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#ITPGRFA: At Consultation on Farmers’ Rights, La Via Campesina demands a working group in the Treaty
by La Via Campesina 04 Oct '16

04 Oct '16

PRESS RELEASE ITPGRFA: AT CONSULTATION ON FARMERS' RIGHTS, LA VIA CAMPESINA DEMANDS A WORKING GROUP IN THE TREATY COMPRISING PEASANTS' ORGANISATIONS, TO HELP IMPLEMENT PEASANTS' RIGHTS [1] Published on Monday, 03 October 2016 17:48 [2]At the global consultation on Farmers' Rights organized by Government of Indonesia and supported by the Ministry of Norway and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), held in Bali from September 27-30, a delegation representing the global peasant movement La Via Campesina joined the civil society in demanding participation of indigenous people and peasant organisations in all decision-making processes concerning them. It called upon the Treaty to set up a working group on Farmers' Rights, with adequate representation of peasant organisations and indigenous peoples organisations. Expressing disappointment at the fact that despite its 15 yearlong existence the treaty has done little to implement farmers' rights, the delegation of peasants comprising women, men, youth and indigenous people demanded that their recommendations from the Bali Consultation be taken to the next meeting of the Governing Body of ITPGRFA. The recommendations will include a demand to create a permanent process to implement Farmers' Rights, to work on a process to create national laws and legislations to implement Farmers' Rights and also ways to support the peasant seeds systems in each country, depending on their local cultural, social, political and economic context. La Via Campesina, the global peasants' movement, representing over 200 million small holder peasants in 73 countries, also took note of the fact that it was the initiative of the Government of Indonesia and Government of Norway that ensured that peasants of La Via Campesina and the International Platform for Food Sovereignty were made part of this process for the first time. At a similar consultation held in the past, peasants of La Via Campesina were not made part of the consultation process that discussed Farmers' Rights. Given this background, La Via Campesina appreciates and acknowledges this important contribution that the two Governments have made to the Treaty process. At the same time, La Via Campesina expressed disappointment at the industry blocking peasants' demand to reject Intellectual Property Rights and patent laws, during the three-day long consultation. These laws directly attack the rights of peasants to use, save, exchange and sell their own local varieties of seeds. It called upon the treaty to urge the member countries to stop criminalization of peasants and indigenous communities on the basis of such laws. 75% of the food produced in the world are produced by small holder farmers who operate in the local, informal peasant seed systems. An international mobilization is urgently required to support and protect the peasant seed system. All the countries and governments should also put in place public policies to work and support the peasant seeds systems. It is important to protect the peasant seeds systems against the global free market systems propagated by Seed Companies producing mostly genetically modified seeds. While at the consultation, La Via Campesina ran into a wall during discussions on contamination by genetically modified and patented seeds, it is a terrifying reality that the 3 major seed companies are announcing mergers and strategic collaborations, controlling two-thirds of the global seeds and pesticides markets. This new monster is a new threat for traditional peasant systems and peoples' food sovereignty. La Via Campesina is shocked at the announcement made at the end of the Bali meeting by one of the biggest global gene(germplasm) banks of maize and wheat, of the Treaty's Multi-Lateral System - the CYMMIT. This gene bank signed a partnership agreement with DuPont, the second largest seed company at global level, in order to create new hidden GMOs which will contaminate all its peasants' seeds in its freezers or fields, thereby allowing privatization of seeds by patents. In the days leading up to the Governing Body meeting of the Treaty in October 2017, La Via Campesina will strengthen its mobilizations in its member countries and will work locally to strengthen peasant seeds systems and will monitor the progress that the civil society made to the Treaty Secretariat and its Governing Body. ---Ends--- ------------------------- For media queries write to abhilash(a)viacampesina.org To see interventions made by Via Campesina at the Treaty Consultation - visitwww.twitter.com/via_campesina [3] or visit www.viacampesina.org [4] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/images/2016-10-03%20FAO%20Bali.JPG [3] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [4] http://www.viacampesina.org/

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“Nothing about us without us”, say peasants as the Farmers’ Rights Global Consultation begins in Bali
by La Via Campesina 27 Sep '16

27 Sep '16

PRESS RELEASE: "NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US", SAY PEASANTS AS THE FARMERS' RIGHTS CONSULTATION BEGINS IN BALI [1] [2]AT FARMERS' RIGHTS GLOBAL CONSULTATION IN BALI, GLOBAL PEASANTS' MOVEMENT LA VIA CAMPESINA TO DEFEND PEASANT-SEED SYSTEMS AND INSIST PEASANT PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING. BALI, 27 SEPTEMBER 2016: A delegation comprising peasants, women and men, indigenous people and youth from various regions of the world will represent La Via Campesina at the Farmers' Rights Global Consultation, to be held between 27-30 of September in Bali, organized by the Government of Indonesia with support from The Government of Norway and The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). Serikat Petani Indonesia (SPI), the Indonesian Peasants' Union and a member of La Via Campesina is hosting the movement's delegation coming from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. The Treaty, which is housed inside the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and despite its decade long existence, has done little to advance 'farmers' rights', which is one of its key provisions. In this regard, the delegation of rural peasants and indigenous people representing La Via Campesina will be calling upon the Treaty and the contracting parties (governments) to recognize and implement peasants' rights and to reject the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) legislations and patent laws that endanger food sovereignty. The selected seeds kept by peasants in their fields are one of the irreplaceable pillars of food production. Peasants all over the world have been aware of this throughout the centuries. It is one of the most universal and basic understandings that all peasants share. Except in those cases where they have suffered external aggressions or extreme circumstances, almost all peasant communities know how to save, store and share seeds. Millions of families and farming communities have worked to create hundreds of crops and thousands of varieties of these crops. The regular exchange of seeds among communities and peoples has allowed crops to adapt to different conditions, climates and topographies. This is what has allowed farming to spread and grow and feed the world with a diversified diet. Therefore, peasants' unconditional and unrestricted access to a diverse range of peasant seeds and their right to keep, use, exchange and sell farm seeds is the first condition necessary for feeding the world. In defense of the peasant-seed systems, at the consultation, La Via Campesina delegation will speak for the right to protect traditional and modern peasant knowhow and defend it from the assault of IPR laws. Right here in Indonesia where the consultation is taking place, peasants in East Java have been criminalised for allegedly infringing the rights of a company called BISI, the subsidiary of Thai seed company Charoen Pokhpand. Although BISI has produced no evidence, farmers have been summoned to court and fourteen of them have been prosecuted; there have even been short jail sentences[1] [3]. In most cases, these farmers did not have a lawyer to represent them and they did not understand what they had done wrong. There are numerous such examples worldwide, of criminalization of peasants by the industry in the name of patents and intellectual property. It is this blatant violation of peasants' rights that La Via Campesina will challenge at the Global Consultation. The delegation will also emphasise that the peasant participation in decision making must not be reduced to the inclusion of a few organisations who bow to pressure from the industry and accept decisions already made. Furthermore, participation must not also not be reduced to just big landholders, but must include women, indigenous people, landless peasants, landless agricultural workers, fisherfolk and pastoralists. La Via Campesina urges the Treaty and the Contracting parties to look at progressive laws that are passed in various regions of the world, the most recent being the one passed by the Government of Venezuela[2] [4] early this year, which upholds national food sovereignty, regulate the production of hybrid seed, and rejects the production, distribution and import of GMO seed. Governments of Indonesia, Mali, Nepal and several others have already adopted food sovereignty as a principle, some of them even enacting this into law (e.g. Indonesia). La Via Campesina also demands that the 'Benefit-Sharing Fund' must not finance research institutions and other institutions devoted to collecting peasant seeds and knowhow and other genetic information aimed at facilitating the excise of patents. Instead, it must directly finance small peasant organisations that select, produce and conserve their seeds locally, the best peasant conservation field or long duration techniques (for example without electricity), researchers who collaborate in this collective work under the direction of these farmers and exchanges of associated peasant knowhow on a national and international level. ~Ends~ ------------------------- [1] [5] https://www.grain.org/article/entries/5142-seed-laws-that-criminalise-farme… Asia struggles [2] [6] http://www.gmwatch.org/news/latest-news/16602-venezuela-passes-national-ant… FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES CONTACT; 1. Indonesian Media: (English, Bahasa) - Zainal - zainal(a)spi.or.id 2. Global Media: Abhilash Babu - abhilash(a)viacampesina.org EDITOR'S NOTE: The following organisations are part of the La Via Campesina Delegation in Bali; Zimbabwe Small Holder Organic Farmers' Forum (ZIMSOFF), Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores (MPA, Brazil), Movement for Land and Agriculture Reform (MONLAR, Srilanka), Serikat Petani Indonesia, Confédération Paysanne (France), Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers' Movements (ICCFM), Assembly of Poor (Thailand), Coordinador Nacional Agrario-CAN (Colombia). To know more about La Via Campesina visit: www.viacampesina.org [7] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/images/2016-09-27%20Bali%20Seeds%20Meeting%201.… [3] cid:part4.989534EE.7FAB0B10@viacampesina.org [4] cid:part5.BA57954D.5F55617C@viacampesina.org [5] cid:part6.C4386805.255145C8@viacampesina.org [6] cid:part7.76E3FF62.C291E7AD@viacampesina.org [7] http://www.viacampesina.org/

