La Via Campesina : International Peasant Movement

Press Release

(Bagnolet, November 22, 2023) The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) mandate is to enable UN member states to work together to combat hunger. In the autumn of 2023, we are witnessing with horror the massacre of already more than 12,000 civilians in Gaza and the use of hunger and thirst as a weapon of war by State of Israel. Faced with the blockade on all food, water and diesel imposed by the Israeli army, the Palestinian population is faced with an odious choice: leave their land or die. Moreover, in the West Bank, Israeli settlers are attacking and killing Palestinian farmers in order to extend their hold over the Palestinian territories.

Both the forced displacement of populations and the use of hunger as a weapon of war are banned by the United Nations (REF: “The Security Council recalls its resolution 2417 [2018] and its Presidential Statements of 9 August 2017 [S/PRST/2017/14] and 29 April 2020 [S/PRST/2020/6], Statement by the President of the Security Council – 3 August 2023 ). Under these conditions, the silence of the CFS Plenary on the situation in Palestine is shameful. The amendment proposed by Egypt, even if adopted, is only a modest but insufficient step to move towards effective and operational proposals to address the food situation in Gaza.

La Via Campesina, as a CFS participant, and the global peasant movement representing more than 200 million peasants and agricultural workers around the world, earnestly calls on the CFS to adopt the following resolutions:

• condemn the use of food and water as weapons of war in Gaza and in West Bank;
• urge the international community to impose International Sanctions for individuals and entities responsible for using hunger as a weapon in Palestine;
• condemn the violent attempts of eviction of Palestinian farmers and land grabbing in the West Bank by Israeli settlers;
• call for a permanent and unconditional ceasefire to enable the supply to the civilian population of Gaza and the Occupied Territories the humanitarian aid they urgently need to cope with the current dire situation and also allow them access to water, food and medical aid;
• call for specific protection to be granted to farmers and their activities in Gaza and the Occupied Territories, as they are the only possible source of food supply for the Palestinian people now and in the immediate future;
• call for the Establishment of an International Inquiry Commission under the supervision of the United Nations to investigate the use of hunger as a weapon in Gaza and the West Bank and to document and report on the violations committed against Palestinian civilians and farmers;
• call for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Food and Agriculture Organization and other UN agencies to take an ambitious initiative to rebuild Palestinian farming sector and support Palestinian farmers to recover their productive capacity to sustainably provide food to all Palestinian people.

We call on all Governments and social movements to push for these urgent demands.

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(Bagnolet: November 24, 2023) In response to the genocidal war being waged on the people of Palestine, we, La Via Campesina, reiterate our steadfast solidarity with the peasants, fisherfolk and working families of Palestine. Many of them dedicate themselves daily to the realization of Peasants Rights and Food Sovereignty, engage in heroic acts such as planting their lands, caring for their orchards, fishing in their rivers and sea, and organizing themselves within the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a longstanding member of La Via Campesina.

There are no words to describe the pain and the heartbreak felt within all of La Via Campesina with each life lost, each child maimed and orphaned, each home and hospital destroyed, each farm and field abandoned for fear of death by air raids in Gaza or armed emboldened settlers across the West Bank. This illegal Israeli occupation that has lasted far too long now carries out what one UN official described as a “textbook case of genocide”.

Over 13,500 civilians have been killed, at the time of writing this press release, and the numbers of lost souls continue to increase. The majority of the casualties are women and children. Another 3,000 missing trapped under the rubble. A ceasefire is imperative to prevent further horrors. It is our duty as social movements, organizations, and individuals within society to globalize the struggle and solidarity, and put to an end these shameful crimes that do not lead to peace and undermine sovereignty, destroying the future of generations.

Boycott Israel for a Free and Food Sovereign Palestine!

The BDS campaign’s first goal is to challenge international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism. In the context of Israeli’s genocidal war increasing the global effort in boycotting Israeli products aim at reaching as soon as possible a ceasefire, allowing massive entry of humanitarian aid in Gaza, and pushing for diplomatic negotiations towards the end of the illegal occupation of Palestine.

Honoring our commitment to a Food Sovereign Palestine, and in memory of our dear Islam Ali – UAWC organizer killed by Israeli airstrikes on 13 October 2023 – La Via Campesina calls on all of its 182 member organizations, friends and allies alike, to join in reaffirming its collective demands of October 2023 [SEE BOX BELOW] and, in addition to actively participating in popular protests worldwide, public campaigns to pressure all governments and the United Nations. We invite all people and organizations of good conscience to take concrete coordinated action as encouraged by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) campaign.

Aiming for the greatest of possible immediate impacts, La Via Campesina invites the entire Food Sovereignty Movement and its allies to:

1. Boycott all Israeli goods, especially food and agricultural products from the occupation such as fruits, vegetables and wines: Many products are wrongly labelled as “Produced in Israel” when they come from stolen Palestinian lands. As explained by BDS, “Farming is tied to the Palestinian people’s identity, history and resistance to Israel’s colonial occupation. Israeli agricultural export companies play a key role in Israel’s destruction of Palestinian agriculture, the dispossession of Palestinian farmers and land grabs that make way for illegal Israeli settlements”. Boycott all Israeli goods and demand that they be removed from any and all markets and supermarkets! Buy Local – Boycott Israel!

2. As suggested by the BDS Movement, we call for a proactive boycott of Carrefour, Siemens, Axa, Puma, HP, Re/Max, Ahava and Sodastream, and other transnational companies identified by BDS as “involved in war crimes committed by the Israeli regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid over the Palestinian people”. Join BDS and La Via Campesina in boycotting these companies and their products worldwide! They must cut ties with UN declared illegal Israeli settlements! Palestinian rights are Human rights!

La Via Campesina Demands of October 2023

– Unconditional Cessation of Hostilities: An immediate and unconditional cessation of ongoing hostilities and acts of violence against civilians.
– Safe Passage and Border Openings: The establishment of safe corridors and the opening of all border crossings to facilitate the swift entry of medical aid, and food, and to expediently transport the injured for urgent medical care.
– Accountability for War Crimes: Prosecution of those responsible for war crimes before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in line with its mandate and international law.
– Formation of International Investigative Committees: Establishment of international committees to investigate and report on the unprecedented crimes committed during this conflict. In advocating for these actions, we stand in solidarity with all civilians caught in the crossfire and seek justice, peace, and the upholding of fundamental human rights.
See: https://viacampesina.org/en/la-via-campesinas-petition-on-palestine-more-than-2900-signatories-demand-immediate-action/

Globalize the Struggle! Globalize Hope!

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HALT THE GENOCIDE! CEASEFIRE NOW!

(Bagnolet, November 20, 2023) In response to the unprecedented and genocidal war being waged on the people of Palestine, the international peasant movement that is La Via Campesina joins the growing call to boycott COP28. In solidarity with the peasants, fisherfolk and working families of Occupied Palestine, we stand united in our global demand that all people and governments act now to end Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank. A ceasefire is urgent – now!

While the Israeli government continues its war crimes in Gaza – bombing homes, hospitals, mosques and churches, massacring innocent civilians (including over 4,000 children) and leaving tens of thousands maimed, injured and traumatized – armed settlers backed by Occupation forces are waging their own war across the West Bank. As a Movement that struggles for the full realization of all rights for all peoples, we of La Vía Campesina cannot in good conscience participate in the UNFCCC climate negotiations while a textbook case of genocide is being waged on members of our community, their rights and sovereignty completely denied. There is no climate justice without human rights!

