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[Info EN] The Nyéléni Newsletter: Digitalization of the food system
by La Via Campesina 18 Sep '19

18 Sep '19

THE NYÉLÉNI NEWSLETTER: DIGITALIZATION OF THE FOOD SYSTEM Today, more than 820 million people suffer from hunger while obesity also continues to increase across the world . Biodiversity in food and agriculture is being eroded at an alarming rate by the destruction of eco-systems. Climate change is accelerating: temperatures this July were the highest ever recorded; glaciers are melting much faster than predicted; and millions of young people are demanding urgent action to address the climate crisis. Meanwhile governments are showing little initiative to change the industrial, fossil-fuel driven food and agricultural system. Instead, a new "silver bullet" is being presented by corporations, governments and international institutions to tackle hunger, malnutrition and climate change: digitalization, which refers to the adoption of information-communication technologies (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) into everyday life and across societal activities. Digital technologies have the potential to be beneficial or harmful depending on the context. Small-scale food producers have their own technologies, innovations and knowledge. However, so do corporations, who seek monopoly controls on technology. Also, digitalization is happening in an era of increasing inequalities, authoritarianism and oppression. This newsletter presents a synopsis of the digitalization of food, and contains examples of how digitalization affects and is used by communities in different parts of the world. We hope that these articles help social movements to engage in a collective discussion about digital technologies - and particularly how to benefit from them and prevent them doing harm. > DOWNLOAD THE NEWSLETTER [1] Links: ------ [1] http://www.nyeleni.org/ccount/click.php?id=136

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[Info EN] Global Action against WTO and Free Trade Agreements!
by La Via Campesina 03 Sep '19