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La Via Campesina | e-Newsletter | August 2016
by La Via Campesina 14 Sep '16

14 Sep '16

La Via Campesina | e-Newsletter | August, 2016 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] 'TTIP STALLS, WTO AND FTAS MUST FALL' | PRESS RELEASE: INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST WTO AND FTAS ------------------------- On September the 10th, the International Day of Action Against WTO and Free Trade Agreements, La Via Campesina, the International Peasant Movement that brings together over 200 million peasants from 164 member organisations in 73 countries, commemorates the death of Lee Kyung Hae and continues to struggle to END WTO. [3] We call upon, on this day, our member organisations, allies and social movements of the world to mobilize against the neoliberal agenda of the WTO which promotes corporate power over humanity. We must continue to struggle to build a world based on food sovereignty. Read full press release [3] NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD MORE FARMERS, BETTER FOOD - A FRAMEWORK FOR BRITISH AGRICULTURAL POLICY ------------------------- The Landworkers' Alliance today announces eight key recommendations that will form the foundation of our post-Brexit representations to Defra and the Government's Environmental Audit Committee. Read More [4] WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2016 | DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS ------------------------- Several delegates comprising women, men, youth, and representing peasants and migrant agricultural and rural workers from several regions of La Via Campesina, are carrying messages of global solidarity and food sovereignty at the 2016 World Social Forum being held at Montreal, Canada. Read More [5] SOUTHERN AFRICA PERMANENT PEOPLES TRIBUNAL (PPT) ON TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS ------------------------- The time has come to unite our struggles in Southern Africa - the campaigns, networks, movements and organizations that are combating transnational corporations - the way they are exploiting our destinies, natural heritage and human rights, dismantling public services, destroying the commons, fomenting violence and endangering food sovereignty in every corner of the continent. Read More [6] PRESS INVITATION: NYÉLÉNI EUROPE ------------------------- Up to 1,000 people from 42 countries - small-scale farmers, fishers, pastoralists, consumers, urban gardeners, indigenous peoples, researchers, agricultural workers, environmentalists, human rights defenders and trade unionists - will converge from all over Europe for a series of workshops and discussions on how to take back control of the farming and food system. Read More [7] SHASHE AGROECOLOGY SCHOOL: A TRUE CENTRE OF AGROECOLOGY AND PRACTICAL FOOD SOVEREIGNTY ------------------------- Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has hosted on it's Family Farming Knowledge Platform profiles of successful agroecology, carried out by members of La Via Campesina(LVC). This joint effort comes as part of the collaboration between FAO and LVC to promote agroecology. Read More [8] LA VIA CAMPESINA DISCUSSES THE CRIMINALIZATION OF MOVEMENTS AND THE RIGHTS OF PEASANTS ------------------------- About 60 participants from 18 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas participate in this Via Campesina Conference on Human Rights. Read More [9] BUILDING GLOBAL ALLIANCES AND CONVERGENCES FOR ALTERNATIVES TO CAPITALISM ------------------------- La Vía Campesina Youth Participate in Brazil's 2016 'International Summit for Struggling Youth': Building global alliances and convergences for alternatives to capitalism. Read More [10] THANK YOU NICOLAS; FARMWORKER, FRIEND AND TIRELESS FIGHTER FOR HUMANITY ------------------------- On the occasion of the death of our dear friend Nicolas Duntze, the Coordinating Committee and Working Group on Migration and Rural Workers of ECVC would like to extend our deepest sympathies to both his family and the Paysanne Confederation of France. Read More [11] DECLARATION OF LVC DELEGATION TO THE 2016 WORLD SOCIAL FORUM ------------------------- We, representatives of member organizations of La Vía Campesina from the North America Region (Union Paysanne from Quebec, National Farmers Union, Canada, National Family Farm Coalition, Rural Coalition and Border Agricultural Workers Project from United States), accompanied by LVC members from Europe, Palestine and Brazil took part in the World Social Forum in Montreal, Quebec from August 9-14, 2016. Read More [12] THE STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATION IN QUEBEC GETS A BOOST AT THE 2016 WSF ------------------------- For years, Union paysanne members have been organizing to break the monopoly of the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) over the representation of farmers in Quebec. Read More [13] STATEMENT FROM THE POPULAR UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS WORKSHOP HELD AT HARARE ------------------------- >From July 12-14 2016, various social movements and academics from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Spain and Portugal gathered in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare to discuss and debate the state of land, seeds, food, climate and people in Southern Africa. Read More [14] OVER 15 YEARS' STRUGGLE FOR THE RECOGNITION OF PEASANTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM ------------------------- The current draft Declaration is the result of the work undertaken by La Via Campesina (LVC) over more than 15 years, supported by FIAN International and CETIM (Europe Third World Centre), with the support of other social movements. Read More [15] ZERO BUDGET NATURAL FARMING IN INDIA ------------------------- Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has hosted on it's Family Farming Knowledge Platform profiles of successful agroecology, carried out by members of La Via Campesina(LVC). This joint effort comes as part of the collaboration between FAO and LVC to promote agroecology. Featured here is the profile of Amritabhoomi in Karnataka, that promotes Zero Budget Natural Farming.. Read More [16] "WE SHALL NOT REST UNTIL WE'VE FREED ALL OUR POLITICAL PRISONERS", AFFIRMS VIA CAMPESINA ------------------------- Between 18th and 20th August, La Via Campesina held a Conference on Human Rights at the Florestan Fernandes National School (Guararema, São Paulo) in which people's lawyers, rural movements and organisations discussed the criminalisation of the worldwide struggle borne by social movements. They brought forth a multitude of proposals aimed at strengthening, expanding and substantiating LVC's Collective of Human Rights.. Read More [17] [18] WSF 2016: Carlos Marentes from La Via Campesina, Pat Mooney ETC group, Lise-Anne Leveille Union Paysanne-La Via Campesina, Eric Holt-Giménez Foodfirst, debating about corporate strategy to control the food system. Watch Now [19] Video Credit: Focus Puller / WSF TV [20] WSF 2016: Dena Hoff from La Via Campesina North America, spoke at the session on "Climate Change - Crisis or Collapse?" held at Université du Québec à Montréal. In this video, she speaks about the movement's efforts of setting up agroecology schools around the world. Watch Now [21] Video Credit: Focus Puller / WSF TV [22] WSF 2016: Youssef Nasser, from the Union of Agricultural Committee in Palestine speaks about the dispossession and lack of access to land and water under the Israel regime. Watch Now [23] Video Credit: Focus Puller / WSF TV [24] WSF 2016: Several delegates comprising women, men, youth, and representing peasants and migrant agricultural and rural workers from several regions of La Via Campesina, carried messages of global solidarity and food sovereignty at the 2016 World Social Forum that