As we bear witness to this violence, we are especially concerned about the greenwashing of colonization and apartheid at this year’s COP28 in Dubai. Israel’s participation obscures the ongoing genocide and redirects global attention from the crimes it commits. The hypocrisy and abuse of many imperialist and polluting governments at COP28 is further revealed by the host government for the climate talks, the UAE, a major oil producer and human rights violator, and the COP Presidency – a billionaire oil executive! The corruption of the UNFCCC must end!

Our decision to boycott COP28 is also our ratification of a deep commitment to and solidarity with a global climate justice movement rooted in popular struggles for human rights and restored relations with Mother Earth. Towards this year’s COP, we dedicate our collective voice to demand an inmediate cease fire now! Palestinian rights are human rights!

NO MORE CORPORATE COPS! CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW!

COP28 is aiming to produce the first collective emissions report card through the Global Stocktake. We remain vigilant as we hold all governments to account for their bare-minimum pledges to keep global temperatures below 2 degrees, with a goal toward 1.5. We continue to apply pressure and expose the gaps and problems that primarily result from the lack of action by historical polluters whose commitments so far have not reflected their fair share of emissions reductions or demonstrated attention to historic responsibility.

In our quest for climate justice, we, La Via Campesina remain dedicated to building Food Sovereignty through a just transition. This approach acknowledges and upholds the rights of peasants, promoting agroecology as a means to cool the planet. As peasant-led food systems and vast bodies of independent research demonstrate, peasant agroecology practiced by peasant and Indigenous communities offers huge potentials for helping to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, while sustaining and improving community well-being, democracy, cooperation, and peace.

At COP28, industrial agribusinesses will be advancing their interests through the so-called Food Systems and Agriculture Agendaand the Agenda on Regenerative Landscapes. Many world leaders have already signed onto the Leaders Declaration on Resilient Food Systems and Sustainable Agriculture, spearheaded by the greenwashed COP Presidency. We reject these attempts at greenwashing industrial agriculture and further entrenching corporate markets and technologies. Under the banner of sustainability, these initiatives do more to concentrate power and resources than to actually reduce emissions from the industrial food chain, which account for more than a third of total global emissions!

We reject the weak and meaningless Net Zero pledges that co-opt and undermine meaningful action on the climate crisis. We reject carbon pricing and offsets in the Paris Agreement and the deceptive formulations including carbon dioxide removals (CDR), nature-based solutions (NBS), climate Smart agriculture, carbon farming and the other dubious and unscientific market and offsetting schemes being pushed through Article 6. These undermine food sovereignty and are already fueling land grabbing around the world. Our land is not a carbon sink!

We stand firmly against all attempts by powerful governments to appoint the World Bank as manager of Loss and Damage Fund. If successful, this move will give the US and other historic emitters undue power and authority over climate finance, significantly undermining Global South governments and local communities, and deepening global power hierarchies.

Rooted in global climate justice principles, we continue to fight for reparations for historic debt and injustice. All climate finance must be in the hands of communities (not the banks!), must come in the form of grants (not loans!), and must prioritize both adaptation and mitigation.

Standing with the climate justice movement and all peoples of the world, we declare:

Palestinian Rights are Human Rights! Ceasefire Now!

No Climate Justice without Respect for Human Rights, International Law and Self Determination!

Food Sovereignty and Agroecology Are Solutions to the Climate Crisis!

GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE! GLOBALIZE HOPE!

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Immediate action required: Towards an “International Conference of Governments for the Protection of the Palestinian People and Support for Their Self-Determination.”

Bagnolet, November 15, 2023

Israel is waging a genocidal war on Palestinians. In addition to its incessant bombings – targeting civilians, residential buildings, hospitals, schools, places of worship, and all basic infrastructure – Israel has imposed a complete blockade on Gaza, preventing the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza from accessing food, water, electricity, and fuel. The farmers have no access to their farmland, much of which has been bombed. The fisher folk too have no access to the sea. Israel’s ongoing brutal assault has created a human catastrophe of unimaginable scale. La Via Campesina’s member organization in Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Workers Committee (UAWC), warns that “Those who survive the bombings will die of starvation or thirst”.

It is urgent that third states take immediate action against this crime against humanity. The global mass mobilization of the past month has shown that the majority of the world stands with justice, and the majority of countries are deeply shocked by Israel’s blatant genocidal warfare imposed on the Palestinian people.

We call upon the governments who supported the United Nations General Assembly resolution for a humanitarian truce on the 26th of October to take immediate action to uphold their legal and humanitarian obligations and protect civilians. We urge these third states to organize an International Conference of Governments as soon as possible in order to stop this genocidal war and bring immediate relief to Palestinian people, in particular those in Gaza. This conference is a critical step towards the end of the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.

The following key actions are necessary to address the crisis effectively, bring immediate relief to the Palestinian people, and put an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine:

1. Immediate Ceasefire: The most urgent and immediate demand is a ceasefire in Gaza. Governments must pressure the Israeli state to stop the bombardment and violence against Palestinian civilians. This is a top priority to save lives and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.
2. Humanitarian Aid: Governments must prioritize immediate and unconditional humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank. This aid must be in sufficient quantity and distributed equitably across all regions of Gaza and the West Bank. This aid should include food, clean water, medical supplies, and essential resources to address the critical humanitarian crisis in the region.
3. End the Blockade on Gaza: The complete blockade on food, water, electricity, and fuel must be lifted. Israel must not have the power to cut off an entire population from basic needs. This move is vital to address the immediate needs of the population, prevent further starvation, and improve living conditions.
4. Multinational Support: Collaboration among countries is crucial to build a united front for peace and humanitarian assistance. This multinational approach will strengthen the impact of the collective efforts.
5. Accountability: Governments must advocate for accountability and justice for crimes against humanity committed in general and especially during this genocidal war on Gaza, including through international investigations and legal actions.
6. Protection of Civilians: Countries must uphold their legal and humanitarian obligations to protect Palestinian civilians, ensuring their safety and security.
7. Imposing Sanctions on Israel: It is crucial to highlight the effectiveness of imposing sanctions on the Israeli occupation as the primary means to halt the ongoing crimes, hold them accountable, and ensure compliance with international law. This includes sanctions on the Israeli economy, the Israeli government and its leadership.
8. Combating Ethnic Cleansing: International actors must combat ethnic cleansing operations not only against Gaza but also against peasants in Area “C” of the West Bank , and must protect their livelihoods and rights.
9. Demanding the robust implementation of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions regarding Palestine.
10. Ending the Illegal Occupation: Governments must take a strong stance against the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and work towards a sustainable solution to end it. This is essential for long-term stability and peace in the region.

We call upon governments from the Global South to convene as soon as possible an “International Conference of Governments for the Protection of the Palestinian People and Support for Their Self-Determination”. This initiative should include a wide range of countries that align with the importance of upholding international law, advocating for a ceasefire, and putting an end to the ongoing genocidal warfare against the Palestinians in Gaza. Furthermore, we foresee that this conference will serve as a cornerstone for building an international coalition aimed at countering the hegemonic policies and the prevailing culture of impunity associated with the occupying state.

