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Stop criminalization and intimidation against the Thai youth!
by La Via Campesina 09 Aug '22

09 Aug '22

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Stop criminalization and intimidation against the Thai youth! Detention without trial and denial of bail is injustice! Youths have the right to determine their country’s future! Protest letter sent by La Via Campesina to the government of Thailand after the detention and imprisonment of young pro-democracy activists. *To the Prime Minister, The Government of Thailand* *To the President, the Supreme Court of Thailand* We, La Via Campesina, the international peasant movement, express our deep concern about the ongoing intimidation, detention and criminalization of young activists and peasant leaders who took part in Thailand’s pro-democracy and peasants’ rights movements. We are informed that at least 20 young people were detained without trial for their engagement in the political actions to demand democracy and monarchy reform. These young people now face hefty charges of sedition, cybercrime, lèse-majesté and violating the emergency decree. At the time of issuing this letter, these young people have not been granted the right to bail. Three detained young people are on hunger strike. Two of them are young women who stopped eating for more than 50 days. Detention without trial, denial of the right to bail, and intimidation are essentially the strategy that authoritarian governments use to create fear among the young activists to silence and suppress them. We see these also happen worldwide, in other struggles and daily lives of peasants and working people. Among the detained is Ms Katanyu Muenkhamruang, imprisoned two weeks ago. Katanyu is a youth leader who participates in Assembly of the Poor (AOP) activities. AOP is a member organization of La Via Campesina in Thailand. She is an alumna of the Florestan Fernandes National School for youth leaders of the Landless People Movement (MST) and a member of La Via Campesina in Brazil. She also joined the First La Via Campesina Asian Youth Meeting some years ago. Like other young political prisoners, her right to bail has been repeatedly denied. Furthermore, we also received the news that Ms Nisapun Muenram, the youth representative of the Assembly of the Poor (AOP) in La Via Campesina’s Asia Youth Collective, was intimidated by the police. The police went to Ms Nisapun’s home, citing her participation in the protest on July 27th, demanding the right to bail for the young political dissidents. Although she is safe now, she is at risk because of such intimidation tactics. The youth, keepers of our future, has the righteousness and rightfulness to participate in political actions to determine and realize a socially just world. As a global movement for food sovereignty and peasants’ rights, we condemn the criminalization and intimidation against the young people in Thailand. La Via Campesina would also like to express our solidarity with the brave young people in Thailand. They are not alone in their struggle. There are countless youth and movements in many parts of the globe who share the same dreams to transform the world for the better. La Via Campesina calls on the Government and the Supreme Court of Thailand to stop criminalization and intimidation against the youths and ensure their unconditional release. Dissent is not a crime. We demand safe public spaces for the people of Thailand, including the youth, to express their right to freedom of opinion and expression. We stand by the people’s right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people in rural areas (UNDROP). The government should protect and uphold these human rights so that these youths can build the future of their society and their country. *Bagnolet, France* *La Via Campesina* *03 August 2022* For any questions, please write to press(a)viacampesina.org <mailto:For any questions, please write to press(a)viacampesina.org> Twitter <https://twitter.com/viacampesinaFR> Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/ViaCampesinaOfficial> Web <http://www.viacampesina.org> Instagram <http://instagram.com/la_via_campesina_official> Pour vous désinscrire, cliquez ici <https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en>

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2022, July | Social Media NewsWrap: LVC members worldwide
by La Via Campesina 03 Aug '22