03 Sep '19

LA VIA CAMPESINA ISSUES CALL TO MOBILISE AGAINST WTO AND FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS 02 SEPTEMBER, HARARE: Two decades after coming into being, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) - one of the flag bearers of globalisation and neo-liberalism - is facing an existential crisis that is precipitated by the same group of people who created it. This is also happening at a time when peasants and indigenous people are several degrees worse off than they were two decades ago; with their land, rivers, oceans and forests having undergone massive erosion and forced evictions are inflicted upon them by profit hungry corporations. Local peasant markets and food systems in several countries have been decimated by an order of international trade that only looks at commodification of everything, including the food that people eat. For an organisation that inscribed among its founding objectives, its aim _"to help developing countries benefit fully from the global trading system"_, WTO's greatest indictment has indeed come from the following realities confronting the developing world today; rising rural unemployment, rising hunger, staggering levels of inequality that exists between countries and within countries, and rising per capita world debt. La Via Campesina has long been warning the world of the risks of deregulation and unbridled expansion of global capital. As people working in the field to feed 70% of the world's population, we were the first to face the brunt of free trade agreements that were pushed forth by WTO and other multilateral institutions. WTO led the pack in seducing and coercing our governments to sign up to the grand plans of a few rich countries. The devastation caused by this top down model of global governance was first felt in our territories when it crashed the prices of our produce, destroyed local peasant markets, wiped away the rich biodiversity that existed in our fields, took away our autonomy over seeds and evicted millions of our sisters and brothers from their territories. It is this destruction of the country side that forced one of our own, Lee Kyung Hae from South Korea, to take his life outside the venue of the WTO ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico in 2003. On the 10th of September that year when he committed this tragic act, he had a banner that hung around his neck which read _"WTO Kills Farmers"_. Once a self-sufficient rice farmer in rural Korea, Lee had lost everything to cheap dumping of imported rice and meat, the result of free trade agreements pushed through WTO. He took such an extreme step because the rich and few who ran these institutions or lobbied around them, were too far away from the lived realities of the countryside. His act of sacrifice brought the depressing account of the rural world right outside their gates, even as in his last moments he bravely echoed the demands of peasants and rural communities worldwide; "to keep agriculture out of WTO's free trade negotiations". SINCE THEN, LA VIA CAMPESINA MARKS 10TH OF SEPTEMBER EVERY YEAR AS THE _INTERNATIONAL DAY OF STRUGGLE AGAINST WTO AND FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS_ – TO KEEP THE MEMORY OF LEE KYUNG HAE ALIVE AND ALSO TO NOT REMAIN MUTE TO THE CALAMITOUS CONSEQUENCES OF INTERNATIONAL FREE TRADE. 16 years hence that tragic incident, what has changed? Nothing, except that the hands that feed WTO is now refusing to continue. It is ironical when the rich captains of capitalism claim that they got a bad deal from WTO. It begs the question, _"then who got the good deal?"_ . But let us not be fooled by this charade of false threats made by rich western countries to withdraw from WTO. What we have been seeing over the past one decade is the establishment of several bilateral and regional mega-free trade agreements and creation of newer unified trade blocks. So while WTO may eventually be weakened or be dead, capitalism wants to continue to thrive through other means. It goes by different names in different continents. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) comprising ASEAN nations, India, Australia and New Zealand is one among this new age trade agreements that wants to create a unified market in the region, being negotiated 'outside of WTO'. Peasant organisations here have been pointing out how it could severely impact their livelihoods, particularly those of small scale dairy farmers, how it could impose restrictive seeds laws and more. Yet these negotiations continue behind closed doors in the most opaque ways possible led by a few who have never held a plough in their hands! The EU - MERCOSUR deal between Europe and the economic and political bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela, under negotiations for 17 years and finally signed onto by the European Commission in July this year, is another case in point. _European Coordination of Via Campesina_ (ECVC) had warned that the deal with MERCOSUR threatens to undermine standards on health, the environment and animal welfare in the European Union, in addition to lacking any policy coherence with the tall promises made at COP 23. Peasant organisations in the MERCOSUR block calls it a neocolonial model that will result in a capital concentration for the few and poverty for the majority. In Africa, the creation of African Continental Free Trade Agreement, a mega regional free trade agreement, is '_premised on the notion that trade liberalisation, through both tariff and non-tariff barrier reduction, will drastically increase intra-continental trade, and that this increased trade will be beneficial for all_.' [CADTM [1], 2019]. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Farmers organisations in Canada have also called out U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA, earlier known as NAFTA) for failing to address the concerns of grain farmers and dairy farmers in the country. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) between Australia,Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,Singapore, and Vietnam. has sown the fears of corporate capture of seed systems, dilution in the regulation for GMOs and serious worries for small-scale food producers. Many, if not all, of these trade agreements carry within it the controversial provision of _Investor-State Dispute Settlement" (ISDS)_, which in all instances invariably allow private corporations to override sovereign national laws and sue the national governments for threatening their profitability. A system that allows multinational private corporations to take a sovereign nation to trial in front of an opaquely set up international tribunal, for the 'crime' of choosing people's welfare over profit is indeed a dangerous one and must be fiercely opposed. REJECT WTO AND FTAS! MOBILISE FOR A PEASANT-LED ALTERNATIVE! It is in this vein that La Via Campesina is calling upon its members and allies to not be misled by the smokescreen of a 'weakening WTO' and be aware of the new age mega and bilateral free trade agreements are equally if not more harmful. As we remember Lee Kyung Hae this September, let us also agitate, educate and organise the rural members of our movement and our allies about the lurking dangers of these closed room trade negotiations. It is important that we reject all kinds of free trade agreements and work towards the complete dismantling of WTO as it prepares to meet for the next Ministerial in Kazakhstan. It is important to inform the people of peasant-led-alternatives that exist, which can feed the people and also save the planet. _The UN Declaration on Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas_(UNDROP), which our movement won through 17 years of hard fought negotiations, are an instrument to protect the rights of our people and our efforts must be to have it implemented in our countries. It is vital for our movements to promote and strengthen the local peasant markets selling locally produced food using agroecological methods to local customers, and that which represents and respects the diversity of local food systems. We demand for national policies that strengthen these peasant market systems and reject free trade agreements that pose an existential threat to it. It is important that our movements on the ground also support the Global Campaign for a UN Binding Treaty for Transnational Corporations on Human Rights that aims to end the impunity of transnational corporations and work to strike out the controversial provisions of ISDS from all free trade agreements. Starting 10 September, we are exhorting the 182 peasant organisations of La Via Campesina in 81 countries, all our allied social movements, academic institutions, political schools of training and NGOs to organise direct actions, public events, study sessions and demonstrations to expose the dangers of these free trade agreements in your own region and countries and also to present an alternative that is rooted in local cultures, context and biodiversity. > Let the rallying call for our global actions once again be > > "WTO, FTAS OUT OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD!" > > "PEASANT TRADE SYSTEMS OVER FREE TRADE" > > "FOOD SOVEREIGNTY, NOT FREE TRADE!" ------------------------- Send the details of your planned actions to lvcweb(a)viacampesina.org or share it on social media with the hashtags #WTOKILLSPEASANTS #FOODSOVEREIGNTYNOW. Follow our Facebook Page [2] and Twitter Page [3] for cartoons and official posters for 2019 that will be launched during the week. To download posters from our archives, click here [4] and to make your own posters, try this link. [5] Links: ------ [1] http://www.cadtm.org/The-African-Continental-Free-Trade-Agreement-Loss-of-S… [2] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/ [3] https://twitter.com/via_campesina [4] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/mCxyKsGXJnLiEw5 [5] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/HTGkSZZCipGmLxn

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[Info EN] Barinas Massacre: La Via Campesina stands in solidarity with our CRBZ
by La Via Campesina 01 Aug '19

01 Aug '19

La Via Campesina, the international peasant movement that brings together 200 million members in hundreds of social movements throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas denounces to the entire world the BARINAS MASSACRE which took place 27 July 2019. In it, six militants of our movement in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, including a pregnant comrade, were vilely assassinated by mercenaries suspectedly linked to right-wing landholders. The hybrid war being waged against the Bolivarian Revolution must end immediately, respecting the right of the Venezuelan people to live in peace. We add our voice to that of the Frente Nacional Campesino Ezequiel Zamora (FNCEZ), its Corriente Revolucionaria Bolívar y Zamora (CRBZ) and Brigadas de Defensa Popular Hugo Chávez (BDP), insisting on a rapid and effective investigation that clarrifies the facts and holds both the material and intelectual culprits responsible for their heinous crime. In these moments of grief and resistance, we express our full solidarity with the great people of Venezuela and their popular organizations in struggle. José Geraldo Rojas, Manuel J. Cordero Benítez, Alexi Ontiveros Mora, Eudes Rojas Peña, Kebin Navas Rodríguez, Milaidis Navas González ¡PRESENT! "Honor and glory to our fallen brothers and sister. They will be forever present in our hearts and minds, in every battle and process of struggle!" - CRBZ ¡Globalize struggle, globalize hope! LA VIA CAMPESINA HTTPS://VIACAMPESINA.ORG/EN/THE-BARINAS-MASSACRE-LA-VIA-CAMPESINA-STANDS-IN…