We call upon other social movements and civil society around the world to support these efforts and take action by pressuring their governments to participate in this initiative for the future of Palestine.

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(Bagnolet, 8th November 2023) In October, in the framework of the Day of Action for Peoples’ Food Sovereignty and against transnational corporations #16oct23, more than 160 actions of training, exchange and denunciation took place around the world.

We shared a number of solidarity efforts with Palestine during the past month. La Via Campesina collected nearly 2,900 signatures calling for immediate action and an end to the violence in Gaza. During the CFS negotiations in Rome, several organisations also expressed their solidarity, and called for peace and the right to food in Palestine.

On October 29th, La Via Campesina and allies also organised an exchange with testimonies from the conflict zone and several member organisations have carried out various solidarity actions from their territories.

We are almost a month away from our 8th International Conference, scheduled from 1st to 8th December 2023 in Bogotá, Colombia. We share a series of key materials for its promotion and dissemination. Here is our press and accreditation kit

In addition, we continue to promote international solidarity, denouncing the violation of human and peasants’ rights. Below we share a brief informative update of the main actions and activities carried out by our member organisations in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas this month.

In India, our member organisation KRRS and the Namdu Farmers’ Cooperative commemorated Gandhi Jayanti by organising a farmer-to-farmer exchange workshop at Grama Swarajya/Village Republic, visualising total sovereignty for farmers. The event was held at a farmers’ camp in the district of Chamarajanagar. Farmer leaders from Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Shimoga and Ramanagara districts participated and received training on agroecology and strengthening farmers’ markets from experienced farmers.

All Nepal Peasant Federations (ANPFa) organised a public march in Kathmandu on the occasion of World Food Day and demanded the proper implementation of food sovereignty enshrined in the Constitution, as well as the implementation of the UNDROP in Nepal.

In Sri Lanka, a statement issued on 16th October, the International Day of Action for Peoples’ Food Sovereignty, by the Movement for Land and Agrarian Reform (MONLAR) highlighted the dubious role played by international financial institutions in indebting the country. They also warned of threats to food sovereignty, as 5.3 million people remain affected by food insecurity in the country.

In Thailand, the Assembly of the Poor (AOP) organised a public seminar to commemorate Food Sovereignty Day (16th October) where around 2,300 farmers gathered in the streets near the Government House. Speakers gave an overview of the threats posed by financialised policies to find solutions for the climate crisis, food sovereignty and farmers’ rights. They also pointed out that government policies of carbon neutrality and zero net emissions, as well as the carbon credit scheme, will violate peasants’ rights. The testimonies gave real examples of the state grabbing land, forests and mangroves to feed corporate carbon sequestration projects.

In Quezon City, Philippines, on 15th October, some 200 women from Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan & PARAGOS – La Via Campesina, with allied organisations, World March of Women, SENTRO, Alyansa Tigil Mina, Oriang, SOS Yamang Bayan Network, and CATWAP, marched to the Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, Environment and Natural Resources in defence of land rights.

In Zimbabwe, farmers from the Shashe Agroecology School of the #ZIMSOFF Central Cluster (Masvingo) joined the world to celebrate #WorldFoodDay2023, La Via Campesina’s day of action for food sovereignty and against transnational corporations. Farmers prepared traditional foods and fed more than 375 people, including school children. This initiative aimed to familiarise children with traditional foods and improve their nutritional knowledge about traditional foods. It also aimed to emphasise the importance of preserving traditional recipes and ingredients in the face of dietary changes towards processed and genetically-engineered foods.

ESAFF Uganda organised a meeting with the mainstream media in Kampala, Uganda on 16th October. Small-scale farmer leaders addressed the media and called on the government to support peasant agroecology, for farmers to manage seed systems and to protect their rights to land.

More than 15 MVIWATA networks in Tanzania (Mpwapwa, Tanga, Kongwa, Bahi, Tunduru, Kyela, Masasi, Kyerwa and Shinyanga) organised different actions during the week of action for peoples’ food sovereignty and against transnational corporations (#16oct2023). Actions included holding local seed and food fairs, local cooking demonstrations and dialogues on #agroecology and #foodsovereignty.

In Kenya, the Nyamagana Women’s Collective of the Kenya Peasant League worked on harvesting potatoes to ensure Food Sovereignty as part of #16Oct23 action.

On October 16th, World Food Sovereignty Day, CLOC-Via Campesina in the Caribbean Region launched a campaign under the slogan “Sowing Seeds of Freedom”. This campaign seeks to raise awareness about the agroecological experiences of young people, women and peasant families. It is the result of a process of systematisation of the experiences of peasant organisations and territories in the Caribbean region.

In Puerto Rico, the Boricua Organisation presented the documentary “Our Agroecology, our Future” as part of the “Agroecological Cinema from the Farm” project. This film explores the successes and challenges of the Cuban agro-food system from the voices of peasants and specialists who promote and practice agroecology as a vehicle to achieve Food Sovereignty.

Amidst so much devastating news at the moment, here is some positive news: this year’s Food Sovereignty Award winners were officially announced, and the award went to Haiti’s Mouvement Paysan Papaye. Mouvman Peyizan Papaye (MPP, or Mouvement Paysan Papaye) was established in 1973 and has grown to represent more than 60,000 members. The movement empowers rural agricultural workers and focuses on food sovereignty as a tool to reclaim Haiti’s independence in the face of a multi-faceted political, economic and environmental crisis.

La Via Campesina Honduras, in the framework of the World Food Sovereignty Day, held the Peasant Fair “Let’s gather the seeds and fruits” which sought to recognise the work and the working spirit of the Honduran peasantry in the struggle for Food Sovereignty.

On the 25th and 26th of October, the Meeting of Central American Women with the CLOC – Via Campesina in Central America took place in Honduras, in preparation for the 6th Women’s Assembly and the 8th International Conference of La Via Campesina. It was a space for study that showed the journey of women within the movement, deepened the understanding of Peasant and Popular Feminism and allowed for an analysis of the different oppressions that women face in this region.

Our organisation the National Farmers Union participated in farmers’ markets in Canada.  Farmers’ markets are a one-stop shop for all local food needs. You can sample the seasonal bounty and stock up on local foods there.

The Family Farm Coalition of the United States, on a podcast, discussed how the Farmers’ Farmland Act fits into the #FarmBill of 2023. They further stated how farmland must remain affordable for real farmers, rather than providing an opportunity for corporate entities to capitalise on high land prices, while raising those prices into a stratosphere that no mere mortal could reach. During the interview they stated that food sovereignty depends on these measures.

In Brasilia, Brazil, from October 13th to 17th, the National Camp “Youth fighting for land and popular sovereignty” took place, a space for debate, exchange and political construction, where more than 3,000 delegates from the 10 organisations of La Via Campesina Brazil participated. In addition, in this space there were moments of study on the importance of Food Sovereignty, the care of seeds, training and also analysed the main effects of agribusiness on communities and youth.

In Colombia, the International Seminar National Food Self-Sufficiency: Industrial Agriculture vs. #Community and Family Agroecology was held. In this space, the coexistence of agro-industries and community peasant crops was evaluated, which could lead, once again, to the predominance of industrial agriculture and the subordination of agroecological peasant production. The event also included an analysis of the global situation of agribusiness vs. agroecological peasant agriculture from different regions, at the international and national level.