03 Aug '22

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* July Newswrap | LVC Subscribe [1] | Donate [2] JULY SOCIAL MEDIA NEWSWRAP: LVC MEMBERS WORLDWIDE _Starting this month, we will release a monthly newswrap of updates and articles posted by the members of La Via Campesina on various social media platforms. Here are the updates from July!_ ------------------------- It is a crucial time for land workers to influence food and farming policy in the UK. Across Scotland, Wales and England, new legislation is reforming agricultural subsidy schemes and laying the institutional and legal foundations for transforming our food and farming systems. In August, LVC member the LandWorkers' Alliance will host an online workshop [3] on _How To Lobby For Good Food And Farming Policy_. They will also discuss subsidy reform and food legislation in England, Scotland and Wales. On similar lines, CNA is accompanying concrete measures in Portugal, where it has been assisting the farming sector in the allocation of public aid [4] as a result of the increase in energy and fertilizer prices, with a strong impact on the country's agricultural activity. Owners of poultry farms and those producing cow's milk can contact a CNA agency until August 12. In Kenya, the Kenyan peasant League [5] (KPL) conducted a two-day formation session with women on land rights and the impact of micro-credit. Through crowdfunding, the KPL Women's Collective also secured the resources to buy about 1.8 Hectares of land for women affected by gender-based violence and land-grabbing. The women will use the land as a safe haven to organize, farm, and live. In Brazil, Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens - MAB organized a roundtable [6] where the participants discussed the challenges of the struggle and popular organization in the Amazon region. In South Korea, the KWPA Sisters' Garden [7] uses its Facebook page to promote agroecological products to a broader set of consumers in the neighbourhood. The Korean Peasant League also informs about a public demonstration by farmers against the CPTPP trade deal. In India, Amritabhoomi, the agroecological peasant school in Karnataka, uses its Facebook page to provide the latest updates from the Namdu Farmers' Cooperative [8]. The cooperative sells agroecological produce to consumers in the locality. A similar initiative is being promoted by MODEF in France, which is organizing this August 18 the sale of 25 tons of fruits and vegetables [9], transported from Tarn et Garonne and Hérault to Paris Place de la Bastille, Val de Marne and Hauts de Seine in support of family farmers. Visura Media, a community web-cast run by the members of MONLAR in Srilanka, informs us about the scale of environmental destruction [10] in rural and coastal Srilanka. They also recently organized a residential media training program [11] to strengthen young people's digital participation and media competencies. MONLAR also posted updates early this month about the wild elephant attack on farms in the Thalawa river Siripura area of the Anuradhapura district. In Peru, peasant and indigenous organizations, some of which are part of LVC, presented to President Pedro Castillo a Second Agrarian Reform Law Project [12]. It is a document prepared by the grassroots of the movement after a series of decentralized events called the Second Agrarian Reform Summit, promoted by the same organizations to gather the main needs and demands of the rural milieu. During the presentation, the peasants pointed out to the President that "no Peruvian has to die in a country of peasants". >From Paraguay, an statement signed by the organizations CLOC LVC and the National Organization of Independent Aborigines (ONAI) [13], alerted us about the continuity of land evictions promoted by the Government. This time, the indigenous community Hugua Po'i a Mbya Guaraní, is fighting to return to their ancestral lands from which they were evicted last year. The organizations are demanding the repeal of the Zavala-Riera Law, which criminalizes peasant struggles and has currently affected more than 3,000 peasant and indigenous families. In Panama, a national mobilization since the beginning of July has kept the whole country in tension, as a confluence of social organizations, among them peasants and indigenous peoples [14], protested energetically against the increase in the price of fuel and food. So far a dialogue table has been set up with the government to meet the demands raised by the organizations, the private sector has criticized this initiative. Brazil hosted the 2nd National Women's School of La Via Campesina [15], where 60 women from different states participated. This is part of a great legacy of political formation promoted by the peasant movement inspired by LVC and its principles. One of the agreements of this event was to change the official name to Feminist School of LVC Brazil, to promote Peasant and Popular Feminism as a political tool born from the movement. In France, Confederation Paysanne issued a press release [16] that brought attention to the falling prices of organic milk. In Romania, Eco Ruralis [17] participated in making a new documentary film, _"Green Revolution | Europe, a confused continent"_, by the TV station ARTE. The members explained the effects of social inequity created by the distribution of agricultural subsidies, which end up overwhelmingly in the pockets of big companies. In Brazil too MST and allies are promoting the broadcasting of a film on seeds this August 4th, in an agroecological store in Rio de Janeiro [18]. The film aims to of bring the debate on agrarian reform to the population. The Union Paysanne [19] also threw us a teaser of a documentary-in-the-making, slated for release in the fall season in Canada. The Women Caucus [20] of the National Farmers' Union in Canada is putting together a multi-media campaign to highlight farmers whose gender identities are under-represented in the agricultural field. The Indonesia Peasants' Union - Serikat Petani Indonesia - has posted an update [21] about an agrochemical firm allegedly poisoning the farms that are part of the Union's agrarian reform struggles. A similar alert was issued by Mocase [22], our member in Argentina when a large farm's fumigation action was poisoning the water that runs through the Miquilo Canal. Mocase reminds us that the herbicide is prohibited throughout the national territory, yet the farm owner turns deaf ears to the legislation on the use of agro toxics. In another disturbing update, the Assembly of Poor in Thailand has issued alerts about the arrest of a young peasant leader who was part of the pro-democracy movement in the country. As per the latest update, she has been denied bail by the court. The movement members are calling for attention [23] to the cases of illegal detention of democracy activists. _Have we missed an important update? If so, please email us the links to the news item __, which we will include in the next edition. Only Updates from La Via Campesina members will be part of this news wrap._ CHECK OUT THE ARTICLES ON OUR WEBSITE, PUBLISHED THIS JULY [24], THAT ELABORATES DIFFERENT INITIATIVES INSIDE THE GLOBAL PEASANT MOVEMENT. [25] [26] [27] [28] To unsubscribe click here [1] Links: ------ [1] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [2] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/viacampesina [3] https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/workshop-how-to-lobby-for-good-food-and-farm… [4] https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Finforcna.pt%2Fpost%2Fmedidas-d… [5] https://www.facebook.com/susan.owiti.33/posts/pfbid0ZsMoJLykQAKck5N6Tuj92oy… [6] https://www.facebook.com/mabbrasil/ [7] https://www.facebook.com/kwpasistersgarden/photos/a.1427976320831916/279907… [8] https://www.facebook.com/AmritaBhoomi/ [9] https://www.facebook.com/modefnational/photos/a.305589392938796/22525870282… [10] https://www.facebook.com/VisuraMedia/videos/1787128838285454 [11] https://www.facebook.com/monlarsrilanka/posts/pfbid02udr2WjHczYVikFrYvLQNC7… [12] https://www.cna.org.pe/organizaciones-agrarias-ronderos-presentan-al-ejecut… [13] https://cloc-viacampesina.net/comunicado-situacion-hugua-poi-paraguay [14] https://cloc-viacampesina.net/comunicado-de-solidaridad-con-el-hermano-pueb… [15] https://viacampesina.org/es/brasil-mujeres-de-la-via-campesina-realizan-esc… [16] http://www.confederationpaysanne.fr/rp_article.php?id=12684 [17] https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecoruralis.ro%2F2022%2F06%… [18] https://www.instagram.com/p/CghxxeOJSDD/ [19] https://www.facebook.com/unionpaysanne/posts/pfbid0JZvCdU18UCYcDT9rEQTkYEFJ… [20] https://www.facebook.com/nfuCanada/posts/pfbid02XQjHtSPvWydsChv3JN4g5wQ93fV… [21] https://www.facebook.com/serikat.petani.indonesia/photos/a.1015135296404692… [22] https://www.facebook.com/330273990335378/videos/348233944154983 [23] https://www.facebook.com/annelapapan.supamanta.37/posts/pfbid0z6g7EGuef8Ddh… [24] https://viacampesina.org/en/2022/07/ [25] http://www.twitter.com/twitter.com/via_campesina [26] http://www.facebook.com/ViaCampesinaOfficial [27] http://www.viacampesina.org [28] http://instagram.com/la_via_campesina_official