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[Info EN] La Via Campesina |e-newsletter| June-July 2019
by La Via Campesina 31 Jul '19

31 Jul '19

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* La Via Campesina | e-newsletter | June-July 2019 Donate [1] This edition of the newsletter is the result of a collective effort of organisations, which are part of_ La Via Campesina_ movement worldwide. To subscribe click here [2] UN DECADE OF FAMILY FARMING; PEASANTS VOICE THEIR HOPES AND CONCERNS The Decade was officially launched at FAO headquarters in Rome on 29th May 2019 and was preceded by sessions to exchange and discuss the priorities to implement the global action plan, with the participation of key stakeholders, including the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty and La Via Campesina. La Via Campesina, with a strong delegation of representatives from several regions around the world, different agricultural activities and battlefields for agroecology and food sovereignty, had an active participation in the dialogues and shared its expectations, hopes and concerns with regards to the Decade. Will this Decade simply be another declaration of intent, adding to other ineffective instruments? How is family farming defined? What is the role to be played by governments? And where is the place for peasant agroecology? The answers to these questions will be determining for the success of the Decade. Read More [3] FEATURED ARTICLES PEASANT'S RIGHTS DECLARATION ENRICHES THE HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM On 28 September 2018, the Human Rights Council adopted the declaration, which was voted in by a comfortable margin, and which represented, without a doubt, an important step forward on the part of the human rights system from a pluricultural and humanist perspective. Read more → [4] SOUTH ASIAN PEASANT MOVEMENTS MEET IN KATHMANDU, NEPAL Members of La Via Campesina from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India took part in the 3-day long meeting making a collective commitment to unify the struggles in the region to realize food sovereignty and to also strengthen the solidarity across the region. Read more → [5] DECLARATIONS FROM THE VII CONGRESS OF THE CLOC LVC In Havana, Cuba, 300 men and women delegates of peasant, indigenous, afro-descendant, landless, artisan fishers, native peoples and rural men and women workers, the youth and women from 30 countries in representation of all of the regions of America, as well as delegates from Via Campesina International, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, and over 50 international guests all met to hold the VII Continental Congress of the CLOC Via Campesina. Political Declaration of the VII Congress [6] V Youth Assembly of the CLOC-LVC: Declaration [7] VI Women Assembly of the CLOC-LVC: Declaration [8] FORCEFUL MASS DISPLACEMENT AS A RESULT OF HOUSE DEMOLITIONS IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM The Israeli occupying authorities are accelerating illegal policies and practices to forcibly transfer Palestinians out of Jerusalem. Read more → [9] PROTESTS IN EL PASO AGAINST BORDER PATROL FACILITIES, TREATMENT OF MIGRANTS "It's critical now," she said. "Children are being held in cages now. Mothers are without their babies. Families are without their children.", says Rosemary Rojas, president of the board of directors for the Border Agricultural Workers Project (BAWP) Read more → [10] THE AGRARIAN ISSUE AND CURRENT CHALLENGES Throughout history, the progressive transformation of agricultural production has at its basis the struggle for land. This struggle aims to introduce a radical change in the productive structure; as a consequence, the agrarian issue is significant for the coexistence of humanity and it was dealt with by the leaders of social struggle. Read more → [11] KOREAN FORUM OF RIGHTS OF PEASANTS On May 24, KPL News and Nyeoreum Research Institute of Agriculture & Peasant Policy, with the support of peasants movement in Korea including Korean Peasant League (KPL), Korean Women Peasants Association (KWPA), launched Forum of Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas in Korea. Read more → [12] La Via Campesina Southern and Eastern Africa Youth Articulation Statement We, La Via Campesina Southern and Eastern Africa youth articulation delegates from eight organizations (ESAFF Uganda, ZIMSOFF, Kenyan Peasant League, COPACO, Landless People Movement, Agrarian Campaign for Food Sovereignty, União Nacional de Camponeses [UNAC], MVIWATA) gathered at Mutuko, Zimbabwe for the Youth training, are concerned about the current precarious state of the youth in our region and the African continent. Read more → [13] 2019 WILL BE A DECISIVE YEAR FOR THE BINDING TREATY ON TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS, SAY CAMPAIGNERS The Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity (Global Campaign) has issued a call to mobilise in protest against corporate power on October 12 across the planet and to pressure governments to advance the Binding Treaty. Read more → [14] Mercosur: hypocrisy of the European Union In the midst of a climate crisis, how can EU sign an agreement that promotes a model of industrialization of agriculture instead of the localised agricultural systems which completely flies in the face of the objectives of the Paris agreement on climate change?, ECVC asks. Read more → [15] FEATURED PUBLICATION LA VIA CAMPESINA: 2018 ANNUAL REPORT The 2018 Annual Report highlights the selected activities and the advances made during the year towards strengthening the international movement. Download here [16] 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 [1]. [17] [18] Twitter [18] [19] Facebook [19] [20] Vimeo [20] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [2] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org [21] TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org [22] To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [2] Links: ------ [1] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/viacampesina [2] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/un-decade-of-family-farming-peasants-voice-thei… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/opinion-adoption-of-the-peasants-rights-declara… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/south-asian-peasant-movements-meet-in-kathmandu… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/political-declaration-of-the-vii-congress-of-th… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/v-youth-assembly-of-the-cloc-lvc-declaration/ [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/vi-women-assembly-of-the-cloc-lvc-declaration/ [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/forceful-mass-displacement-as-a-result-of-house… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/artists-agricultural-workers-gather-in-el-paso-… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/opinion-the-agrarian-issue-and-current-challeng… [12] https://viacampesina.org/en/launch-of-korean-forum-of-rights-of-peasants-an… [13] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-southern-and-eastern-africa-yo… [14] https://viacampesina.org/en/2019-will-be-a-decisive-year-for-the-binding-tr… [15] https://viacampesina.org/en/mercosur-when-the-hypocrisy-of-the-eu-seeks-to-… [16] https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesina-2018-annual-report/ [17] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [18] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [19] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/ [20] https://vimeo.com/viacampesina [21] http://www.viacampesina.org [22] http://www.tv.viacampesina.org