In Europe, farming and food systems are facing increasing challenges, such as a rural population reaching retirement age in the next ten years, control of land by non-agricultural sectors, declining soil health, rural depopulation, and growing climate and biodiversity crises. Faced with this reality, the European region of La Via Campesina, ECVC, has put forward a proposal for a European directive on agricultural land, fundamental for food sovereignty, rural vitality, agroecology and climate justice. Often ignored in policy debates, ECVC called on the European Union to take action and put land regulation on its agenda, during an event organised in the framework of the Food Sovereignty Action Day.

Also in October, ECVC denounced the leaked version of Mercosur’s response to the proposed EU trade deal, which shows growing differences in the negotiations. Critics condemn the use of agriculture as a bargaining chip, putting farmers’ rights at risk. This agreement prioritises profit over people, calling for its rejection and the reform of international food trade.

The European agricultural and agro-food system is highly diversified, with numerous small and medium-scale farms. In Italy, in October, the Italian Rural Association denounced attempts by the Italian government and research centres to introduce deregulated genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as this could disrupt established production systems, with a negative impact on small-scale agriculture and local trade.

In France, the Ministry of Agriculture plans to introduce a vision of food sovereignty in the rural code, diverging from the UN’s official stance. In this context, on 16th October, the Confédération Paysanne presented the peasant proposals of the global movement and exposed the deception of the government and the French agribusiness union, whose definition of food sovereignty suggests compatibility with free trade agreements. He further stressed that food sovereignty is about allowing communities to control their food policies and have priority access to land for food production.

In the UK, our organisation Landworkers’ Alliance published the Manifesto for Food, Farming and Forestry, an advocacy document in the run-up to the UK general election in 2025. The manifesto sets out the British peasantry’s vision for food systems, the agricultural system and democratic access to land and the commons. It is a statement of why Food Sovereignty is necessary for the country, agroecology and respect and recognition for those who produce food. 

In Spain, a new edition of the School for Peasant Action was held, which brought together dozens of peasants and agricultural producers from all over Spain. This time, the EHNE-Bizkaia trade union hosted the event, which was attended by representatives of COAG and its youth, Friends of the Earth, Justicia Alimentaria, Colectivos de Acción Solidaria and the Institute of Sociology and Peasant Studies (ISEC). The School arises from different organisations being committed to creating a space for political action that connects the agrarian sector and the rest of the social organisations in the movement for Food Sovereignty.

The Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) in Palestine, has been working since 7th October to help farmers in the West Bank harvest their olive trees. As armed settlers attack farmers on their land, either kill them or threaten them into leaving their land, UAWC is working to provide these farmers with machines for a quick harvest. The goal is to help them minimise the time they spend working in the fields because of the threats posed by the colonists. In addition, the UAWC is working to document the attacks against farmers, how the Israeli occupation is using hunger as a weapon, and to provide updates on the situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In Tunisia, on 28th October, the organisation Million Rural Women and the organisation of the Landless organised a training workshop on UNDROP for farmers in the agricultural region of Seliana.

In Morocco, a successful protest organised by the Agricultural Sector Section of the National University in Sidi Kacem, took place in front of the National Social Security Fund agency in Sidi Kacem. This protest is part of the ongoing campaign led by the National Union of Agricultural Workers under the slogan: “We demand the issuance of a comprehensive decree that votes for the annual implementation of equal pay until 2028”. The campaign period runs from 25th October to 5th November 2023.

If there are any important updates that we have missed, please send the links to communications@viacampesina.org so that we can include them in the next edition. We only include updates from La Via Campesina members. For a comprehensive update on various initiatives from October 2023, please visit our website. You can also find the previous editions of our news wrap on our website. In addition, condensed versions of our newswraps are accessible as a podcast on Spotify.

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The Palestinian people have been subjected to a genocidal war in Gaza and a campaign of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank by the Israeli military. Israeli warplanes have been bombing homes, hospitals, mosques, and churches, resulting in more than ten thousands killed and tens of thousands of wounded and missing. More than 60% of homes in the Gaza Strip have been completely or partially destroyed. Tragically, up to 69% of the victims are children and women.  The Israeli occupation is wielding starvation as a weapon against civilians to force them to leave Gaza and migrate to Egypt. This brutal tactic has already displaced more than 1.5 million Palestinians from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip.

In response, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) is spearheading an international campaign to provide aid to Gaza and the West Bank targeting thousands of affected Palestinian families by providing food, water, and life essentials to bolster their resilience against the crimes of the Israeli occupation and thwart the plans for their forced displacement.

PLEASE MAKE YOUR DONATION HERE

DONATION

At this stage, because of the blockade, we rely on procuring food from the limited local supplies in Gaza. Your donation can be the difference between life and death for a Palestinian family facing starvation.

Raise your voice against this terrible injustice and illegal occupation!

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Bagnolet, 10/11/23 | Call to Action – International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

On 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, La Via Campesina is sounding the alarm about the various forms of violence experienced by women around the world. During crises and violence such as wars, occupations and expulsions from our territories, peasant women, fisherwomen, shepherds, indigenous women, quilombolas and indigenous peoples, landless, migrants and agricultural workers continue to resist in Palestine, Haiti, Cuba, Niger, Peru and other territories around the world, making history in the struggle against capitalism, patriarchy, racism, colonialism and the advance of fascism.

In Palestine, in the span of 25 consecutive days of these attacks against civilians, 8,525 Palestinians have tragically lost their lives, and 67% of the victims were women and children. This has not only resulted in loss of life but has also led to the widespread destruction of numerous homes, hospitals, schools and critical infrastructure, all of which occurred without any prior warning of evacuation. Women enduring the harsh realities of this occupation are forced to live in appalling conditions as they have been forcibly displaced. Among them are pregnant women who need essential medical care and other basic necessities to feed their babies, while enduring the lack of even the most basic standards of living. The Israeli occupation has imposed a total siege, severely limiting access to food, water and fuel for the past three weeks. This siege employs starvation as a cruel and inhumane tactic, causing immense suffering among women who have no safe place to live and provide urgently needed care for their children.

On this day, we denounce the inability of the States to guarantee their commitments in the construction of a public policy of equality, the complicit and patriarchal judicial system that protects aggressors and promotes a culture of impunity and violence against women, girls and diversity.

As Morris Tidball-Binz, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, noted in his 2023 report, “Femicide is a global tragedy of pandemic proportions, with tens of thousands of girls and women, including transgender women, murdered every year because of their gender, and many more at risk of dying from gender-based violence because States don’t fulfil their duty to protect victims’ lives and ensure their safety.”

Since the foundation of our movement, in these 30 years of struggle and organisation, food sovereignty as a political principle has allowed rural women to denounce the capitalist system, the generator of the multiple injustices and inequalities that we are experiencing today, which has turned food into a commodity for agribusiness, putting market interests first, poisoning the soil and threatening the subsistence of humanity and life on the planet.

Rural women are essential in the fight against hunger and in the defence of food sovereignty, in the care of biodiversity, in the recovery of indigenous seeds, in the care of water, soil and ancestral knowledge. At the same time, we are a front of struggle, resistance and resilience in the face of political, economic and environmental crises. Through agroecological practices we ensure the sustainable management of Mother Earth and promote a feminist, supportive and just economy.

At the same time, we denounce the neoliberal and fascist policies on women’s bodies and lives: the lack of fundamental rights such as education, housing, health, sexual and reproductive rights, as well as freedom of mobility, organisation and communication.