was held at Montreal, Canada from 9-14 August. Watch Now [23] Video Credit: Focus Puller / WSF TV [24] WSF 2016: Several delegates comprising women, men, youth, and representing peasants and migrant agricultural and rural workers from several regions of La Via Campesina, carried messages of global solidarity and food sovereignty at the 2016 World Social Forum that was held at Montreal, Canada from 9-14 August. Watch Now [23] Video Credit: Focus Puller / WSF TV [25] WSF 2016: Carlos Marentes of La Via Campesina North America explains what is Popular Agrarian Reform. He was talking in a panel organized by WhyHunger with the participation of First Nation representative, Food First in the World Social Forum, Montreal, Canada. Watch Now [26] Video Credit: Focus Puller / WSF TV [27] WSF 2016: Farmers from Union Paysanne Quebec and La Via Campesina readout the final declaration of the AgroEcology Alliance, at the World Social Forum in Quebec. The forum took place from 9-14 August 2016. Watch Now [28] Video Credit: Focus Puller / WSF TV [29] WSF 2016: First Nation, La Via Campesina, WhyHungher and Food First representative met to talk and share opinion and common future struggles. Watch Now [30] Video Credit: Focus Puller / WSF TV [31] What does it mean to be a peasant in Romania? By Carlo Bolzoni and Guglielmo Del Signore for Eco Ruralis association. Watch Now [32] 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 on the Donate button on our home page [33] and following the link to our PayPal account. [34] [35] Follow us on twitter [35] [36] Find us on Facebook [36] [37] Subsribe our Vimeo Channel [37] To unsubscribe from the distribution list, questions or comments, write to VIACAMPESINA(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [38] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [2] http://ttps://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/10-yea… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/sustainable-p… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/world-… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-t… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/news-from-the-regions-mainmenu-29/212… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/sustainable-p… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/youth-mainmen… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/news-from-the-regions-mainmenu-29/211… [12] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/world-… [13] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/world-… [14] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/agrarian-refo… [15] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [16] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/sustainable-p… [17] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [18] https://vimeo.com/178435106 [19] https://tv.viacampesina.org/WSF2016-Peasant-led-agriculture-is?lang=en [20] https://vimeo.com/178435445 [21] https://tv.viacampesina.org/WSF2016-Peasant-Agriculture-can?lang=en [22] https://vimeo.com/178435801 [23] https://tv.viacampesina.org/Some-of-the-most-fertile-land-and?lang=en [24] https://vimeo.com/179000962 [25] https://vimeo.com/179286213 [26] https://tv.viacampesina.org/FSM-2016-Carlos-Marentes-of-La-Via?lang=en [27] https://vimeo.com/179296458 [28] https://tv.viacampesina.org/FSM2016-Agroecology-Alliance-Final?lang=en [29] https://vimeo.com/180382583 [30] https://tv.viacampesina.org/FSM-2016-Montreal-First-Nation?lang=en [31] https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MuHBnnOBQy4 [32] https://tv.viacampesina.org/What-does-it-mean-to-be-a-peasant?lang=en [33] http://www.viacampesina.org/ [34] https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=IK5Hgl6MlPxD… [35] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [36] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/ [37] https://vimeo.com/viacampesina [38] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en

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TTIP Stalls, WTO and FTAs Must Fall | Press Release: International Day Against WTO and FTAs
by La Via Campesina 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

Press Release: International Day Against WTO and FTAs TTIP Stalls, WTO and FTAs Must Fall [1]On September the 10th, the International Day of Action Against WTO, La Via Campesina, the International Peasant Movement that brings together over 200 million peasants from 164 member organisations in 73 countries, commemorates the death of Lee Kyung Haeand continues to struggle to END WTO. Last year in Kenya, Nairobi at the 10th WTO ministerial meeting tradenegotiations had to be rescued on the last hour [2] to save face as WTO sought to reinvent and seek legitimacy in Africa [3]. WTO members held their first informal meeting of agriculture negotiations post the Nairobi meeting on 8 March this year to discuss the way forward on agriculture talks. We must increasingly mobilise to END WTO and to leave agriculture out of the WTO as they prepare for the 11th ministerial meeting in 2017. On this 13th anniversary of Farmer Lee Kyung Hae's martyrdom, we reject the bilateral and multi-lateral Free Trade Agreements that are anti-people, anti-democracy and that which threaten people's control over their own resources. His words continue to ring true _"My warning goes out to all citizens that human beings are in an endangered situation. That uncontrolled multinational corporations and a small number of big WTO Members are leading an undesirable globalization that is inhumane, environmentally degrading, farmer-killing, and undemocratic. It should be stopped immediately. Otherwise the false logic of neoliberalism will wipe out the diversity of global agriculture and be disastrous to all human beings."_ The free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), Transpacific Partnership (TPP), RCEP are designed to benefit big corporates while killing millions of family and smallholder farmers. Since the adoption of FTAs we have witnessed drastic decline of numbers of peasant farmers as their local markets and farmland are taken over by big corporates. Mother nature has not been spared either as FTAs compromise environmental protection and animal welfare. Food safety too, affecting peoples' health. Moreover, FTAs through contentious Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism erode state sovereignty and leave them at the mercy of big transnational corporations (TNCs). We call upon our governments to commit to build robust public and institutional procurement programs which allow farmers to access to stable, participatory and remunerative markets for farm produce. The controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal between the EU and US is falling apart as negotiations have all but stalled. This is significant step in our mobilisation against FTAs and an opportunity to expose more their fallacies and bring an end to such deals. Farmer Lee wasn't just anybody. He had founded a cooperative and farmers' association in Korea, served as a state legislator, and had been recognized by the government of Korea and by the United Nations as an outstanding farmer. Yet he lost his land, as did millions of other Korean farmers, after his government signed the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1992, the predecessor of the WTO. We call upon, on this day, our member organisations, allies and social movements of the world to mobilize against the neoliberal agenda of the WTO which promotes corporate power over humanity. We must continue to struggle to build a world based on food sovereignty. DOWN DOWN WTO END WTO STOP FTAS FOOD SOVEREIGNTY NOW! Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/images/2016-09-08%20Sept%2010%20PR.png [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/10-yea… [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/10-yea…

