrary-arrests-… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [11] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [12] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/ [13] https://vimeo.com/viacampesina [14] http://www.viacampesina.org [15] http://www.tv.viacampesina.org

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[Info EN] Ten Years of Nyeleni Newsletter: Much to Celebrate!
by La Via Campesina 15 Dec '20

15 Dec '20

A decade ago, the movements of peasants, fisherfolk, shepherds, women, migrants, workers, young people, and indigenous peoples sowed a crucial seed in the defence of Food Sovereignty and the right to food - the Nyéléni Newsletter. During this ten year germination period, we have shared challenges, experiences, reflections, and acts of unity. In recent times, the COVID-19 pandemic has reaffirmed the fundamental role of those who feed communities in a healthy, fair, and sustainable manner. Alarmingly, we have also witnessed how extractive capitalism, authoritarianism and agribusinesses have taken over land and territories with total impunity, causing lives to be put at risk while governments continue to enact policies, regulations, and laws that favour corporations and industrial food systems. DESPITE THIS, THERE IS STILL PLENTY TO CELEBRATE. This newsletter is a unique instrument of solidarity, exchange, training, and communication for the organisations that are advocating for urgent reforms of the Industrial Food System in favour of Food Sovereignty. Today we applaud legislation promoting Food Sovereignty, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, the mass expansion of Agroecology in practice and training through hundreds of schools, as well as the constant fight to keep peasant seeds in the hands of small-scale food producers. DOWNLOAD THE NEWSLETTER HERE [1] Links: ------ [1] http://www.nyeleni.org/ccount/click.php?id=152

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[Info EN] “A Summit Under Siege” | Corporate control of 2021 UN Food Summit endangers food sovereignty!
by La Via Campesina 10 Dec '20

10 Dec '20

_Corporate lobbies defending Agribusiness interests are influencing the 2021 UN FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT preparations, making the process opaque and exclusionary. La Via Campesina explains why this endangers people's food sovereignty and threatens the planet's future._ ----------------------------------- There is little doubt that the world needs to come together to deal with the severe and ongoing impact of COVID-19 on our food systems. When the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS21) was announced in December 2019, the world was a different place. Even then, concerns existed about the non-transparent and illegitimate process behind developing, announcing and organizing that Summit. Consequently, in March 2020 LA VIA CAMPESINA (LVC) JOINED AROUND 550 [1] other social movements and civil society organizations in opposing the corporate takeover of the Summit. [2] As the UNFSS21 process has been moving forward, as La Via Campesina, we are getting more and more alarmed. At the same time, we affirm that a global conversation on our food systems is of utmost importance, as the COVID 19 pandemic has only reinforced and exposed the failure of the corporate food system to address hunger, inequality and the ecological crisis. This paper presents LVC's concerns and reflections related to the Summit, both in terms of process and contents. It also aims to express La Via Campesina's engagement and demands towards a necessary food system transformation guided by the principles of food sovereignty and agroecology. We, at LVC, have not only advocated but also actively participated in democratizing the United Nations. LVC has had a critical role in the reform of UN food policy processes after the 2008 food crisis. The crisis made UN bodies and member states recognize the importance of including the voices of rural social movements and civil society in shaping food policies. In particular, the FAO STRATEGY FOR PARTNERSHIPS [3] with Civil Society Organizations, and the reform of the Committee for World Food Security (CFS) with its Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) brought forth new paradigms, logics and processes that started paving the way to the democratization global food systems policy. This brought about a progressive shift that levelled the "field of play" not only for civil society but also for national governments. LVC, through the unified and committed work and processes of the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC), has played a vital role in empowering the CSM and CFS processes. Many of the advances were indeed born out of the principles of food sovereignty - a comprehensive model for transforming food systems, restoring the health of our peoples and nature - supported and advocated by LVC since the World Food Summit of 1996. These institutional processes have allowed several significant advances, including the Guidelines on Land Tenure, the Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries, the ongoing process regarding the Guidelines on Agroecology and Other Innovations, and more broadly, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas. Many of these new instruments have posed direct obstacles to the global corporate agenda, as well as the imperial interests of global economies and elites. DOWNLOAD THE POSITION PAPER (PDF) [4] Links: ------ [1] https://www.foodsovereignty.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EN_Edited_draft-… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/12/LVC-Position… [3] http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3443e.pdf [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/position-paper-a-summit-under-siege-corporate-c…

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[Info EN] India’s farmers seek urgent solidarity. Globalise the Struggle, Globalise Hope!
by La Via Campesina 09 Dec '20

09 Dec '20

INDIA'S FARMERS SEEK URGENT SOLIDARITY. GLOBALISE THE STRUGGLE, GLOBALISE HOPE! #SUPPORTINDIANFARMERS #PEASANTFORPEASANTSOLIDARITY Thousands of our sisters, brothers and kins are pressing on with protests in and around India's National Capital, against three agricultural legislations that could be exploited by the private sector to buy crops at low prices. Despite the cold weather and brutal police crackdowns in some areas, protesting farmers and farm workers are resolute in their demand for a complete roll-back of these legislations. Since September 2020, several farmers' organisations in India, among them Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Bhartiya Kisan Union and many others, have been protesting the national government's attempts to bring in three legislations, that could make small-scale food producers vulnerable to exploitation by big corporations. * * These legislations, the farmers allege, would provide a perfect cover for corporations to further push down the prices of the produce. It would also weaken the government's procurement system, whereby the government buys staples, such as wheat and rice, at guaranteed prices. PROTESTING FARMERS WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO FIRST ROLL-BACK ALL THE THREE LEGISLATIONS, which they say were brought in with little or no consultation with them. They have demanded that the Government forms a Panel, which will then evaluate these legislations in consultation with the farmers and then build a consensus with the people who are affected by any reforms. THE FARMERS ARE ALSO DEMANDING THAT GOVERNMENT BRING IN A LAW THAT GUARANTEES MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE FOR THEIR PRODUCE so that under no conditions, farmers are forced to sell their produce at losses. On 08 December 2020, farmers have called a nationwide strike across India, which also found support from trade unions, transport unions and many others. As La Via Campesina South Asia, representing and led by small-scale food producers in the region, WE CALL UPON ALL PEASANT ORGANISATIONS AROUND THE WORLD TO SEND MESSAGES OF SUPPORT AND SOLIDARITY TO THE PROTESTING INDIAN FARMERS and echo their demands. It is time that peasants of the world unite, as the struggle for dignity and respect binds us all together, irrespective of where we are. Time has come to 'Globalise the Struggle and Globalise the Hope' for a dignified life for the communities who feed a majority of the world's population. It is essential to show our collective strength and remind the world that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere! HOW CAN YOU SHOW SOLIDARITY? * MOBILISE IN YOUR REGION, in support of Indian farmers and send photos/video messages to SECRETARIATLVCSOUTHASIA(a)GMAIL.COM * WRITE LETTERS TO INDIAN HIGH COMMISSIONS in your country and extend your solidarity to India's small-scale food producers. Find the contacts of Indian Missions in your country/region here: https://mea.gov.in/indian-missions-abroad-new.htm#A * ISSUE STATEMENTS OF SOLIDARITY WITH INDIAN FARMERS and email them to secretariatlvcsouthasia(a)gmail.com * SHARE YOUR MESSAGES OF SOLIDARITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH THE HASHTAGS #SupportIndianFarmers and #PeasantForPeasantSolidarity and tag @lvc_southasia on Twitter and @lvcsouthasia Facebook ------------------------- _issued by LA VIA CAMPESINA SOUTH ASIA | _08 December 2020 ail [1] ail [1] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/#email

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