The world is currently experiencing a setback and a serious loss of fundamental and historical rights in multiple crises caused by wars, the climate crisis, poverty and pandemics, which have a clear gendered impact and unequally affect women and girls.

Before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, as peasant women we have affirmed food sovereignty as a concrete way to face these crises, and we continue to produce more than 70% of the food we represent 50% of the labour power in the field. However, we own less than 2% of the land, infrastructure and necessary services.

In this sense, we see the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants, adopted in 2018, as a political tool to defend and fight for our rights, and to guide public policies that guarantee a dignified life in the countryside and healthy food for humanity and life on the planet.

On this day of action #25Nov23, together with organised and rebellious women from all over the world, we will call for a day of mobilisation, training and exchange, with forums, direct actions, fairs and other events denouncing the daily and structural violence that women and peasants experience. We will take to the streets and networks to put forward our political proposals to condemn capitalism, patriarchy, the states and the judiciary as the main accomplices of the violence and crises we are experiencing today.

Towards our 8th Conference and 6th International Women’s Assembly in Bogotá

Since its birth, La Via Campesina has sought to guarantee the participation of rural women at all levels of action, power and representation, in order to build a broad, democratic, international movement, politically and socially committed to the defence of peasant agriculture, food sovereignty, the struggle for land, justice, equality and the fight against all forms of gender violence.

Since the First Conference and the Women’s Assembly of La Via Campesina, we have achieved key objectives such as gender parity, peasant and popular feminism and the fight against violence. We have also gained recognition for our strategic role in food sovereignty and food systems and in the construction of the Declaration of Peasant Rights.

“These spaces are key to talking about the context, the strengthening of the right, fascism and neo-fascism. All this means a lot in the lives of rural women. There is still a lot of political violence, so during the Assembly we have to deal with the causes of this violence. With conviction, as our slogan says, but without fear,” commented Adriana Mezadri of the Brazilian Women’s Peasant Movement and the Women’s Articulation of the South American Region of La Vía Campesina.

The International Women’s Assemblies that have been held during these years, within the framework of our International Conference (1-8 December 2023), give the movement a political base and a horizon, since it is here that the actions for the following period are evaluated and planned. Our 1st Assembly took place in Bangalore, India, in 2000; the 2nd Assembly in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2004; the 3rd Assembly in Maputo, Mozambique, in 2008; the 4th Assembly in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2013; and the 5th International Women’s Assembly in Derio, Basque Country, in 2017.

Petra Ortiz, from the Panamanian Peasant Union of the Central American Region, says that several face-to-face and virtual meetings, schools, gatherings and assemblies have taken place in the run-up to the 6th International Women’s Assembly, which will take place in Bogotá on 2 December.

“We have reviewed the history of articulation, the journey of articulation in La Via Campesina, and the advance of peasant and popular feminism in the search for justice. Also to look inwards and say that there is still violence in organisations, so we are also working on training our colleagues in feminism and new masculinities against all patriarchal practices. We have the challenge of continuing to integrate young people, strengthening solidarity, and migration is also a serious issue in the region and globally, as is the environmental crisis, which is aggravating the situation in the countryside,” she says.

Global Campaign to ‘Stop the Violence Against Women’ – 15 Years of Breaking the Silence

The International Campaign to Stop Violence Against Women is celebrating its 15th anniversary since it was launched at the 5th Conference in Maputo in 2008, where La Via Campesina “broke the silence” and conceived it as a way of dialogue within the movement and with society on the importance of building new and better human relationships as part of the construction of new societies.

Anuka De Silva, from MONLAR Sri Lanka and the Asian continent, says that the peasant population is a large one, with a lot of rural areas and cultures. This region is promoting a campaign against micro-lending, which enslaves peasant women with unpayable bills.

“This is also a form of violence. We want to include it in our campaign, which will celebrate its 15th anniversary at the 8th World Conference. We don’t have land in our patriarchal societies. That’s why we demand changes in the laws and fight for joint ownership.

At the same time, she mentioned the importance of stepping up the campaign against agrochemicals, which are not only related to food. In Asia, they are causing the deaths of women and children. “Migration is also a serious problem in a number of countries in the region. There are no labour rights. We are calling for women and countries to be mobilised for rights. In addition, the environmental crisis has caused floods and droughts, so we demand climate justice and real policies,” she adds.

Food sovereignty cannot be sown with violent and toxic relationships! It also seeks to denounce the violence of agribusiness, which greatly affects rural women, peasants, fishermen, shepherds, landless women, migrants and farm workers, displacing, poisoning, exploiting, criminalising and killing them.

Download our communication materials and campaign poster here.

Follow us on social media using the hashtag: #PopularPeasantFeminism #StopViolenceAgainstWomen #25Nov23 #8ConfLVC

The post #25Nov23 | With conviction, we pave the way for peasant and popular feminism, build Food Sovereignty, and fight against crises and violence appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

The 8th International Conference is now just a few days away!

Among the highlights of the 8th Conference will be the First International Meeting of Diversities and Supporters, to be held on the 02 December 2023.

This meeting of Diversities and Supporters will reinforce La Via Campesina’ commitment to better understand and include people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities in its platform of our struggle. This meeting will contribute to breaking down prejudices that generate discrimination and violence against people of different genders and/or sexualities. Incorporating the claim for gender justice strengthens the fight against all forms of oppression, exploitation and domination. The struggle in defense of peasant territory is also a struggle in defense of our bodies-as-territories, of the diverse human existences of all people regardless of their gender, who fight and resist, and whose diversities enrich and strengthen our common struggle.

And to celebrate this First International Meeting, we are releasing the official poster that will be used to promote this idea during and after the conference.

The meeting space will aim to expand the understanding about the intersection between capitalism, patriarchy and racism as the origin of the oppression and exploitation of the working class. It will also be a space to develop clear action plans that will ensure safe spaces and a positive environment for the existence of people of different orientations and genders in peasant communities, so that they can live without violence or stigma in the countryside, work the land and produce healthy food.

In this era of growing neo-fascism, La Via Campesina cannot ignore any type of violence. Taking a stance against discrimination, persecution and criminalization of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities means strengthening a project of a livable future for the planet and humanity, as well as collective respect. As long as there is gender, race, ethnic and class oppression, as long as there are hierarchies in the right to life among human beings, social relations will be marked by violence, injustice and tyranny. Our historical role as La Via Campesina is to work in opposition to these dynamics, engaging in struggles for inclusion that contemplate all human diversity, towards the new society that we are and have been building.

Diversity is at the heart of food sovereignty in all territories!

To learn more about our 8th International Conference, follow us on our social networks using the hashtag #8ConfLVC. We also invite you to download our poster and print it in your local language!

The complete Communications Kit for the 8th International Conference is here.

The post La Via Campesina’s 1st International Meeting of Diversities and Supporters: Official Poster is out! appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

The Amrita Bhoomi Learning Centre in Karnataka is one of dozens of education hubs around the world providing a space for farmer-to-farmer training in agroecology.

In a wide-ranging interview with Mongabay, the centre’s Chukki Nanjundaswamy discusses their model of agriculture, its Gandhian roots, and how it grew out of the rejection of Green Revolution farming techniques that rely on chemical inputs and expensive hybrid seeds. Nanjundaswamy shares some of their innovative approaches to growing food without inputs, plus clever techniques to thwart notorious pests like fall armyworm.