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"We shall not rest until we’ve freed all our political prisoners", affirms Via Campesina
by La Via Campesina 30 Aug '16

30 Aug '16

"WE SHALL NOT REST UNTIL WE'VE FREED ALL OUR POLITICAL PRISONERS", AFFIRMS VIA CAMPESINA [1] Published on Tuesday, 30 August 2016 16:30 [2]MEETING IN BRASIL Between 18th and 20th August, La Via Campesina held a Conference on Human Rights [3]at the Florestan Fernandes National School (Guararema, São Paulo) in which people's lawyers, rural movements and organisations discussed the criminalisation of the worldwide struggle borne by social movements. They brought forth a multitude of proposals aimed at strengthening, expanding and substantiating LVC's Collective of Human Rights. In an interview for the MST website, Leandro Scalabrin - a people's lawyer for the Movement of Peoples Affected by Dams (MAB) - shared some of these proposals and stressed the vitality of implementing these in the prevailing circumstances. "The meeting went well, we came out feeling very motivated and the Collective strengthened and broadened. We managed to delve into the subject of our International Campaigns in order to implement them in every country and we identified the common challenges posed by the criminalisation of social struggle worldwide. This work will be multiplied across all continents and we'll build a safety net for human rights advocates. We shall not rest until we've freed all our political prisoners." Approximately 60 militants from 18 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and America partook in the conference, who also engaged with the topic of International Treaties, which involves peasants' rights and examines the relation between TNCs and Human Rights. In this regard, Scalabrin highlighted that LVC denounces the "architecture of impunity which allows transnational corporations to command the state, approve laws, and create institutions that serve private interests to the detriment of public goods and human rights." In other words, governments are required to "hold corporations legally accountable for their actions or omissions when they violate human rights in our countries." _Continue below for the full interview_ MST WEBSITE: ONE CORE THEME OF THE DEBATE WAS THE CRIMINALISATION OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS. WHAT ACTIONS WERE ENVISAGED TO UPHOLD LVC'S INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION? Leandro Scalabrin: The information brought forth by the participants at the conference confirmed the existence of innumerable peasants that have been detained, 'disappeared', forced into exile, met with violence and other criminal acts in all continents. We're dealing with a wave of criminalisation of peoples and movements who are part of La Via Campesina. There are also political prisons for people who organise the struggle for their rights and are thus treated as criminals. In light of this, we discussed the necessity of consolidating LVC's Collective of Human Rights and of establishing an International Human Rights Network through which violations of peasants' rights would be exposed, and also in order to guarantee that appropriate actions are preceded by broad support and disclosure - in addition to cooperating with already existing networks and organisations working in this area. CAN YOU PROVIDE SOME EXAMPLES OF THIS WAVE OF CRIMINALISATION? In Brasil, there are 44 political prisoners, 10 peasants and 34 indigenous people. The National Security Act has already been used against social movements, and now they are using Statute 12.850, which is applied to criminal organisations. This is notably the case of MST in Goiás. Valdir Misnerovics and Luis Batista Borges have both been incarcerated since April and May, based on the law against criminal organisations, for having defended and called for agrarian reform in Brazil. There are criminalised people in France and Spain too, and the situation in Paraguay, Argentina and Honduras is very delicate, but with recurring characteristics: violence at demonstrations, police brutality, incarceration, legal actions. In Honduras, Berta Cáceres was assassinated, and in Brazil Elton Brum dos Santos was killed by the police with a bullet in his back. WHAT MECHANISMS WERE DISCUSSED IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE THAT EFFECTIVE ACTIONS WOULD BE TAKEN IN CASE OF VIOLATIONS? In order to deal with this difficult reality - other than proposing an LVC International Human Rights Network joined by allied organisations in order to establish self-protection mechanisms - legal defence and public denouncement through the international Human Rights systems were emphasised. We name this bundle of actions as the "Alert System". One of its main objectives is to guarantee the self-protection of those who defend human rights. LVC WORKS ON JOINT CAMPAIGNS FOR THE SAKE OF MOBILISATION AND AWARENESS RAISING IN VARIOUS QUESTIONS, IN THE CASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS, WHAT PROPOSALS SHOULD BE BROUGHT FORTH? The proposal to establish a network within LVC's Collective of Human Rights, as well as the "Alert System", represent in themselves steps taken towards mobilisation against political prisons. Furthermore, we shall work on a campaign, building on existing ones, for the sake of liberating the political prisoners. Departing from this initiative, the idea is to shed light on our offensive against the criminalisation of LVC's social movements. ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT OF DISCUSSION WAS THAT OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES. WHAT INITIATIVES CAN BE EXPECTED TO BE TAKEN IN ORDER TO EXPAND THE DISSEMINATION OF ITS PROCESSES? We will conduct seminars to announce said proposals and meet with national governments in every country in order to present legal projects, such as in the proposals that appear in the Declaration of Rights of Peasants - Women and Men and the Binding Treaty on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights. We will demand in each and every nation that respective governments vote in favour of the Declaration of Rights of Peasants - Women and Men, as well as in favour of implementing the Binding Treaty on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights. LVC was present in the international mobilisation that took place in Geneva in 2014, during the 26th UN Convention on Human Rights when we managed to pass a resolution destined to render TNCs accountable for the human rights violations caused through or because of their activities. It was a close call, as 20 countries voted in favour, 14 against and 13 abstained, including Brazil. The UN recently established an intergovernmental working group tasked with bringing forth the accountability standards. LVC IS PRESENT IN BOTH INSTANCES. WHAT ARE THE MAIN CONCERNS DEFENDED BY PEASANTS' MOVEMENTS WITHIN THESE TREATIES? We expose the system of impunity which allows private corporations to command the state, approve laws, and create institutions that serve private interests to the detriment of public goods and human rights. Such processes are entangled with the construction of dams, financing of electoral campaigns, the contamination of our food with toxicants, the corporate appropriation of land and labour. Governments need to establish legal procedures which hold corporations accountable for their actions or omissions when they violate human rights in our countries. One such example is the Samarco-Vale/BHP incident in Brazil, where more than 200 thousand people fell victim to human rights violations. HOW WOULD LVC EVALUATE THE CONFERENCE AND WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED WHEN IT COMES TO CONCRETISING THE COLLECTIVE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE NEXT PERIOD? The meeting went well, we came out feeling very motivated and the Collective strengthened and broadened. We managed to delve into the subject of our International Campaigns in order to implement them in every country and we identified the common challenges posed by the criminalisation of social struggle worldwide. These efforts will be multiplied across all continents and we'll build a safety net for our human rights advocates. We shall not rest until we've freed all our political prisoners. August 22, 2016 Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/images/2016-08-30%20Brazil%20Meeting.JPG [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-…