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Call for a global movement for peace, social justice and solidarity against all wars! | La Via Campesina
by La Via Campesina 18 Jul '22

18 Jul '22

Call for a global movement for peace, social justice and solidarity against all wars! *Bagnolet | 08 July 2022* At a time of a global climate emergency and crisis, escalation of totalitarian regimes, the resurgence of imperialism and military aggression, we, peasants, express our dismay with the proliferation of wars in the world. Fires are ravaging the Amazon and Australia, and unbearable heat, untimely rains and floods are hitting the South-Asian subcontinent. Droughts threaten crops and livestock in dozens of countries; floods are destroying fields and houses in other places, and insect, bird and plant species and populations are disappearing massively and irrecoverably. And you, the decision-makers of this world, what are you doing? You wage war fueled by greed to snatch the last drops of oil, the last sources of water, the last acres of territory. You turn people against each other with populist and chauvinist propaganda, trying to divide us and break our practice of sowing peace in our societies and with nature. *Enough of this! We, peasants, call for an end to wars and a global movement for peace and international solidarity and cooperation.* We call for the immediate stop of military aggression and a withdrawal of military forces from all illegally occupied territories worldwide. We call for the dismantling of all multinational military alliances and nuclear arsenals around the world. We call for an international effort towards demilitarization and disarmament. We call to stop using hunger as a weapon of war against the people. We call to stop the de-legitimization and criminalization of social movements who struggle for social justice. *The only wars worth fighting today are those against poverty, hunger, the climate and biodiversity crises, racism and violence against women.* We, peasants, affirm that, in the current social and environmental emergency context, all wars are contrary to the true interests and aspirations of the people. We want to sow peace and social justice! We are tired of your thirst for power that destroys the planet and condemns us to misery. We want to harvest peace and social justice! It is time to put all our energies into the construction of more just and more united societies. We want to build peace and social justice! We call on all people who feel a sense of pacifist urgency, as well as social movements, women’s organizations, workers’ organizations, migrant organizations, youth organizations, and indigenous peoples’ organizations, to unite in demanding an end to wars and militarization. *La Via Campesina appeals to all its members, allies, and social movements to echo this text, translate and re-publish it in local languages, and share ahead. A united voice of the people is now urgent and necessary! Globalize the Struggle, Globalize Hope*! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share our reel promoting our statement <https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07/reel-EN-PAZ-…> If you have any questions, please write to press(a)viacampesina.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **

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La Via Campesina: “Artists for Food Sovereignty” Virtual Gallery
by La Via Campesina 13 Jul '22

13 Jul '22

LA VIA CAMPESINA: “ARTISTS FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY” VIRTUAL GALLERY 13 JULY 2022 FOOD SOVEREIGNTY [1], INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY [2] La Via Campesina (LVC) is celebrating 30 years of collective struggles for justice, peace, life, and dignity. On this anniversary, we are presenting a virtual gallery titled “ARTISTS FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY.” It is an exhibition capturing the activism, solidarity, and commitment of 22 artists from different countries and organizations around the world, whose works have been selected and curated following the _international call for submissions [3]_ put out by the movement in August and September 2021. The many ongoing activities and mobilizations for food sovereignty, peoples' agrarian reform, and peasant dignity serve as sources of inspiration and reflection for the artistic and activist creations presented in this gallery in formats such as songs, poems, video, paintings, puppetry, podcasts, and illustrations. For LVC, communication and art are important tools for expression, training, memory, exchange, and resistance among the peasant and Indigenous cultures of the world. In this gallery, we present our struggles and reflections on food sovereignty, peoples' agrarian reform, peasant agroecology, native seeds, women, and diverse peoples, along with the works provided by the artists. These are accompanied by teachers' guides that can help you build awareness and organize to transform our lives. We hope the exhibition will motivate you to build new horizons and other paths based on solidarity, internationalism, education, and popular culture. Globalize the struggle, globalize hope! Get out some paper, pen, colored pencils, and a headset microphone if you have one. _YOU CAN VISIT THIS GALLERY IN A GROUP OR BY YOURSELF. YOU CAN ALSO BECOME AN “EXHIBITION GUIDE” BY SHARING IT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY, ORGANIZATION, OR REGION. THE WORKS EXHIBITED ARE OPEN-SOURCE AND CAN BE DOWNLOADED TO YOUR PHONE OR PC.©_ EN: https://bit.ly/3z3yKZf ES: https://bit.ly/3uLNcCG FR: https://bit.ly/3Pqeqqh 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/international-solidari… [3] https://viacampesina.org/es/llamado-internacional-artistas-por-la-soberania…