About a four-hour drive southwest of Bengaluru, nestled in a verdant valley near B.R. Hills in Karnataka, Amrita Bhoomi is an agroecology learning centre that offers farmer-to-farmer training focused on agroecology. The centre was born out of organising efforts of the local farmers’ movement KRRS (Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha) founded by Professor Mahantha Devaru Nanjundaswamy in the early 2000s. The leadership of this movement envisioned a teaching centre where farmers could share their agroecological practices, learn new techniques, and situate themselves in a Gandhian tradition of organising for social justice.

In 2002, movement leadership purchased the land that the centre still occupies today, a biodiversity haven home to 80 cultivated acres growing dozens of varieties of crops from dryland horticulture – like mangoes and jackfruit – to coconuts and bananas, modelling rainfed farming in lieu of expensive irrigation.

As part of a 2022 series on agroecology for Mongabay, author and sustainable food advocate Anna Lappé had a chance to catch up with Nanjundaswamy. The interview was conducted by Zoom and has been edited for length and clarity.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

Here are some excerpts from the interview

The Origins:

“In the early 1990s, the Indian government had opened up its market for multinational corporations, including for agribusiness giants. The American company Cargill was the first to enter India’s seed sector. Cargill started selling seeds like sunflower and corn—all hybrid seeds [so farmers need to purchase them annually] and all expensive for farmers.

India has had long-held traditions of conserving and sharing seeds within the community and family. For the very first time, corporations were talking about patenting seeds and new global trade regimes like the GATT [the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs] were creating frameworks to enable them to do so, to claim intellectual property rights over seeds.

The movement here saw its organising as part of fighting back. In 1993, KRRS conducted one of their biggest direct actions, ransacking Cargill’s offices in Bangalore where the company was headquartered”

Agroecology in Practice: Natural Farming experiences

“When we, the next generation, took over Amrita Bhoomi, we learned from agroecology schools in other parts of the world, in Cuba, for instance, and in South America. In these schools, they use a methodology of farmers teaching farmers. It’s an approach we brought to our work. We also take an intergenerational approach, because most senior farmers were farming pre-Green Revolution and we’re losing that knowledge. They’re a treasure.

For nearly two decades, we have also been a teaching centre for an agroecological practice known as Zero Budget Natural Farming [ZBNF, also known as Community Managed Natural Farming or Subhash Palekar Natural Farming].

We believe one of the reasons why the farming sector is in such crisis is because our so-called agricultural universities are not doing research for the farming community here. They’re mostly funded by transnational corporations and their research benefits those transnational corporations, like Syngenta, Cargill, Bayer [which bought agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018]. Our farmers have nothing to learn from the scientists; they basically all teach Green Revolution technologies [the hyper-reliance on synthetic inputs like pesticides and fertilisers and the use of hybrid seeds.]”

“There are two schools of thought on sustainable farming methods in India. One, organic farming, emerged in the 1980s. Organic farming here had class and caste dimensions, because even though it doesn’t use synthetic fertiliser or pesticides, it does depend on external inputs—often costly ones. It is still an input-based farming system which makes farming expensive and dependent. The farmers’ movement here embraced ZBNF because it is a method that helps farmers become totally self-reliant. It’s not a recipe, there is a lot of scope for farmers to design it according to their own specific conditions, according to their own soil conditions. They don’t have to purchase anything; it’s a knowledge-based technique.

In ZBNF, we refer to fertiliser as a ‘stimulant.’ It is made with jaggery [a traditional cane sugar found in India], some protein, cow manure and urine, and a handful of soil from your own farm. Commercialising it is impossible because you need bacteria from your own farm to multiply. You can’t sell it. In this approach, Mother Earth is everything: you just have to take care of her and nurture her. We just have to give her love.

Making a farmer self-reliant is part of the Gandhian principle of Swaraj which means autonomy. Agroecology is also a fight for such agrarian autonomy.”

“Agroecology emphasises intercropping, multi-cropping, and the symbiotic relationship between crops and the symbiotic relationship with friendly pests. You are creating an environment for your crops to grow happily and to take care of each other. It’s like a traditional, large family; it’s not a nuclear family. It’s a giant family where everyone takes care of each other. This is why biodiversity is so much a part of agroecology.”

Every farmer is a scientist

“We consider every farmer a scientist. To give you an example: the fall armyworm is a notorious corn pest. It’s been causing chaos all over the world. Pesticide companies like Syngenta have been pushing products to deal with it. In the past couple of years, in countries in Africa, farmers who were growing corn started using pesticides for the first time to manage armyworm infestations.

But after only a couple of years of experimentation, farmers here came up with a simple technique: spray the corn with a combination of milk and jaggery in the evening. Ants, attracted by the sweet milk, are drawn to the corn where they discover, and eat, the worms. You don’t need pesticides. To me, this is a great example of a simple innovation by farmers on their own farm.

It’s amazing when you learn about what’s possible to do yourself, when big companies are making millions of dollars selling toxic fungicides or pesticides. We’re told, you can’t grow certain vegetables without pesticides. That’s just not true. We have proven it’s possible with very simple techniques, like the fall armyworm approach or using fermented buttermilk as a fungicide. We have shown you can spray it to control pests on vegetables like cabbage or cauliflower, for example. This is the kind of research we’re doing.”

Here are some excerpts from the interview

The Origins:

“In the early 1990s, the Indian government had opened up its market for multinational corporations, including for agribusiness giants. The American company Cargill was the first to enter India’s seed sector. Cargill started selling seeds like sunflower and corn—all hybrid seeds [so farmers need to purchase them annually] and all expensive for farmers.

India has had long-held traditions of conserving and sharing seeds within the community and family. For the very first time, corporations were talking about patenting seeds and new global trade regimes like the GATT [the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs] were creating frameworks to enable them to do so, to claim intellectual property rights over seeds.

The movement here saw its organising as part of fighting back. In 1993, KRRS conducted one of their biggest direct actions, ransacking Cargill’s offices in Bangalore where the company was headquartered”

Agroecology in Practice: Natural Farming experiences

“When we, the next generation, took over Amrita Bhoomi, we learned from agroecology schools in other parts of the world, in Cuba, for instance, and in South America. In these schools, they use a methodology of farmers teaching farmers. It’s an approach we brought to our work. We also take an intergenerational approach, because most senior farmers were farming pre-Green Revolution and we’re losing that knowledge. They’re a treasure.

For nearly two decades, we have also been a teaching centre for an agroecological practice known as Zero Budget Natural Farming [ZBNF, also known as Community Managed Natural Farming or Subhash Palekar Natural Farming].

We believe one of the reasons why the farming sector is in such crisis is because our so-called agricultural universities are not doing research for the farming community here. They’re mostly funded by transnational corporations and their research benefits those transnational corporations, like Syngenta, Cargill, Bayer [which bought agrochemical company Monsanto in 2018]. Our farmers have nothing to learn from the scientists; they basically all teach Green Revolution technologies [the hyper-reliance on synthetic inputs like pesticides and fertilisers and the use of hybrid seeds.]”