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Declaration of LVC Delegation to the 2016 World Social Forum
by La Via Campesina 22 Aug '16

22 Aug '16

Declaration of LVC Delegation to the 2016 World Social Forum Montreal, Quebec, August 14, 2016 "We not only believe that another world is necessary, the members of La Vía Campesina are already building a better world." Carlos Marentes, co-coordinator of the North America Region of LVC We, representatives of member organizations of La Vía Campesina from the North America Region (Union Paysanne from Quebec, National Farmers Union, Canada, National Family Farm Coalition, Rural Coalition and Border Agricultural Workers Project from United States), accompanied by LVC members from Europe, Palestine and Brazil took part in the World Social Forum in Montreal, Quebec from August 9-14, 2016. We were graciously hosted by the Union paysanne and reaffirmed our support for their struggle to end the syndicate-monopoly control of agriculture in Quebec, adding our voice to the demand that "There is no Food Sovereignty without Peasant sovereignty". In our press conference of August 11th, Maxime Laplante declared: "The Quebec situation is extremely particular in that there is in Quebec only one organization having the right to represent farmers here, to negotiate with the government or to intervene in the management of marketing plans, marketing, etc. That organization is the Union des Producteurs Agricoles (UPA). It is the only organization with the legal right to represent farmers." La Via Campesina North America woman coordinator and vice-chair of the National Family Farm Coalition Dena Hoff stated: ''The whole region of La Via Campesina stands behind Union paysanne in its demands for recognition by the government of Quebec as the voice of the peasants struggling for food sovereignty." The LVC delegation participated enthusiastically in the opening march, in many workshops, panels and assemblies on the themes of food sovereignty, the right to food, post extractive societies, agro-ecology and peoples agrarian reform, and the future of the WSF, among many topics, together with allies like ETC Group, Grain, Climate Space, the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), Global Justice Now, USC Canada, SUCO, Why Hunger, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Global Forest Coalition, Focus on the Global South, Development and Peace, Inter-Pares, Vigilance OGM Québec, and others. As Dena Hoff, stated: "The fight for food sovereignty will be won with a million grassroots efforts". At a time of deepening crises in the world, including massive suffering of migrants fleeing war, increasing poverty and hunger, extreme weather events, corporate driven land and resource grabs, the expansion and consolidation of big agribusiness and monocultures of feed and fuel plantations across the planet, we declare our firm commitment as LVC to the life-or-death struggle for food sovereignty, a peoples agrarian reform, seed and biodiversity sovereignty, the democratization of the food system and the strong defense of human rights. We question the use of the concept of "agro-ecology" and climate buzzwords that are removed from the context of food sovereignty and used as a means of justifying an expansion of "green washing" or for NGO fund raising. We insist that agro-ecology signifies a validation of small and medium scale farming, peasant-led research and innovation, and it signifies the integration of traditional practices, and peasant and rural community control of our seeds. Food sovereignty is the right of farmers and eaters to control their own food production, processing and distribution with culturally appropriate foods and equitable compensation and dignity for food providers. We assert that small-scale farming, fishing, herding, hunting and gathering are essential in the struggle to bring relief to climate change and continue feeding humanity. We seek access to land for all, especially youth with the drive to feed their communities. We seek an end to the invasion of GMO seeds into our territories and we demand the right of farmers to continue to produce, save and share their own seeds. We say "No" to corporate agriculture and say "Yes" to the people of the land and to the peasant way. LVC also publically criticized the Canadian Government because many leaders of important social movements were unable to attend the WSF as many hundreds of visas were denied, including the visas of two of the peasant leaders in our delegation. We have also taken the opportunity provided by the WSF 2016 to express our solidarity with all the movements currently fighting against violence, dispossession, exclusion and the attacks against the democratic rights of people. We specially expressed our solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people against the oppression, and exploitation at the hands of Zionist Settler Colonialism, the struggle of our compañeras and compañeros of the Landless Movement of Brazil against the recent State Coup, the First Nations courageous struggle against the threats to the integrity of their land posed by tar-sand exploitation, pipelines and other destructive actions by capital, and the fight against the increasing violence against black people and therefore we fully support the Black Lives Matter Movement. ¡GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE, GLOBALIZE HOPE! Given in Montreal, Quebec, on August 14, 2016

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La Via Campesina | e-Newsletter | July 2016
by La Via Campesina 11 Aug '16