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LVC Statement | From Melilla to San Antonio, migrants’ lives matter!
by La Via Campesina 01 Jul '22

01 Jul '22

FROM MELILLA TO SAN ANTONIO, MIGRANTS' LIVES MATTER! DECLARATION OF LA VIA CAMPESINA, FOR THE LIVES OF MIGRANTS AND THEIR FAMILIES ------------------------- BAGNOLET, 30 JUNE: Once again, the borders are filled with the bodies of human beings desperately seeking to escape misery, dispossession, institutional repression, and the violence of the criminal gangs that traffic with their lives, protected by the official impunity and with the connivance of the states of the North. JUST ON FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 37 MIGRANTS LOST THEIR LIVES AT THE MELILLA BORDER WITH SPAIN AT THE HANDS OF BORDER AGENTS AND THREE DAYS LATER, ON MONDAY, JUNE 27, 53 MIGRANTS WERE FOUND DEAD LOCKED IN A CARGO TRUCK IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. These most recent deaths, of dispossessed people who can no longer live on their land and desperately seek their survival, are added to the long list of thousands of deaths at the borders since the states of the North decided to confront migration with a military and repressive strategy and which has deepened since the approval of the so-called Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in December 2018 and from which the principle of human rights was bypassed. The images of what happened in Melilla showed the world the cruelty with which the Moroccan and Spanish border forces repressed the impotent sub-Saharans. In San Antonio, Texas, the dead were 39 men and 12 women, mainly Mexicans, as well as Guatemalans, Hondurans and other nationalities... and children. In the face of these painful tragedies, La Via Campesina International cannot remain silent. We join in the worldwide indignation. We join the public denunciations of human rights organizations, such as the Moroccan Association of Human Rights. We join the demand of the UN Commissioner for Human Rights for an investigation into the violation of human rights by the States under the International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers. We also join our voices in calling for an end to the complicity of governments such as Morocco and Mexico, and others, who do the "dirty work" of implementing policies and actions against migrants imposed by the North such as the United States and the European Union. We urgently call on our organizations of La Via Campesina and our allies to mobilize to carry out concrete actions for the protection and in defense of the lives of migrants. Finally, we call on society as a whole to come out of global indifference and to demand, through action, the protection of migrants' lives. THE LIVES OF MIGRANTS MATTER! NO MORE DEATHS AT THE BORDER! LET'S BUILD AN URGENT GLOBAL UNITY OF ACTION AND SOLIDARITY FOR THE PROTECTION OF MIGRANTS EVERYWHERE!

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LVC Geneva Declaration: End WTO! Build International Trade based on Peasants’ Rights and Food Sovereignty!
by La Via Campesina 30 Jun '22