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[Info EN] DECLARATIONS from VII Congress of CLOC LVC, Women's Assembly & Youth Assembly
by La Via Campesina 24 Jul '19

24 Jul '19

Political Declaration of the VII Congress of the CLOC LVC In Havana, Cuba, on the 60th anniversary of signing of the Agrarian Reform Law, 27 years after the foundation of the CLOC and 25 years after its first Continental congress, 300 men and women delegates of peasant, indigenous, afrodescendant, landless, artisan fishers, native peoples and rural men and women workers, the youth and women from 30 countries in representation of all of the regions of America, as well as delegates from Via Campesina International, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, and over 50 international guests all met to hold the VII Continental Congress of the CLOC Via Campesina. Read the full text of the Declaration [1] VI Women Assembly of the CLOC-LVC: Declaration Ten years after the historical day when, in the Niceto Perez School of the ANAP, CLOC-Vía Campesina declared that peasant men and women in Latin America pave the way for socialism, women stood up and shouted with all our strength that WITHOUT FEMINISM THERE IS NO SOCIALISM. The VI Peasant Women Assembly was part of the VII Congress of the Latin America Coordination of Peasant Organizations, CLOC-Via Campesina, which took place in the municipality of Güira de Melena, province of Artemisa, Cuba. It gathered together women delegates of our organizations in 21 countries, inspired by the historical breakthroughs of Cuban women and the revolutionary spirit of Vilma Espin, Celia Sanchez and their people. We met to continue walking down our historical path, the one that has kept alive the resistance of women from the countryside in the face of the patriarchal and capitalist system. Read the full text of the Declaration [2] V Youth Assembly of the CLOC-LVC: Declaration On June 25th 2019 more than 100 men and women youth delegates from 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean met in Cuba for the V Youth Assembly of the CLOC-LVC, under the motto "youth of the countryside, youth of the city, let's struggle together for our ideals". Read the full text of the Declaration [3] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/political-declaration-of-the-vii-congress-of-th… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/vi-women-assembly-of-the-cloc-lvc-declaration/ [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/v-youth-assembly-of-the-cloc-lvc-declaration/

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[Info EN] La Via Campesina |e-newsletter| May 2019
by La Via Campesina 21 Jun '19