11 Aug '16

La Via Campesina | e-Newsletter | July, 2016 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] VIA CAMPESINA JOINS 2016 WORLD SOCIAL FORUM TO STRENGTHEN AND ADVANCE FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND PEASANTS' RIGHTS ------------------------- Several delegates comprising women, men, youth, and representing peasants and migrant agricultural and rural workers from several regions of La Via Campesina, will carry messages of global solidarity and food sovereignty at the 2016 World Social Forum this August. The Forum, which is a collective call for a sustainable and inclusive world, will be held in Montreal, Canada from the 9th to 14th. La Via Campesina considers World Social Forum as an important space to build collective strengths of social movements worldwide - all of whom are fighting for social, economic, cultural and political justice. The complete schedule of events that La Via Campesina would be part of are available here [3]. NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD SEND AN EMAIL TO DEMAND JUSTICE FOR BAEK NAM-GI ------------------------- Still in a coma, Mr. Baek's health is deteriorating and his condition has now become even more critical. Though it has been more than 250 days, none of the officers responsible for the excessive use of force that caused his injury have been charged.We need your voice to call on the National Assembly to open a public hearing into the incident. Take Action [4] DECLARATION ON TRADE, MARKETS AND DEVELOPMENT | UNCTAD NAIROBI ------------------------- La Via Campesina's Declaration on Trade, Markets and Development in the context of UNCTAD 2016, Nairobi, Kenya. Read More [5] NFU SENDS AG MINISTERS INPUT FOR NEXT AGRICULTURE POLICY FRAMEWORK ------------------------- In advance of the annual conference of Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) Agriculture Ministers to be held in Calgary, July 20-22, 2016, the National Farmers Union (NFU) sent a letter to each of the ministers with input regarding the next agriculture policy framework. In it, the NFU provides recommendations for both the Business Risk Management (BRM) programs and the Strategic Investment programs. Read More [6] AGROECOLOGY LEARNING EXCHANGES IN UGANDA ------------------------- Five members representing La Via Campesina, attended the Agroecology Learning Exchanges in Uganda, held between 10-13 May 2016. This meeting was organized by the Agroecology Fund and Alliance for Food Sovereignty (ASFA) in Africa in Masaka, Uganda and was hosted by St Jude Family projects. Read More [7] CLOC-VIA CAMPESINA HONDURAS STATEMENT ON ASSASSINATION OF LESBIA YANETH URQUÍA ------------------------- Statement from the Cloc-Via Campesina Honduras in response to the assassination of Lesbia Yaneth Urquía, member of COPINH. Read More [8] WAR CRIMES IN SYRIA MUST STOP – STOP BOMBING CITIZENS, FOOD CROPS AND VEGETABLE MARKETS! ------------------------- Solidarity with the peasants and people of Syria is needed now more than ever. Through the 15th Garden we continue to resist this wretched war that has been put upon us. Read More [9] WOMEN PEASANTS IN SOUTH KOREA ON A NATIONWIDE PROTEST TOUR ------------------------- Peasants from the Korean Women Peasant Association are taking out a nation-wide campaign, in the form of a protest tour, to seek justice for Farmer Baek Namgi who has been lying in a state of coma since November 2015, after being hit by police water cannons. Read More [10] KARNATAKA, INDIA: SUPPORT PRICES SOUGHT BY KRRS TO BAIL OUT FARMERS ------------------------- Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and the Green Brigade have urged the Union government to announce minimum support price for arecanut, coconut, copra and rubber. Briefing mediapersons here on Monday, KRRS General Secretary Badagalapura Nagendra said the sudden slump in the price of arecanut, coconut, copra and rubber has left the farmers in dire straits. Read More [11] UNCTAD 14: ELITES SPEAKING IN THE NAME OF PEASANTS AND THE GLOBAL POOR WON'T SOLVE ANYTHING! ------------------------- Statement from La Via Campesina and Kenyan Social Movements. Read More [12] FARMER-TO-FARMER TRAINING SESSION ON MILLETS IN INDIA ------------------------- At least 60 farmers, mostly from the neighboring indigenous Soliga community, as well as other small farmers including some urban origin farmers gathered for a farmer-to-farmer training session on millets at the Amrita Bhoomi agroecology center, on 2nd July 2016.. Read More [13] ZIMSOFF CO-ORGANISES A DIALOGUE ON THE STATE OF LAND, SEEDS AND FOOD WITH ALLIES ------------------------- Popular University of Social Movements gathers in Harare: social movements and academics to dialogue on the state of land, seeds and food in SADC. Read More [14] MORE THAN 1,500 LANDLESS KICKING OFF FESTIVAL OF CULTURE OF AGRARIAN REFORM ------------------------- On July 20, 2016, more than 1,500 Landless 19 states of Brazil kicked off the National Festival of Arts and Culture of Agrarian Reform, in the city of Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais. The political-cultural event, which took place in the Plaza da Station in Serraria Souza Pinto, in the center of the mining capital. Read More [15] TRIBUNAL MONSANTO IN THE HAGUE –14TH -16TH OF OCTOBER 2016 ------------------------- The Monsanto Tribunal, which will be held in The Hague from 14 to 16 October 2016, aims to assess these allegations made against Monsanto, and to evaluate the damages caused by this transnational company. Read More [16] MARKETS DON'T REGULATE, MARKETS SPECULATE ------------------------- In light of the upcoming European Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting this July 18 in Brussels, the European Coordination Via Campesina, which represents thousands of family farmers in Europe, urges the Council to introduce mandatory measures to reduce milk production in order to protect dairy farmers throughout Europe. Read More [17] 18 YEARS OF SPI: CELEBRATIONS ACROSS INDONESIA ------------------------- "Starting from a base level to the international level. Starting from reclaiming hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, to fight for the rights of peasants into an international declaration on the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, SPI has come a long way in 18 years. "said Henry Saragih in Medan, North Sumatera, Indonesia. Read More [18] OLIVE HARVEST CAMPAIGN 2016: "OUR OLIVE TREE IS OUR HOMELAND" ------------------------- Olive trees carry more than an economic significance in the lives of Palestinians; they are symbolic of Palestinians' linked to their land. Thus, despite the continuous Israeli uprooting and damaging of Palestinian olive trees, Palestinians insist to cling to their lands and replant more and more olive trees and strengthen their roots in the ground. Read More [19] [20] WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2016 MONTREAL CANADA | THEME SONG ------------------------- Made by Focuspuller collective with their World Social Forum Film Archive to promote the next world social forum that will be in Montreal Canada 9 14 August 2016. The music and song "Otro Mundo" is by Moe Clark, Mohammed Ben Slama, Sol-Étienne Labesse, Alban Maréchal, Ons Barnat, Carminda Mac Lorin, Joseph Naytowhow, Cheryl L'Hirondelle, Anthony et Thaïsa Tavares. Music produced by Palanka. Source: http://wsftv.net/Members/focuspuller/videos/forum-social-mundial-2016-montr… Watch it on Via Campesina TV [21] 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 on the Donate button on our home page [22] and following the link to our PayPal account. [23] [24] Follow us on twitter [24] [25] Find us on Facebook [25] [26] Subsribe our Vimeo Channel [26] To unsubscribe from the distribution list, questions or comments, write to VIACAMPESINA(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [27] Links: ------ [1] https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=7cgPKKpQWIKC… [2] http://ttps://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [3] https://viacampesina.org/downloads/pdf/en/2016-08-04%20WSF%20EN%20-%20Sched… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [5] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/2-uncategorised/2072-in-defense-of-ter… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/sustainable-p… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/sustainable-p… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/news-from-the-regions-mainmenu-29/209… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/news-from-the-regions-mainmenu-29/210… [12] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/food-sovereig… [13] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/news-from-the-regions-mainmenu-29/209… [14] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/agrarian-refo… [15] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/news-from-the-regions-mainmenu-29/211… [16] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-t… [17] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/food-sovereig… [18] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/news-from-the-regions-mainmenu-29/210… [19] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/2105-o… [20] https://vimeo.com/178311119 [21] https://tv.viacampesina.org/World-Social-Forum-2016-Montreal?lang=fr [22] http://www.viacampesina.org/ [23] https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=IK5Hgl6MlPxD… [24] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [25] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/ [26] https://vimeo.com/viacampesina [27] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en

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Press Release: Via Campesina will join 2016 World Social Forum to strengthen and advance food sovereignty and peasants’ rights
by La Via Campesina 06 Aug '16