30 Jun '22

GENEVA DECLARATION: END WTO! BUILD INTERNATIONAL TRADE BASED ON PEASANTS' RIGHTS AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY! CAPITALISM AND FREE TRADE [1], FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS [2], KEY DOCUMENTS (FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS) [3], PEASANTS' RIGHTS [4], WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION [5] ------------------------- THE 2022 GENEVA DECLARATION | LA VIA CAMPESINA | 28 JUNE 2022 We, La Via Campesina - the voice of more than 200 million peasants, indigenous peoples, migrant workers, pastoralists comprising youth and women and counting 182 peasant organizations in 81 countries as our members - are assembled in Geneva, Switzerland - from 11 June 2022 to denounce the destructive neoliberal policies of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that has decimated rural economies, worsened rural debt and aggravated hunger. La Via Campesina founded 30 years ago as an internationalist response of the small-scale food producers worldwide to resist the globalization of free-market policies and speculative trade in agriculture and food. As we predicted, the global crises that confront our world today - namely, the corporate control and concentration in the international food systems; global warming aggravated by industrial farming techniques; large-scale deforestation; the dispossession of rural communities through forceful and violent eviction from territories; criminalization of those who resist; intellectual property claims on peasant seeds; increasing distress-migration from the rural areas; horrid treatment and abuse of agricultural workers and migrants; destruction of biodiversity; proliferation of unhealthy and junk diets; soil destruction due to extensive use of agrochemicals etc - are a result of an unchecked and unregulated expansion of global financial capital, pushed by the troika of the WTO, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, through Free Trade Agreements, Investment Treaties, Strategic Economic Partnerships, Structural Adjustment Programmes, Conditional Loans and Aid programmes. These crises, we insist, have a disproportional effect on women and girls who already carry the burden of patriarchy and gender-based violence. All these have also exacerbated socio-economic inequality and hunger in the world. In June 2022, on the streets of Geneva, we led demonstrations against these destructive policies. Our rallying cry _"Free Trade Fuels Hunger, WTO Out of Agriculture"_ expressed the anguish and anger among small-scale food producers worldwide. It is indeed a matter to cheer that there has been no real breakthrough on contentious issues at the 12th Ministerial Conference, which only points to the continuing irrelevance of the WTO. Our mobilizations in Geneva (and our historic rallies against the WTO since 1999) have made it possible to expose the destructive policies of this institution. In Geneva, where we met after a gap of over two years due to the pandemic restrictions, we also embraced each other in solidarity and unity. We shared inspiring accounts of peasant struggles on all the continents and reaffirmed our commitments to bring food sovereignty to our territories. ------------------------- DRAWING IMMENSE ENERGY, HOPE AND ENTHUSIASM FROM OUR JOINT MOBILIZATIONS IN GENEVA – AND ON BEHALF OF OUR GLOBAL MOVEMENT – WE CALL FOR AN OVERHAUL OF THE CURRENT INTERNATIONAL TRADE SYSTEM. HERE IS HOW WE CAN BUILD AN ALTERNATIVE THAT REFLECTS AND RESPONDS TO THE REALITIES OF PEASANTS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. * The WTO must end! The Agreement on Agriculture should be dismantled and all Free Trade Negotiations should keep out of Agriculture! * Set in motion a Global Multilateral Framework for Executing International Trade, based on Peoples' Food Sovereignty principles and per the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), other human rights instruments, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as well as several international Conventions and Covenants, etc. * Nothing about us, without us! The construction of this framework must be through a multilateral inter-governmental working group comprising equal and inclusive representation and participation of social movements and civil society. * Keep Transnational Corporations, lobbyists, and agenda-driven philanthropic arms out of these discussions and spaces and listen to the people! * We call upon the governments to exit the WTO, stand on the side of the peasants, agricultural workers, migrants and indigenous people, and create an alliance of progressive countries to advance Food Sovereignty and Peasants' Rights. * We call for implementing a Genuine Agrarian Reform and national policies that promote the right to land and a complete and well-coordinated transition into peasant-based-agroecological production practices. * We call upon governments to build public food stocks procured from peasants and small-scale food producers at a support price that is just, legally guaranteed and viable for the producers. * Bring strong anti-dumping legislation that is necessary to stop exporters from destroying local markets. * Forbid the use of agriculture to produce bio-fuel. Food should be an absolute priority over fuel. We have listed the building blocks of an alternative we urgently seek for our world, and this cannot wait. We cannot wait for the WTO to reform itself and bring all these changes because of its inherent contradictions and apparent conflict of interests. ------------------------- See the map [6] of our mobilizations around the world ------------------------- AN ESSENTIAL PRE-CONDITION FOR THESE CHANGES TO TAKE ROOT WOULD BE THE URGENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ARTICLES OF THE UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF PEASANTS AND OTHER PEOPLE WORKING IN RURAL AREAS (UNDROP). This month also marks the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UN HRC). At this Session, La Via Campesina is putting forth concrete demands in making UNDROP a lived reality for our communities; The implementation of UNDROP is undergoing in many regions and countries through public policies, training, new jurisprudences based on the UNDROP, and different types of actions in the daily lives of rural communities. The implementation must also happen through mainstreaming and monitoring at the international level. In this respect, our movement is advocating for CREATING A SPECIAL PROCEDURE ON THE UNDROP. This special procedure will allow for effective implementation, especially UNDROP mainstreaming and monitoring at the global level. At the 50th session of the UN HRC, we have moved a step forward on this objective. La Via Campesina delegates tirelessly advocated with the Member States and other UN bodies in Geneva. We will continue our excellent work and have set the timeline to achieve this creation of the UNDROP special procedure at the UN Human Rights Council session scheduled in March 2023. We call on our members to reach out to their national governments and convince them to send a clear signal to their Missions in Geneva in favour of a special procedure on UNDROP. We have also advanced on many fronts. La Via Campesina members worldwide have brought UNDROP more to our bases and grassroots at the national and local level with direct actions, formations, and creation of UNDROP popular materials. We will continue our efforts to translate UNDROP and the popular materials into our local languages to understand and increase ownership of this crucial tool of struggle. We call our members, right-holders in rural areas, and our allies to continue to raise awareness and use UNDROP as a tool in their daily fights. PEASANTS' RIGHTS, NOW! FOOD SOVEREIGNTY, NOW! GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE! GLOBALIZE HOPE! #LVC30YEARS #NOFUTUREWITHOUTFOODSOVEREIGNTY ------------------------- Don't miss the special coverage we made during the mobilizations in Geneva. [7] See our PHOTOS [8] and VIDEOS [9] For any questions, please write to press(a)viacampesina.org Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/capitalism-and-fre… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/capitalism-and-fre… [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/capitalism-and-fre… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/human-rights/ [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/capitalism-and-fre… [6] https://padlet.com/lvcweb/WTO_Out_2022 [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/tag/geneva-wto-2022/ [8] https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.7463239047079935&type=3 [9] https://www.facebook.com/watch/342562582480986/759352991869256

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Nyéléni Newsletter | Towards a global forum of food sovereignty
by La Via Campesina 22 Jun '22