21 Jun '19

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* La Via Campesina | e-newsletter | May 2019 Donate [1] This edition of the newsletter is the result of a collective effort of organisations, which are part of_ La Via Campesina_ movement worldwide. To subscribe click here [2] OPINION: THE AGRARIAN ISSUE AND CURRENT CHALLENGES Throughout history, the progressive transformation of agricultural production has at its basis the struggle for land. This struggle aims to introduce a radical change in the productive structure; as a consequence, the agrarian issue is significant for the coexistence of humanity and it was dealt with by the leaders of social struggle.... Read more → [3] FEATURED ARTICLES SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS SEND AN OPEN LETTER TO ECUADOR ON THE CHEVRON CASE The Chevron case [4] in the Ecuadorian Amazon is paradigmatic in the struggle against corporate impunity. It's also linked to the struggle against ISDS, and for the UN Binding Treaty on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights. Read more → [5] SOUTH EAST AND EAST ASIA PEASANT ORGANISATIONS MEET IN SAKURA, JAPAN Ten peasant organizations who are members of La Via Campesina and one observer organization shared their struggles and activities to achieve food sovereignty during the six day-long meeting in Sakura. ... Read more → [6] HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEASANTS' RIGHTS MUST PREVAIL IN THE NEW COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY: ECVC Faced with the EU Bio-economy Strategy and the EU Presidency's proposals on CAP reform that underpin the vested interests of the agroindustry, ECVC and ECO RURALIS, in Bucharest, reject these proposals and demand that human rights and peasants' rights prevail in the new CAP, employing the Decade for Family Farming. ... Read more → [7] WOMEN'S STRUGGLES FOR A PEASANT AND PEOPLE'S FEMINISM _Towards the VII CLOC - LVC Congress (25 to 30 June, Havana - Cuba) _ The evolution of rural women's political participation in politics in Latin America is intimately linked with the rebellions expressed in the popular uprising of indigenous people and peasants and the united front that was built to confront the attempts to celebrate [in 1992] the 500 years, under the colonizers and their allied or submissive governments, since the "discovery" and the rape and pillage of our America. ... Read more → [8] KARUTURI GLOBAL'S NEW LAND DEAL IN ETHIOPIA MUST BE SCRAPPED Two years ago, indigenous communities in Gambella, Ethiopia, celebrated the departure of the Indian company Karuturi Global, after its contract for a 300,000 hectares agribusiness project was finally cancelled. But a diplomatic intervention by the Indian government and lawsuits filed by the company appear to have pushed Ethiopian authorities to backtrack and offer a new lease, this time for 15,000 hectares. |... Read more [9] ECVC JOINTLY WITH 340+ ORGANISATIONS CALL ON THE EU TO IMMEDIATELY HALT TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH BRAZIL June 18, 2019: In an open letter published today, ECVC jointly with 340 civil society organisations are demanding that the European Union immediately halt free trade agreement negotiations with the Mercosur bloc (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) on the grounds of deteriorating human rights and environmental conditions in Brazil. ... Read more → [10] PEASANTS' VIEW OF THE UNITED NATIONS DECADE OF FAMILY FARMING Humanity, for thousands of years, has been able to adapt and domesticate seeds, which gave rise to the art of being a farmer. Entire villages have specialised in this art to feed their people, and with time, have expanded their seeds and the knowledge necessary to make them more productive. ... Read more → [11] LVC SOUTHERN AND EASTERN AFRICA REGION CALLS FOR A BINDING TREATY ON THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TNCS La Via Campesina Southern and Eastern Africa (LVC SEAf) along with other members of the Southern Africa Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power, gathered in Johannesburg for a meeting of its reference group, urgently call for popular and public support to the United Nations Binding Treaty on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) for the Human Rights violations. ... Read more → [12] FARMERS' RIGHT TO SEED IS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE: NFU CANADA Last December the United Nations adopted the _Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas_. This declaration was brought forward by La Via Campesina (LVC) - a global movement which brings together organizations representing small- and medium-scale farmers, peasants, agricultural workers, rural women and indigenous communities. ... Read more → [13] ECVC AND ECO RURALIS ARE ORGANISING A SERIES OF EVENTS ON RIGHTS OF PEASANTS THIS JUNE. HERE IS A LIST. The European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC), together with Eco Ruralis - the Romanian peasants association, together with partners, is proud to announce the organization of several international events, in Bucharest, Romania, between 1-3 June 2019. ... Read more → [14] PEASANTS AND FARM WORKERS IN EUROPE CALL IT TIME TO DISMANTLE HETEROPATRIARCHY "Often our agendas of demands and struggles target the outside world, thanks to which, we achieve important reforms and victories for society. But many times we also forget to look inwards: inside of our organisations and within individuals. ... Read more → [15] THE LATIN AMERICAN COORDINATION OF RURAL ORGANIZATIONS (CLOC) AT 25 YEARS In February 1994, in Lima (Perú), under the slogan "United in Defense of Life, Land, Work and Production" the Latin American Coordination of Rural Organizations (CLOC) was officially established. Eighty-four (84) organizations from 18 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean came together for this historic moment. ... Read more → [16] FEATURED VIDEOS [17] A video, shot on 17 May 2019 and published on 22 May by the human rights NGO B'Tselem, shows Israeli settlers burning agricultural land belonging to Palestinian families in the village of Burin. It shows Israeli soldiers participating in the aggression, protecting settlers and preventing Palestinian peasants from intervening and extinguishing the fire. Watch video [17] 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 [1]. [18] [19] Twitter [19] [20] Facebook [20] [21] Vimeo [21] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [2] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org [22] TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org [23] To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [2] Links: ------ [1] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/viacampesina [2] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/opinion-the-agrarian-issue-and-current-challeng… [4] https://www.stopcorporateimpunity.org/chevron-impunity-in-ecuador/ [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/social-movements-and-civil-society-organisation… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/south-east-and-east-asia-peasant-organisations-… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/human-rights-and-peasants-rights-must-prevail-i… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/womens-struggles-for-a-peasant-and-peoples-femi… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/karuturi-globals-new-land-deal-in-ethiopia-must… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/ecvc-jointly-with-340-organisations-call-on-the… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/peasants-view-of-the-united-nations-decade-of-f… [12] https://viacampesina.org/en/lvc-southern-and-eastern-africa-region-calls-fo… [13] https://viacampesina.org/en/farmers-right-to-seed-is-a-matter-of-principle-… [14] https://viacampesina.org/en/ecvc-and-eco-ruralis-are-organising-a-series-of… [15] https://viacampesina.org/en/peasants-and-farm-workers-in-europe-call-it-tim… [16] https://viacampesina.org/en/the-cloc-at-25-years/ [17] https://youtu.be/kAgYyaHvNuc [18] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [19] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [20] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/ [21] https://vimeo.com/viacampesina [22] http://www.viacampesina.org [23] http://www.tv.viacampesina.org