06 Aug '16

VIA CAMPESINA WILL JOIN 2016 WORLD SOCIAL FORUM TO STRENGTHEN AND ADVANCE FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND PEASANTS’ RIGHTS [1] Several delegates comprising women, men, youth, and representing peasants and migrant agricultural and rural workers from several regions of La Via Campesina, will carry messages of global solidarity and food sovereignty at the 2016 World Social Forum this August. The Forum, which is a collective call for a sustainable and inclusive world, will be held in Montreal, Canada from the 9th to 14th. La Via Campesina considers World Social Forum as an important space to build collective strengths of social movements worldwide - all of whom are fighting for social, economic, cultural and political justice. In Montreal, our delegates will collectively organize and participate in sessions that would address the questions of agrarian reform, climate justice, peasant led research, alternatives to corporate controlled food systems, people's sovereignty over corporate impunity, young peasants, the future of agriculture and many more. New generation of trade treaties such as TTIP, TTP, CETA, RCEP, threatening food sovereignty and the rights of peasants and rural working people will be denounced through mobilizations in Quebec. Such treaties include anti-people mechanisms such as the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)that not just override local and national judicial systems but also threat democracies. We will join other social movements and organisations worldwide in creating a collective strategy to counter and defeat such treaties aimed only at benefiting a few corporations. La Via Campesina reaffirms its solidarity to social justice movements that demand full rights to indigenous peoples, to migrants and to people of different racial, ethnic and religious background. We collectively raise our voices against racial discrimination and against policies that deny migrants peasants and people, their right to equity and safety. "In a context in which Québec farmers are being held hostage by an all-powerful union and an agricultural cartel, the Union Paysanne invites you to join it in celebrating and in making a renewed call for full freedom of association for farmers in Québec and in all parts of the world. We are calling for unity, for inclusion, for fraternity, and for farmers' autonomy. There is no food sovereignty without farmers's sovereignty! Globalize the struggle! Globalize hope!" Pierre-Olivier Brassard, young organic vegetable farmer, and administrator for Union Paysanne that is hosting the delegation. ~ENDS~ FOR MEDIA QUERIES AND SPOKESPEOPLE AVAILABILITY Carlos Marentes, LVC, cmarentess(a)gmail.com Abhilash, abhilash(a)viacampesina.org Benoit Girouard, Président Union Paysanne, M : 450-495-1910 Maxime Laplante, Vice-Président Union Paysanne, 418-926-2473 NOTES TO THE EDITOR: The complete schedule of events that La Via Campesina would be part of are available here for download [2] To follow updates and press releases from LVC during the events, visit www.viacampesina.org [3] or follow us on www.facebook.com/viacampesinaofficial [4] - On Twitter, we will be publishing regular updates in English (@via_campesina) ; Spanish (via_campesinaSP) and French (@viacampesinaFR) Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/world-… [2] https://viacampesina.org/downloads/pdf/en/2016-08-04%20WSF%20EN%20-%20Sched… [3] http://www.viacampesina.org/ [4] http://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaofficial

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War crimes in Syria must stop – stop bombing citizens, food crops and vegetable markets!
by La Via Campesina 21 Jul '16

21 Jul '16

War crimes in Syria must stop - stop bombing citizens, food crops and vegetable markets! FROM THE 15TH GARDEN | Click here for online link [1] The war in Syria has become one of the biggest wars in recent history. More people than ever since World War II have been displaced. The number of people killed to date is estimated to be around half a million; those displaced around 12 million, those facing starvation in what have been named as "hunger sieges" are around 1 million (53 cities and communities, 50 of these by the Syrian regime), and at least 100 000 prisoners have disappeared in the regime's prisons. *1 Actions that constitute war crimes are conducted on a daily basis: hospitals, schools, and live-sustaining places like bakeries or vegetable markets have been deliberately and casually targeted by air forces in Syria now. These targeted bombings are systematic campaigns against civilians: sometimes more than three hospitals have been bombed within one day, often with the use of so called "double taps", bombing the place, waiting for the rescue responders and then bombing it a second time, often killing those who came for the rescue mission. *2 One of many examples in all the last years for targeting campaigns related to food have been bakeries and people lining up for bread in front of them. Inevitably these attacks on big gatherings of people waiting for bread were gruesome massacres, along with these attacks thousands of bakeries were destroyed, and the few that remained had to go underground. Other examples of targets are the crowded vegetable markets. All of these campaigns target the life-sustaining infrastructure of the population. To break down what "carpet bombing" actually means, just one example for a city that used to have around 120 000 citizens. It is called Maarat Al Numan and is located in the province of Idlib: All of its neighborhoods, its self-run schools, the newly built bakery of the united civil society actors there (producing 300 000 loaves of bread daily for the whole area), the water treatment systems offering clean water for 50 000 people in the region, and the grain storage of the farmers of the region have been targeted only in the last year. All in all the city has been constantly shelled through ought the last 4 years, this according to a member of the 15th Garden. These deliberate attacks are executed all over Syria in all liberated areas, they are well-documented and in a scale that continues over hundreds of kilometers. Systematic targeting of crowded places and those of basic needs for a civilian population constitute war crimes. Daily bombardments are ongoing in Syria, resulting in a relentless carnage. Just in these days the last route into the big city of Aleppo has been shut leading to a population of about 300 000 people under total siege, warfare and no route to escape. After several hospitals were reduced to rubble in the preparation of this siege and an average of several dozen people were killed every day, this April the international initiatives surrounding the struggle for human rights and liberation in Syria managed to do one of its biggest campaigns ever since the Syrian revolution began: The #AleppoIsBurning campaign. In numerous cities people held protests with very simplified but common slogans and wearing red clothes. This campaign actually lead to few days of ceasefire and for the first time proved to Syrians, that they are not alone. But this seize fire only lasted as long as the public attention lasted, now Aleppo is under siege and all international solidarity must be at work to step in. *3 Solidarity with the peasants and people of Syria is needed now more than ever. Through the 15th Garden we continue to resist this wretched war that has been put upon us. Despite thousands of farmers being arrested, disappeared, tortured and killed and in advance of the hunger sieges imposed on their communities by the regime, or the usurpation of control over local markets and certain territories by foreign interests as a result of development aid, the mining of agricultural lands by warring factions and fighting forces, the sniping or executions of gardeners and farmers, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of shepherds, there are women who are making gardens when their whole city is under siege, with food producing plants in every corner possible out of the snipers' aim. There are community gardens that built the capacity to feed thousands of people, there are farmers' networks for work and skill exchange, there are seed reproducers and sharers, there are bakeries built and re-built, developments of mobile grain mills and networks for educating communities in closed-cycle methods: like trash recycling, small scale bio gas producing and local fertilizing cycles. All over Syria food is being used as a weapon against the people and a tool to gain political control and to seek submission. Food baskets handed out by NGOs are rarely delivered in ways or places determined by the affected people themselves. They often are packed outside of Syria and often end up going into areas where farmers still work and thus cause them to lose the last of a meager possible income. Many areas where people are facing starvation do not receive any deliveries at all, for various reasons: because the international community does not act if the regime does not permit it or because the communities might not have submitted to the donors' preferred political powers. Development or emergency aid in the name of food security is now running rampant in Syria and in the long term will create dependency. This includes large amounts of hybrid seeds, and chemicals often being sent without any indication for workers-peasant protection. These come through very centralized national and international structures that work with big entities and not with peasants and grassroots communities struggling to keep food production going. It is crucial that political pressure be increased to stop the bombing of the Syrian population, to stop the targeted bombing of their hospitals, schools and vegetable gardens and markets, to stop the killing of thousands of civilians, and the displacements of millions. We urgently need support and solidarity as Syrian peasants trying to survive, to produce food to feed our people. ------------------------- _*1) The UN stopped counting the people killed in 2014, so the estimation is now based on data collected by various different human rights organizations)_ _Syrian campaign on the failures of UN in Syria: http://takingsides.thesyriacampaign.org/_ _Taking sides: The United Nations' loss of impartiality, independence and neutrality in Syria)_ _Syrian campaign on the hunger sieges: www.breakthesieges.org/en_ _The numbers of prisoners vary very much depending on organizations' access to information and standards, we mentioned the lowest possible number of 100 000, the highest estimates are mentioned at 500 000. https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/syria/rep… _*2) http://www.msf.org/en/article/syria-statement-dr-joanne-liu-international-p… _*3) to see how the protests enfolded worldwide: https://www.facebook.com/break.hunger.siege/?fref=ts_ Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-…