22 Jun '22

NYÉLÉNI NEWSLETTER | TOWARDS A GLOBAL FORUM OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY 21 June 2022 Nyéléni Newsletters [1] The new edition of the Nyéléni Newsletter is out! This edition reveals the process that is unfolding at the moment towards a global forum of Food Sovereignty, a space for exchange and convergence among social movements across sectors, since it is imperative, in the current circumstances, to advance in the struggle by strengthening alliances with other global movements. ------------------------- As the world lurches from one crisis to another, Nyéléni symbolizes the convergence of our struggles and commitments to build a world free of greed, hunger, exploitation, extractivism, misogyny, racism, discrimination, and violence. Since 2007, Nyéléni has been a space where we meet in order to build collective strategies to advance food sovereignty, rights to land and territories, agroecology, and the rights of all small-scale food providers. Our articulations have given us the strength to organize against capitalism, neoliberalism, corporate power, patriarchy, and ecocide. THROUGH THE NYÉLÉNI MEETINGS IN 2007, 2011 AND 2015, THE FOOD SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT CREATED THE BASIS FOR OUR FUTURE POSITION IN MANY GLOBAL NEGOTIATIONS. These events and the concepts born therein led to the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, and the implementation of Farmers' Rights in the context of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. But in the present global context, the food sovereignty movement cannot make it alone. To dismantle agribusiness and corporate power, as well as provide comprehensive responses to persisting systemic crises and the rise of conservative right-wing forces, we need to converge with peoples' organisations facing different forms of oppression and threats. Collectively, we can propose true alternatives for all and advance social, gender, racial, economic, intergenerational, and environmental justice. The Nyéléni meetings are thus essential for building principles, concepts and strategies shared and reinforced by many movements across different sectors, while defending the most vulnerable at local levels. _CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ENGLISH EDITION_ [2] OR READ IT DIRECTLY IN THE WEBSITE AT WWW.NYELENI.ORG [3] ! Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/media-and-publications/nyeleni-newsletters/ [2] http://www.nyeleni.org/ccount/click.php?id=177 [3] https://nyeleni.org/

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Press Release | WTO, MC12: La Via Campesina calls on States to exit the WTO and create a new framework based on food sovereignty
by La Via Campesina 15 Jun '22

15 Jun '22

LA VIA CAMPESINA CALLS ON STATES TO EXIT THE WTO AND TO CREATE A NEW FRAMEWORK BASED ON FOOD SOVEREIGNTY Press Release | 15 June 2022, Geneva | Also available in Spanish [1] and French [2] La Via Campesina, the global peasant movement representing the voices of more than 200 million small-scale peasants from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, has been mobilizing all week against the WTO [3]. The food crisis that is currently hitting the world is further proof that free trade - far from bringing about food security - is making people starve. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has once again failed to offer a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes. For more than eight years, rich countries have been blocking concrete proposals from African and Asian members of the G33 in this regard. JEONGYEOL KIM, from the Korean Women Peasant's Association and an ICC member of La Via Campesina, points out that: _"Free Trade Fuels Hunger. After 27 years under the rule of the WTO, this conclusion is clear. It is time to keep agriculture out of all Free Trade Agreements. The pandemic, and the shock and disruptions induced by war have made it clear that we need a local and national food governance system based on people, not agribusinesses. A system that is built on principles of solidarity and cooperation rather than competition, coercion, and geopolitical agendas."_ BURRY TUNKARA, from the Gambian Organization of Small-scale Farmers, Fishermen and Foresters and one of the main youth leaders of La Via Campesina, echoes the same sentiment in this testimony: _"The WTO only defends the rich and their commercial interests. It is a tool of neo-colonialism. It only serves the interests of multinationals to find new markets and cheaper labour. It's time to stop that!"_ The socio-economic agenda of the poorest and low-income countries is not a priority for the WTO. The proof: its inability to provide a safeguard mechanism against the "dumping" of rich countries and its approach to fisheries subsidies to the detriment of small-scale fisherfolk. There is no point in trying to reform an institution built to favour the business interests of a handful of multinational corporations. PERLA ÁLVAREZ from Paraguay, and member of the Latin American Coordination of La Via Campesina (CLOC) stated that a systemic change is urgent and necessary: _"The global food crisis is our moment of reckoning. There is no place for a 'business as usual' approach here. We are presenting short-term and long-term proposals that can radically shift the way in which trade affects farming communities around the world."_ TODAY, June 15, from Geneva, while the WTO Ministerial Conference has once again betrayed the expectations of the populations that have been most affected by the food crisis, WE, LA VIA CAMPESINA, SHARE OUR PROPOSALS; La Via Campesina calls on all national governments to rebuild public stocks and to support the creation of food reserves at the community level with local products from agroecological practices. LVC also called on all governments to put in place the anti-dumping legislation necessary to prevent exporters from destroying local markets. YUDHVIR SINGH of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, one of the unions that spearheaded the historic mobilization of Indian peasants in 2021, shared his country's experience with public food stocks: _"Peasants need strong public policies, such as minimum prices and public stock, to continue to make a decent living by producing food. The WTO's attacks against our model of market regulation are extremely dangerous. The G33 must continue to resist and build based on the aspirations and hopes of small-scale producers."_ La Via Campesina has called for an immediate suspension of all existing WTO rules that prevent countries from developing public food stocks and regulating market and prices. Governments should have the right to use self-selected internal criteria to protect and promote their food sovereignty. Each country should be able to develop its own agricultural and food policy and protect the interests of its peasants, without harming other countries. The use of agricultural products for agro-fuels should be prohibited. La Via Campesina has also called for a halt in speculation. _"Agrarian Reform is necessary to build food sovereignty," added ZAINAL ARIFIN FUAT of Serikat Petani Indonesia and member of LVC's International Coordination Committee. "Governments must put an end to grabbing water, seeds and land by transnational corporations and ensure small-scale producers fair rights over common resources."_ We, La Via Campesina, insist that within the framework of the pandemic and the global supply crisis, governments should prioritize local markets. MORGAN ODY, peasant in Brittany, France, and general coordinator of La Via Campesina, stated on behalf of the global peasant movement: _"The World Trade Organization is a failed project. Our global peasant movement calls on all States, especially those in the South, to leave the WTO immediately. We must create a new international framework for agriculture and trade based on food sovereignty. Only then can we defend the interests of small-scale food producers."_ ------------------------- For queries, write to PRESS(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG | PRESS KIT: HTTPS://LINKTR.EE/LAVIACAMPESINA ------------------------- NOTE: La Via Campesina counts 181 peasant organisations in over 80 countries as its members. The global peasant network and its allies led the negotiations in the UN for 17 years, resulting in the United Nations adopting a UN Declaration for Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) in 2018. Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/es/la-via-campesina-pide-a-los-estados-salir-de-la… [2] https://viacampesina.org/fr/la-via-campesina-appelle-les-etats-a-sortir-de-… [3] https://twitter.com/via_campesina/status/1532267751938883585?s=20&t=nEA…