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[Info EN] Chevron Case: An open letter to Ecuador
by La Via Campesina 23 May '19

23 May '19

Social movements and Civil Society Organisations send an open letter to Ecuador on the Chevron case The Chevron case [1] in the Ecuadorian Amazon is paradigmatic in the struggle against corporate impunity. It's also linked to the struggle against ISDS, and for the UN Binding Treaty on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights. The Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity [2], allied with members of the European Campaign "Rights for People, Rules for corporations - Stop ISDS" [3], as well as other allies at the international level, in coordination with the Union of those affected by Chevron - Texaco in Ecuador (UDAPT) [4], carried out several actions worldwide. On 21st May #AntiChevron Global Day of Action more than 280 organisations, networks, Unions and movements worldwide, in representation of more than 280 millions of people, addressed this letter to the Ecuadorian Government on the Chevron case. ------------- LETTER TO ECUADOR ON THE CHEVRON CASE [5] Mr. Lenín Boltaire Moreno Garcés President of the Republic of Ecuador _21 May 2019_ Regarding the Chevron-Texaco Case in Ecuador MR. PRESIDENT, We who belong to many international civil society social organizations and networks who are committed to human rights and social, economic and environmental justice are writing to you because we are deeply concerned about the Chevron-Texaco case in the Ecuadorian Amazon region. The case is irrefutable proof of the way the system whose purpose is to ensure the impunity of transnational companies all over the world works. After 25 years of trials, and although a judgement requiring Chevron (formerly known as Texaco) to pay US$9,500 million to repair environmental damage, has been ratified at every level of the Ecuadorian judicial system, it has never been enforced [6]. To avoid complying with it, Chevron withdrew all of its assets from Ecuador. Because they did that, the men and women affected by the environmental disaster had to have recourse in foreign courts (in Argentina, Brazil and Canada) to have the judgement recognised and enforced, but so far, they have had no success. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of those affected continue suffering serious health effects. The cancer rate in the contaminated area reaches up to 8-10 times the national average. Chevron left 880 pits full of crude oil which are still there, the rivers are still full of hydrocarbon sediment and polluted by the crude oil spills in Amazonia, which is one of the most biodiversity rich regions in the world. The damage has been left unrepaired for more than 40 years. Corporate crime goes on. Even worse, in 2009 Chevron sued the Ecuadorian state at the International Court in The Hague using the Investor State Dispute Settlement Mechanism (ISDS). The oil company also sought economic compensation and asked that the arbitration panel interfere in the Ecuadorian justice system itself. In August 2018, the arbitration panel ruled in favour of Chevron and sentenced Ecuador to pay a still unknown sum to the transnational company. Moreover, it ordered the Ecuadorian government to prevent the judgement of the Ecuadorian courts from being enforced. These provisions are unconstitutional and inapplicable in Ecuador. If the government were to execute the arbitration ruling, it would be violating its own constitution, wiping out the rights of the 30,000 people affected by Chevron and openly favouring that company's interests. This decision would therefore establish a dangerous precedent at the international level which could encourage similar arbitration tribunals, putting them above domestic law courts and thus undermine the legal bases of the rule of law. Mr. President, today your government is heading the process that is working towards drafting a binding UN treaty on transnational corporations with respect to human rights [7]which could put an end to corporate impunity. These negotiations are taking place in the Human Rights Commission. It is worth pointing out that this treaty is a response to a demand from millions of people who belong to hundreds of social and environmental organizations, unions and affected communities around the world. Today, popular mobilization against the ISDS is growing [3]. Proof of this is that recently more than half a million signatures from European Union citizens were delivered to the Vice President of the European Commission asking that the European Union reject the ISDS and support the UN Binding Treaty and other regulations to force transnational companies to respect human rights. Mr. President, we remind you that the aforementioned case is not an exception. Chevron has been denounced for negative social and environmental impacts in other countries [8], for example, their fracking projects in Argentina have seriously affected Mapuche indigenous communities. What is more, oil companies like Chevron bear a large part of the responsibility for climate change [9] which today has caused hundreds of thousands of victims, driven thousands from their homes - climate refugees - and is also thrusting the whole planet into the worst environmental crisis ever see. Mr. President, we tell you that we cannot understand the direction that your government is taking currently with regard to this case. WE REMIND YOU THAT IT IS THE DUTY OF EVERY STATE TO PROTECT ITS POPULATION'S HUMAN RIGHTS FROM THE VIOLATIONS OF THIRD PARTIES. WE DEMAND THAT YOU NOT GIVE IN TO THE PRESSURE FROM THE UNITED STATES OR FROM CHEVRON BUT PUT THE RIGHTS OF ECUADORIAN MEN AND WOMEN FIRST AS THE CONSTITUTION OF ECUADOR DEMANDS. We ask you not to intervene in the court case between the affected communities (who are grouped together as UDAPT - Union of those Affected by Chevron-Texaco's Oil Operations) and the transnational company but that, on the contrary you give your support and protection to the indigenous and rural communities, respecting, protecting and guaranteeing their rights over the interests of international companies. SEE HERE THE LETTER AND THE 280 ENDORSEMENTS [5] Links: ------ [1] https://www.stopcorporateimpunity.org/chevron-impunity-in-ecuador/ [2] https://www.stopcorporateimpunity.org/ [3] https://stopisds.org/ [4] http://texacotoxico.net/ [5] https://www.stopcorporateimpunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Carta_Ecua… [6] http://texacotoxico.net/en/the-case/ [7] https://www.stopcorporateimpunity.org/binding-treaty-un-process/ [8] https://ejatlas.org/featured/chevronconflicts [9] http://climateaccountability.org/carbonmajors.html