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LVC Declaration on Trade, Markets and Development
by La Via Campesina 19 Jul '16

19 Jul '16

LVC DECLARATION ON TRADE, MARKETS AND DEVELOPMENT [1] [2]LVC DECLARATION ON TRADE, MARKETS AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF UNCTAD 2016, NAIROBI, KENYA _"Food Sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations." _--_Nyeleni Declaration on Food Sovereignty (Mali, 2007)_ (Nairobi, July 19, 2016) In the context of the Fourteenth Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) scheduled for 17-22 July 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya, we of La Vía Campesina reiterate our commitment to Food Sovereignty and the Right to Food as well as our resolve to put an end to neoliberalism's so-called "free trade paradigm" and "market-driven development" schemes that serve only to consolidate corporate control over our food systems. As a UN body, we expect UNCTAD and its member states to prioritize democratic and participatory processes aimed at policies that successfully promote food sovereignty. UNCTAD should not be used to promote the very same Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), including the European Union's Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) in Africa, that one after another have resulted in more hunger, poverty, and exclusion for people around the world. La Vía Campesina is an international movement which brings together millions of peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, women farmers, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world. We defend peasant-based agroecological food systems as a way to promote social justice and dignity and we strongly oppose corporate driven agriculture and transnational companies that are destroying our food systems, our communities, and the environment. We are made up of 164 local and national organizations in 73 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Altogether, we represent about 200 million farmers. We are an autonomous, pluralist and multicultural movement, independent from any political, economic or other type of affiliation. ON UNCTAD We of La Via Campesina very much welcomed the 2015 publication of the UNCTAD Report titled "Smallholder Farmers and Sustainable Commodity Development" and its recognition of our vital role in food production and markets, as well as the need for governments and multilateral institutions to work directly with us in order to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, we strongly oppose the report's numerous recommendations, most of which support the commodification of our agricultural production. We firmly reject the report's underlying premise that only as successful profit seekers, or "business enterprises", are we a viable long-term source of food and nutrition for our people. We also denounce ongoing attempts to commodify food and nutrition, and remind all those gathered at UNCTAD 14 that food is a Human Right. The UNCTAD we are seeing in motion presents a free market driven neoliberal trade paradigm which stands in stark contrast to the food sovereignty paradigm where smallholder farmers are social, cultural, and historical actors that make decisions based on a diversity of personal, ethical, and cultural factors and not just based on profit, business and markets. Instead of corporate-backed trade promotion schemes, we want an UNCTAD that protects us from the destructive and secretive FTAs promoted by the undemocratic World Trade Organization (WTO) such as the TTIP, TPP, CETA, TiSA, EPAs, and their so-called Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). We, the peasants of the world, currently feed the global majority, and we do so in spite of the numerous Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) aimed at displacing peasant production and trade worldwide. PEASANT-BASED PRODUCTION AND LOCAL MARKETS Globally, more than 80% of smallholders operate in local and domestic food markets, with the majority trading through informal means. These highly diverse markets are the ones through which most of the food consumed in the world transits. They operate within territorial spaces that can range from local to transboundary to regional and may be located in rural, peri-urban or urban contexts. These markets are directly linked to local, national and/or regional food systems: the food concerned is produced, processed, traded and consumed within a given space and the value added is retained and shared there, helping to create employment. They can take place in structured arrangements or in more ad hoc or informal ways which provide greater flexibility for smallholders and fewer barriers to entry and more control over prices and market conditions. They perform multiple functions beyond commodity exchange, acting as space for social interaction and exchange of knowledge. These are the most important markets, especially for rural women, when it comes to inclusion and access, contributing significantly to our fulfilment of our right to food and nutrition. Despite their importance, informal markets are often overlooked in data collection systems which impacts negatively on the evidence base for informing public policies. As women smallholders mostly operate in informal markets, their essential contribution to food systems, including food distribution, and economic growth remains largely invisible in trade and development policy-making processes and, they face particular socio-economic barriers in accessing resources and marketing opportunities resulting in further marginalization and violation of their rights. Given their importance for food security and smallholder livelihoods, public policies and investments should be oriented towards strengthening, expanding and protecting local and domestic peasant-fed markets. We call on the UNCTAD and its member states to support the collection of comprehensive data on local, domestic and informal-both rural and urban-markets linked to territories to improve the evidence base for policies, including sex-disaggregated data, and incorporating this as a regular aspect of national and international data collection systems. We recommend transparent and fair pricing of all agricultural products that provides full remuneration for smallholders' work and their own investments, including rural women. Pricing policies should give smallholders access to timely and affordable market information to enable them to make informed decisions on what, when and where to sell, guarding against the abuse of buyer power, particularly in concentrated markets. We demand public and institutional procurement programs that allow smallholders to rely on regular and stable demand for agricultural products at fair prices and for consumers to access healthy, nutritious, diverse, fresh and locally produced food, including during crises and conflicts. We want these procurement programs to service public institutions such as schools, hospitals, prisons, homes for the elderly and public servants' canteens, by providing food produced by smallholders through participatory mechanisms involving them in the process. We reiterate our calls for a permanent solution to the public stockholding issue - considering the imbalances in the domestic support allowances accorded to developed countries - and our commitment to building these robust public and institutional procurement programs. For these to succeed, we remind national governments that they must guarantee fair and equitable access to land, water, territory, and biodiversity, referring them to the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. Food is a human right and must not be treated like a simple commodity. We call on the 2016 UNCTAD Conference to rethink how it addresses the issue of food and its relationship to trade and development. Peasants are at the heart of food production and what we urgently need is Food Sovereignty - requiring the protection and renationalization of national food markets, the promotion of local circuits of production and consumption, the struggle for land, the defense of the territories of indigenous peoples, and comprehensive agrarian reform -- not the false promises of Green Revolution driven input- and capital-intensive and dependent production systems that operate under the false premise of competitiveness that only works when it undermines the livelihoods of farmers elsewhere. We remind governments that they have obligations to meet when it comes to providing quality public services required for a dignified life in the countryside (health, education, etc.), and that these obligations cannot be met without fair prices that protect local farmers from profit-hungry transnational corporations (TNCs) and an international trade system that currently only serves the interests of agribusiness and other corporate elites. As a UN body, UNCTAD should strive to be coherent with its other ongoing efforts, including but not limited to the effective realization of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Together with allies in Nairobi, and throughout the world, we invite all to join us in the struggle for Food Sovereignty and an end to corporate-led "free trade" promoted through undemocratic institutions such as the WTO. FOOD IS A RIGHT, NOT A COMMODITY! FOOD SOVEREIGNTY NOW! GLOBALIZE STRUGGLE! GLOBALIZE HOPE! Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-f… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/images/2014%20Logo.jpg

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