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WTO Ministerial in June, Geneva | Call for Mobilisation
by La Via Campesina 07 Jun '22

07 Jun '22

Since the creation of the WTO in 1995, La Via Campesina has been denouncing the neoliberal and free trade policies that are destroying the peasantry and destabilising local food systems worldwide. From Seattle (1999) to Cancun (2003), from Hong Kong (2005) to Buenos Aires (2017), we have been fighting against the imposition of a free trade order in the service of big business and billionaires. On the 10th of September 2003, while protesting outside the WTO ministerial in Cancun, Mexico, peasant from KPL -South Korea Mr. Lee Kyung-Hae sacrificed his life by stabbing himself. That tragic incident exposed the destructive effects of WTO and its trade liberalisation efforts on the lives of millions of peasants globally. Our mobilisations have made it possible to block the free trade negotiations. After our big mobilization in Hongkong 2005, the Doha Development Agenda which started in 2001 has been in limbo and there are no new major WTO agreements ever been adopted, especially in agriculture. However, The WTO was established based on the Marrakesh agreement in 1994; it still forces countries to open their markets to multinational companies and prevents the implementation of ambitious public policies in favour of peasants' economy. Moreover, bilateral and regional free trade agreements have only multiplied. Neoliberal policies and the imposition of free trade have greatly weakened peasantry around the world. They push countries to give priority to export crops and to depend on imports to feed their populations. They increase the grabbing of resources by multinationals, to the detriment of peasants and local communities. They contribute to the exacerbation of climate crisis by fostering monoculture plantations, deforestations, overexploitation of soils and water and dwindling our biodiversity. Today, with the pandemic of COVID-19, with the extreme events linked to global warming and with the war in Ukraine and other places, it is clear that making people's food security dependent on international trade and TNCs is criminal. This must stop. The WTO must get out of agriculture. Food sovereignty must be the basis of agricultural and food policies in each country and at the international level. >From the 13-15 June 2022, the WTO ministerial Conference will take place in Geneva. The WTO is struggling to seek relevance again in a world battered by inequality, hunger, extreme poverty, wars and a once-in-a-century pandemic. ------------------------- La Via Campesina calls on civil society to mobilise to denounce this organisation and defend people's food sovereignty. We will be in Geneva during the week holding a series of public mobilisations that will bring the voices of the rural territories right to the doorstep of the Ministerial venue. LA VIA CAMPESINA IS ALSO CALLING UPON ALL OUR MEMBERS AND ALLIES TO ORGANISE PUBLIC MEETINGS, CONFERENCES, DEMONSTRATIONS, FAIR, ISSUE PUBLIC STATEMENTS AND PRESS RELEASES – BETWEEN THE 10TH AND THE 15TH OF JUNE – AND EXPOSE THE IMPACT OF FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS AND WTO POLICIES ON RURAL AND URBAN SMALL-SCALE FOOD PRODUCERS.Tag us on Facebook [1] , Twitter [2] or Instagram [3] OUR SLOGAN: Free Trade Fuels Hunger, WTO out of Agriculture! HASHTAGS: #FreeTradeFuelsHunger #EndWTO DOWNLOAD COMMUNICATION MATERIALS HERE [4] DOWNLOAD THE PRESS INVITE ------------------------- _ALSO READ WHAT ARE OUR KEY ARGUMENTS AND PROPOSALS [5]?_ ------------------------- We have reiterated in our International Day of Action against WTO and Free Trade Agreements [6] that for us- the global peasant movement of peasants, indigenous people, farm-workers, migrants, fishers and pastoralists - the only permanent solution that we have historically advocated for is that WTO and FTAs stay out of any agricultural discussions. Food cannot be subjected to the whims and fancies of a free market where only those who can afford it can eat it. ------------------------- _ALSO READ "PROSPERITY FOR A FEW, POVERTY FOR THE LOT", WTO AND FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS HAVE FAILED THE PEOPLE! [7]_ ------------------------- The UN Human Rights Council will also meet at the end of June in Geneva. This will be an opportunity for peasant movements from all over the world to affirm that the alternative must be based on peasants' rights and to demand procedures for the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Rural Workers (UNDROP). FREE TRADE FUELS HUNGER! WTO OUT OF AGRICULTURE! Links: ------ [1] http://facebook.com/ViaCampesinaOfficial [2] http://twitter.com/via_campesina [3] http://instagram.com/la_via_campesina_official [4] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/qcq5m3acWSkN7Ef [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/LVC-Slogan-A… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/freedom-from-hunger-poverty-debt-and-death-free… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/prosperity-for-a-few-poverty-for-the-lot-wto-an…

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La Via Campesina Political Declaration: 30 years of collective struggle, hope and solidarity
by La Via Campesina 15 Apr '22