“There are two schools of thought on sustainable farming methods in India. One, organic farming, emerged in the 1980s. Organic farming here had class and caste dimensions, because even though it doesn’t use synthetic fertiliser or pesticides, it does depend on external inputs—often costly ones. It is still an input-based farming system which makes farming expensive and dependent. The farmers’ movement here embraced ZBNF because it is a method that helps farmers become totally self-reliant. It’s not a recipe, there is a lot of scope for farmers to design it according to their own specific conditions, according to their own soil conditions. They don’t have to purchase anything; it’s a knowledge-based technique.

In ZBNF, we refer to fertiliser as a ‘stimulant.’ It is made with jaggery [a traditional cane sugar found in India], some protein, cow manure and urine, and a handful of soil from your own farm. Commercialising it is impossible because you need bacteria from your own farm to multiply. You can’t sell it. In this approach, Mother Earth is everything: you just have to take care of her and nurture her. We just have to give her love.

Making a farmer self-reliant is part of the Gandhian principle of Swaraj which means autonomy. Agroecology is also a fight for such agrarian autonomy.”

“Agroecology emphasises intercropping, multi-cropping, and the symbiotic relationship between crops and the symbiotic relationship with friendly pests. You are creating an environment for your crops to grow happily and to take care of each other. It’s like a traditional, large family; it’s not a nuclear family. It’s a giant family where everyone takes care of each other. This is why biodiversity is so much a part of agroecology.”

Every farmer is a scientist

“We consider every farmer a scientist. To give you an example: the fall armyworm is a notorious corn pest. It’s been causing chaos all over the world. Pesticide companies like Syngenta have been pushing products to deal with it. In the past couple of years, in countries in Africa, farmers who were growing corn started using pesticides for the first time to manage armyworm infestations.

But after only a couple of years of experimentation, farmers here came up with a simple technique: spray the corn with a combination of milk and jaggery in the evening. Ants, attracted by the sweet milk, are drawn to the corn where they discover, and eat, the worms. You don’t need pesticides. To me, this is a great example of a simple innovation by farmers on their own farm.

It’s amazing when you learn about what’s possible to do yourself, when big companies are making millions of dollars selling toxic fungicides or pesticides. We’re told, you can’t grow certain vegetables without pesticides. That’s just not true. We have proven it’s possible with very simple techniques, like the fall armyworm approach or using fermented buttermilk as a fungicide. We have shown you can spray it to control pests on vegetables like cabbage or cauliflower, for example. This is the kind of research we’re doing.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

The post Peasant Agroecology Schools: Amritabhoomi Learning Centre and farmer-to-farmer learning exchanges appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

Discover the Urgency of Food Sovereignty in our New Podcast!

Join Morgan Ody from France and Beatrice Katzigazi from Uganda as they explore the concept of Food Sovereignty from their unique perspective rooted in their daily lives as peasant farmers. This concept, introduced into international policy-making spaces by social movements like La Via Campesina in the late ’90s, has evolved into a critical response to the crises that impact our planet and humanity today.

At its core, Food Sovereignty defends the right to healthy and culturally appropriate food, produced sustainably and ecologically. It empowers people to define their own food and agriculture systems, ensuring small-scale food producers’ control over essential resources such as land, water, seeds and biodiversity.

Morgan and Beatrice discuss how Food Sovereignty offers a pathway to overcome the crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental threats. It’s not just about agriculture; it’s about shaping a society that addresses the major crises of our time. It opposes the “solutions” of the global elite, which place greater emphasis on food security and often lead to land grabbing, thus threatening small-scale farmers.

If you’re curious about how a return to localized food production, traditional knowledge, and community empowerment can help address the world’s most pressing issues, this podcast is a must-listen.

For other episodes from the series, click here

Also Recommended: The concept of food sovereignty, its profound importance, and its far-reaching impacts on our global food systems

The post PEASANT VOICES | Episode 3 – At the heart of Food Sovereignty appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

Farming and food systems are facing mounting challenges across Europe: half of the farming population will reach retirement age within the next ten years, land is increasingly controlled by non-agricultural players, the health of European soils is deteriorating, rural areas are being emptied, and the effects of the climate and biodiversity crises are set to increase in intensity.

In response to these intertwined challenges, ECVC has published a proposal for a European directive on agricultural land. The regulation and fair distribution of land are at the root of multiple issues of food sovereignty and security, the vitality of rural areas, agroecological models and social and climate justice. It is a key, cross-cutting issue, yet one that is absent from the current major institutional political debates. There is an urgent need to put this issue back on the political agenda.

To this end, together with various players from the agricultural world, civil society organisations and political institutions, ECVC is moving forward on the debate on land regulation and the protection of agricultural land.

In a two-part round table, the peasant organizations and civil society actors will present their respective visions of land regulation, soil protection and access to land in Europe, and discuss the needs and ways of regulating land markets to ensure European food sovereignty.

On the 26th of October, key agricultural actors called to ensure land regulation is a priority on the EU agenda as part of a public event on access to land, generational renewal and soil health organised by ECVC.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Representatives from diverse organisations including the European Commission, Parliament, Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, producer organisations and civil society gathered to discuss the needs and forms of regulating land in Europe.

Each of the speakers highlighted the importance of protecting soils and agricultural land, agreeing on the need for urgent action on those intertwined topics.

The question of the fair distribution of land is at the heart of the struggle for generational renewal and soil conservation, and is also key for tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis, as well as ensuring food sovereignty. Access to land is one of the main barriers to generational renewal in agriculture.

During the event, it was clear that land regulation and access to land is high priority for all agricultural actors:

As Sébastien Pérel from the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) put it, “Among our member organisations we agree, access to land is a problem everywhere for young farmers. Whenever we give an overview of obstacles to installation, we see that the main issues are access to land, access to credit, access to market, and the attractiveness of the sector”.

Similarly, MEP Martin Hojsik insisted “We need compatibility and proper coherence between the laws. If a farmer is renting the land and is not guaranteed long-term access, there is no incentive to improve soil health”.

Arnaud Lécuyer, Vice-President of the Brittany Region, also explained how the regions have a role to play in shaping public policies to encourage farmers to set up, for example by creating public reserves of land.

Nicoletta Merlo, from the EESC underlined that “farmland regulation must be designed to ensure access to land, to credit and to knowledge for youth to engage in farming”.

Manuel Eggen, from FIAN highlighted that “regulating land is not a political option, it is a cornerstone of respect for human rights in Europe”.

As Tove Sundström, member of ECVC coordinating committee, concluded, “there is a consensus, a mandate and a momentum to regulate land at the EU level.” Now is the moment to act.

Click here for the ECVC press release

The post Access to Land, Generational Renewal & Soil Health in Europe | ECVC hosts roundtable discussion appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

Statement delivered by Paola Romero (FIAN Colombia) and Paula Gioia (La Via Campesina) on behalf of the CSIPM Women and Gender Diversities Working Group on 24 October 2023, during the endorsement of the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition by the CFS Plenary.

Chair, representatives of member states, observers, colleagues, persons of all genders, sexual orientations, classes, castes, ethnicities, races, abilities, and ages.

On behalf of the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSIPM) we start by expressing our solidarity with all the civilians in areas of conflict and protracted crises, especially those in Gaza, currently deprived of shelter, medical assistance, water, and adequate food.

The Women and Gender Diversities Working Group of the CSIPM thanks the chairs for the Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment Workstream. We also thank the CFS chair and the secretariat and the other UN agencies who supported the process.