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[Info EN] Via Campesina E-newsletter, April 2019
by La Via Campesina 17 May '19

17 May '19

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Via Campesina E-newsletter, April 2019 To Donate to the Peasant Movement, click here [1] This edition of the newsletter is the result of a collective effort of organisations, which are part of_ La Via Campesina_ movement worldwide. TO SUBSCRIBE CLICK HERE [2] #17APRIL: AROUND THE WORLD This April, scores of mobilisations and demonstrations around the world called for an urgent implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants by ushering in agrarian reform. This article looks at the highlights of these direct actions and demonstrations that took place during the month. READ MORE [3] OTHER NEWS FROM APRIL 2019 We, the youth of La Via Campesina, gathered in Thiès, Senegal, from 25-28 April, express our solidarity with the peasant youth of all those peoples who are being attacked by capitalism, imperial power, agribusiness and transnationals, and particularly with the youth of Palestine, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Venezuela and Mozambique. READ THE THIÈS DECLARATION [4] La Vía Campesina stood in support of the organized sectors of Colombian society that mobilised on the 25th of April, during a National Peasant, Indigenous, Afro-descendent, Worker and Popular Strike. READ OUR PRESS RELEASE [5] _ALSO READ:_ "The only struggle that is lost is that which is abandoned", FINAL DECLARATION [6] from the III Solidarity Mission to Colombia Global Network against Corporate Impunity condemns the arrest of Julian Assange. The Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity expresses its deepest concern at the arrest of Julian Assange on April 11, 2019, at the Embassy of Ecuador in London and calls on the UK government to demand his freedom and non-extradition to the United States. READ THE STATEMENT [7] DECADE OF FAMILY FARMING: 'PEASANT AGRICULTURE MUST BE THE FOCUS', SAYS VIA CAMPESINA IN DERIO READ THE FULL TEXT [8] of the intervention made by Joan Brady, the International Coordination Committee member of La Via Campesina, during the closing session of the VI Global Conference on Family Farming, March 2019, Derio. 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 [1]. [9] This edition of the newsletter is the result of a collective effort of organisations, which are part of_ La Via Campesina_ movement worldwide. To subscribe to our monthly newsletter click here [2] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [2] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org [10] TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org [11] To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [2] Links: ------ [1] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/viacampesina [2] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/rights-of-peasants-and-agrarian-reform-what-the… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/thies-declaration-in-solidarity-with-young-peas… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/%EF%BB%BFla-via-campesina-supports-the-national… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/the-only-struggle-that-is-lost-is-that-which-is… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/global-network-against-corporate-impunity-conde… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/decade-of-family-farming-peasant-agriculture-mu… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [10] http://www.viacampesina.org [11] http://www.tv.viacampesina.org

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[Info EN] Latest Nyeleni Newsletter on "Agroecology: Real innovation from and for the people" is available online
by La Via Campesina 06 May '19

06 May '19

AGROECOLOGY: REAL INNOVATION FROM AND FOR THE PEOPLE 6 MAY 2019 The crisis in the industrial food system is impossible to ignore. For over a decade, study after study has validated the assertion of the Food Sovereignty movement in 2007 - that the corporate food system destroys life. Now Governments are anxious to find 'innovations' in agriculture that can overcome this. They are hoping to be saved by a new Green Revolution(...). On the other hand Agroecology within the framework of Food Sovereignty is also gaining widespread recognition and is increasingly being promoted as an approach to transform agriculture and food systems and address the challenges we face. The Food Sovereignty movement is exposing how the discourse on innovation is actually a way to depoliticise the debate on what a new food system should look like - by not setting any criteria on what innovation must deliver on. In this way Agroecology is put together with GMOs, new gene breeding technologies, 'climate-smart agriculture' and 'sustainable intensification'. (...) In this edition, we look at the elements of Agroecology as defined by small scale food producers that make it the only real innovation to transform our food and farming. _Click here to download the English [1]edition or_ read it directly on the website at www.nyeleni.org [2] ! Links: ------ [1] http://www.nyeleni.org/ccount/click.php?id=133 [2] http://www.nyeleni.org/