15 Apr '22

LA VIA CAMPESINA POLITICAL DECLARATION: 30 YEARS OF COLLECTIVE STRUGGLE, HOPE AND SOLIDARITY 15 APRIL 2022 FOOD SOVEREIGNTY [1], KEY DOCUMENTS (FOOD SOVEREIGNTY) [2], WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR? [3] This 17th April, the International Day of Action for Peasant Struggles, we commemorate the 26 years of the Eldorado dos Carajás massacre of peasants in Brazil and resist the criminalization, oppression and repression of our struggles for life. On this day, we also commence a moment to celebrate 30 years of building collective struggles, hope and solidarity in service of humanity. We, La Via Campesina, the international peasant voice of the millions of peasants, women and men, youth, small and medium-size farmers, family farmers, landless, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from 182 local and national organisations in 81 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas refuse to disappear but continue grow in strength. Through persistence, perseverance and hope, we have harvested major victories: food sovereignty recognised and adopted by some countries, agroecology recognised and supported by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Peasants and Other People working in the Rural Areas (UNDROP) adopted by UN General Assembly. We continue to occupy important multilateral spaces of global food governance to influence debate and contribute in support of food sovereignty, agroecology and popular agrarian reform. We are alert to the current global context and the need to strengthen our struggle. The worsening geopolitical conflict as the liberal international order led by US collapses, the imperialist offensive against the masses and criminalisation of social movements. The corporate media are increasingly involved in the violation of democratic systems and human rights through censorship and surveillance. Big corporations recently joined forces to capture of global multilateral food governance and climate change spaces in the United Nations. The ongoing conflicts and wars in Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe. The worsening climate crisis and health crisis due to COVID-19. All these have aggravated the suffering. Thus, we witness record high levels of poverty, hunger and inequalities globally and increased criminalisation for demanding social justice and dignity. Thus, millions of people are forced to abandon their territories and migrate to other countries, where some face more injustices. We reject this neoliberal model that runs counter to our collective vision of harmony with nature, unity and peace. We affirm our commitment to continue to build democratic societies against imperialism. Over the last 30 years, together with our allies, we have been collectively building hope and solidarity through food sovereignty putting humanity, Mother Earth and social justice at the centre. We stand firm in internationalist solidarity with all who struggle for life, rights and dignity. Last year, in 2021, we celebrated a quarter century of building of and pushing for food sovereignty and also initiated debate to critically reflect on our achievements, victories and propose actions for the future including participating in the Global Nyeleni Forum planned in 2023. WHAT DO WE NEED FROM GOVERNMENTS AND INSTITUTIONS TO CONTINUE FEEDING THE WORLD? * Implement a democratic and extensive agrarian reform which allows the peoples to have sovereignty over their natural resources and over their food on both the production and the distribution processes. * Recognize the work we are already doing and promote successful examples of our ability to feed people. While we produce and exchange the majority of the world's food, our markets are largely ignored in policy of governments and institutions. Trade is needed but a different kind, which does not exploit people, nature and benefits communities and not corporations. * Scale out and up Peasant Agroecology as a solution to climate crisis, loss of biodiversity and soil fertility. Due to unsustainable industrial agricultural practices, we see a unique opportunity for agroecology as many countries want to transition to "sustainable farming methods" and reduce use of toxic agro-inputs. * Implement UNDROP through creating a UN special procedure and mainstreaming the declaration in FAO, other Rome-based agencies in relation to food and agricultural policies, and also the UN Decade of Family Farming. This would allow referencing of UNDROP in policies to reshape and transform our societies. HOW DO WE ADVANCE OUR STRUGGLES FROM LA VIA CAMPESINA? * Roll out massive training and awareness, among members, on UNDROP so that they lead the wide promotion of essential components of public policies in their countries in favour food sovereignty, agroecology and the recognition and respect of rights of peasants. * Build and strengthen diversity and inclusiveness against violence and oppression. Embracing diversity is key to _"Building the Movement to change the world". _Today our movement the youth, women, cultural and gender diversities (LGBTQI) are the majority and in leadership. * Build Peasant and Popular Feminism to define and shape gender relations in our movement, and as a political tool against all forms of violence. * Strengthen the Migrant and Waged Agricultural Workers' Collective as a space to increase visibility to their issues. * Advance work against the impunity of transnational corporations (TNCs) and contribute to the binding treaty process to regulate TNCs * To understand the complex and fluid world and adapt our strategies, we are: - Building new alliances and strengthening the existing ones to learn and share experiences through collective analysis and formation, and defend a future based on food sovereignty. -Increasing and strengthening political and technical formation. We will promote popular peasant methods and technologies that engage women and youth in the defense of rural livelihoods. Again, we should master new ways of communication in service of humanity to reach many people defending their rights and in support of food sovereignty. #LVC30YEARS #17APRIL2022 _#NoFutureWithoutFoodSovereignty #FoodSovereigntyNOW_ EN-Final-April-17th-Declaration-14-04-2022-1 [4]DOWNLOAD [4] Facebook [5]Twitter [6]WhatsApp [7]Telegram [8]Email [9] Featured [10] LVC30Years [11] 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/food-sovereignty-and-t… [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/ [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/EN-Final-Apr… [5] https://viacampesina.org/#facebook [6] https://viacampesina.org/#twitter [7] https://viacampesina.org/#whatsapp [8] https://viacampesina.org/#telegram [9] https://viacampesina.org/#email [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/tag/zoom-on-featured/ [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/tag/lvc30years/

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