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[Info EN] April 17th, 2019 – “The Declaration on Peasants’ Rights should become a political tool for Agrarian Reform and Social Justice”
by La Via Campesina 17 Apr '19

17 Apr '19

APRIL 17TH, 2019 – "THE DECLARATION ON PEASANTS' RIGHTS SHOULD BECOME A POLITICAL TOOL FOR AGRARIAN REFORM AND SOCIAL JUSTICE" 17 APRIL 2019 FOOD SOVEREIGNTY [1], GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR AGRARIAN REFORM [2], LAND, WATER AND TERRITORIES [3], PEASANTS' RIGHTS [4] PRESS RELEASE – LA VÍA CAMPESINA. (Harare, April 17th, 2019) Today, April 17th, 2019, the International Day of Peasants' Struggle, the member organisations of La Via Campesina are reaffirming the Declaration on Peasants' Rights as a political tool to strengthen the global struggle for decent living and working conditions in rural areas. The Declaration should also be a tool for the worldwide promotion of urgently-needed agrarian reform programmes, as essential components of public policies that countries should implement in their respective territories. On this International Day of Peasants' Struggle, we are also demanding full respect for our rights. The defence of land and territory is not a crime. There must be an end to impunity and an end to criminalisation, eviction, and killing. Today, when WE REMEMBER THE "ELDORADO DOS CARAJÁS MASSACRE" [5], which took place 23 years ago in Brazil, and when we remember our other struggles in other places, we are calling for Peasants' Rights with Agrarian Reform and Social Justice. As an international peasant movement, we are asking for agrarian reform programmes within a process of developing food sovereignty. We are asking for the strengthening of peasant family farming, which guarantees the right of rural and urban workers to healthy food at fair prices and makes possible the effective implementation of the PEASANTS' RIGHTS DECLARATION [6] all over the world. Our proposal for AGRARIAN REFORM NOT ONLY ENSURES THE DEMOCRATISATION OF ACCESS TO LAND, BUT IT ALSO INCLUDES ALL OF THE FACTORS THAT ALLOW PEASANTS – WOMEN AND MEN – TO LIVE WITH DIGNITY: education, health, culture, infrastructure, as well as public goods such as water, the seas, mangrove swamps and inland waters, seeds, and biodiversity as a whole. It implies market regulation and an end to land grabbing, evictions, and killings. It also includes the STRENGTHENING OF AGROECOLOGICAL PRODUCTION as a way of farming that is consistent with natural cycles and that can slow down climate change, maintain biodiversity, and reduce pollution. With the worldwide onslaught of capital, especially in Latin America, "one of the principal challenges is the combined struggle for land, for food that is free from poisons, and for social justice. This means that, in order to guarantee respect for Peasants' Rights in our territories, we need to build unity around a popular counter-offensive for regaining ground in our continent and for demanding public policies that are beneficial to us", states Diego Montón of the National Peasant Indigenous Movement (Movimiento Nacional Campesino Indígena) of Argentina. In Asia, there are other problems and issues. Peasant women face many obstacles to ensuring that their rights are respected. In particular, women do not have the right to land, and they are unjustly treated both within social organisations and in their communities. In addition, peasants do not receive fair prices for their products, a situation that has given rise to many protests in southern and south-eastern Asia during the past year. The Asian region is also facing a series of regional and multilateral free trade agreements. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is one of the largest of these agreements; it covers 16 Asian-Pacific countries and poses a potential threat to Peasants' Rights. Agrarian reform in the Middle East and North Africa is interlaced with occupation and colonialism; it is a key factor for attaining food sovereignty in a context of war. For peasants, agrarian reform is an imperative right; without that right, it is impossible to attain autonomy and independence, to overcome exploitation, servitude and erosion, or to confront the policies of direct and indirect colonisation enacted by the regimes in power. As member organisations of La Via Campesina, we are extremely worried to note that, in every corner of the planet - Africa, America, Europe, and Asia, we are confronted by capitalist interests that put the rush to extractivism before life itself. We are confronted by changes in soil use and by landgrabbbing on a massive and alarming scale that is in direct contradiction with popular agrarian reform. This situation not only threatens Peasants' Rights, but it also jeopardizes Food Sovereignty the world over. This is why, on April 17th, we are joining together, in solidarity and struggle, to say: PEASANTS' RIGHTS NOW! WITH AGRARIAN REFORM AND SOCIAL JUSTICE! CONTACTS: * Diego Montón, National Peasant Indigenous Movement (Movimiento Nacional Campesino Indígena) of Argentina. - Spanish (+54 92615062) * Marina Dos Santos, The Landless Movement of Brasil - Portugués/ Spanish (+55 21981850558) * Henry Saragih, SPI, Indonesia - English * Federico Pacheco - Andalusian Union of Workers, SOC- SAT. French (+34 0690651046) GLOBAL MAP OF ACTIONS THIS WEEK! CLICK HERE FOR THE MAP [7] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/food-sovereignty-and-t… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/agrarian-reform/global… [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/agrarian-reform/ [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/human-rights/ [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/brazilian-peasants-organize-protests-to-demand-… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/03/UN_Declarati… [7] http://u.osmfr.org/m/312717/

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