We have participated in this workstream with full commitment, bringing together a beautiful mosaic of people and experiences from around the world. We learned what true solidarity is; and how to support a diversity of people who experience multiple and intersecting oppressions. We learned how much it means to make visible those who are made invisible and to care for all people.

The negotiation process was emotionally draining for us and the space was often violent, bringing many in the room to tears. While we were negotiating and as we speak here now, many lives in our homelands are suffering gender-based violence and sexual violence. Millions are still not able to realize their right to food, and are even being killed for being who they are. We had high hopes for an ambitious and progressive outcome for these Guidelines.

Our participation made a difference not only in this UN space but also in the lives of some of the people we carry in our hearts and thoughts.

Despite the significant tensions and difficulties, we recognize that the final outcomes will have positive repercussions, also for some of the members of our communities. We succeeded in bringing a human rights framework into the document as well as important references to the role of women’s organizations and social movements. Indigenous Peoples and peasants, two very important constituencies of the CSIPM, are also recognised in the guidelines. Along with several other aspects.

However, the final text contains many omissions that diminish our hopes and leave us unsatisfied. These include:

• The recognition of land as a commons
• Free prior and informed consent for Indigenous Peoples
• The rights of LGBTQIA+
• The redistribution of unpaid care work
• Agroecology
• Intersectionality
• Addressing women and diversities under occupation
• Universal social protection is a crucial right in the realisation of the right to food.

Those aspects are not addressed, exploitation of, and violence against the most disaffected in our communities will continue. Therefore, as long as some of us are excluded, marginalised, and made invisible, we cannot truly celebrate.

At the same time, CSIPM avoids the trap of political polarization and the dichotomy between good and bad. We prepared an extensive evaluation document available on the CSIPM website and we have drafted an explanatory note to be added to the Annex, expressing our concerns, while also recognising this document as a starting point for continuing discussions in the CFS to achieve gender equality in food systems. This explanatory note has already been shared with the CFS Secretariat, and we seek member states’ support for its inclusion in the Annex.

With these clarifications, the CSIPM supports the endorsement of the Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment.

We will contribute to their dissemination and use them in our future advocacy. The upcoming MYPoW presents us with plenty of opportunities to keep advancing towards the real transformation of the lived realities of so many marginalized peoples and address gender as a transversal and intersectional aspect of the progressive realization of the Right to Food.

We exist! We will continue to demand our rights in our communities and societies, from our governments, in the CFS, and in all spaces in the United Nations, and we also truly commit to bringing these achievements back home.

Thank you.

The post CSIPM supports the Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality, cautions about omissions | #CFS51 appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018, is a landmark declaration that recognises the rights of peasants and their unique relationship with nature. In this podcast, part one, we share key insights into the history, successes and challenges of UNDROP to raise wider awareness of this important tool and how we can use it. We believe that the more we share information about UNDROP in our communities, movements and with policy makers, the more it can protect us in legal and political channels.

This month, on 11 October, the United Nations Human Rights Council took a historic step by voting in favour of a resolution to establish a UN Working Group to focus on the effective implementation of UNDROP. This important victory for peasants will be discussed in part two of the podcast.

For other episodes from the series, click here

The post PEASANT VOICES | Episode 2 – The UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP), Part 1 appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

This week (23-27 October) United Nations member states resume historical negotiations in the ninth session at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva with the mandate to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations (TNCs).

The consistent participation of members of communities affected by activities of transnational corporations, civil-society organisations, trade unions and social movements makes it one of the most strongly supported processes in the history of UN human rights treaty negotiations. The Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity (Global Campaign), representing more than 260 million people globally affected by Transnational Corporations has, once again, a strong presence in Geneva, where it is contributing decisively to the negotiations.

At the opening day, a broad group of states blocked the adoption of the program of work because of their concerns about the new text’s failure to incorporate their views and address the core mandate of the treaty to focus on transnationals. They also raised broader concerns regarding the non-democratic and non-transparent methodology of the Chair of the process, Ecuador.

In particular, the African group –representing all 54 African states took the lead and was backed by numerous state delegates from Global South countries, such as Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela, Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The backlash was so strong that the Chair had to suspend the morning session to seek consensus, and was only able to proceed after conceding to use a track-changes version of the text, which reflected prior proposals of states they felt had been unfairly removed. The Chair was also forced to defend the shift in focus from transnational corporations to all businesses – a shift that accommodates the positions of the EU, US, other developed countries, as well as industry trade groups involved in the process. He insisted he was not trying to impose a new focus for the treaty, and agreed that it was not within his power to make such a shift and that issues of scope would decided through negotiations.

Delegates from the Global Campaign echoed the concerns of government delegates in the meeting.

Leticia Oliveira from Movement of People Affected by Dams in Brazil and La Via Campesina speaking as the Transnational Institute, on behalf of the Global Campaign said: “It is very discouraging to everyone in the room, and above all, to everyone we here represent, movements and States alike, to participate in a process that is not transparent. Yesterday, many state delegations, not by coincidence representing the territories where most corporate crimes occur, manifested concerns about the process and the content of the updated draft.”

Mohammed Hakech, from the Moroccan National Federation of agricultural unions (FNSA), La Via Campesina said: “The presidency does not have the authority to modify the mandate of this Working Group when it wants to broaden the scope of the draft treaty to any type of enterprise when it should focus only on TNCs. But in fact, this is what the Presidency did. The document presented will have no impact on the impunity of either TNCs or their value chain. It will also not contribute to the restoration of popular and state sovereignty, undermined by the power of these entities, nor access to justice for victims.”

7 delegates [list below] from the Global Interparliamentary Network (GIN), a network of more than 200 Members of Parliament supporting the UN Binding Treaty negotiations , attended the negotiations and organized an event at the UN exposing the challenges that corporations pose to their work as elected representatives and policy makers. In a shared statement they stated:

“The objective of this Binding Treaty is to put an end to the existing global legal deficiencies and guarantee that transnational companies are held accountable, and stop the impunity that occurs at global and local levels directly or indirectly with their affiliated companies and subsidiaries, who must respond for acts that threaten the violation of the rights of people, indigenous peoples and local communities, territories and the environment.”

As the Monday session reached a close, representatives of affected communities and activists from all over the world gathered in front of the UN Palace where activists climbed on top of the legendary Broken Chair monument to unfurl a giant banner with the slogan “Rights for Peoples, Rules for Corporations”. Leaders from communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe spoke powerfully about their experiences with transnational corporations violating human rights, attacking Human Rights defenders and trade unionists, and destroying livelihoods. Many activists also expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people by wearing flags or scarves, connecting the global struggle against TNCs impunity with the ongoing genocide happening in Gaza.

The ongoing genocide in Gaza was a recurrent and central theme of the UN negotiations, and both State and civil society speakers connected the human rights violations happening in Gaza with the work to hold transnationals accountable for human rights. Wesam Ahmad, from the Al-Haq Center for Applied International Law mentioned in the opening remarks that “It must not be lost on the initial champions of this treaty process, including many in the African and Latin American group, that the same companies historically involved in the suffering of their people are developing interests today in the natural gas fields of the Mediterranean Sea, while arms manufactures are struggling to meet demand and new trade routes are being developed. The devastation in Gaza is not isolated; it is a symptom of a larger problem—a system where transnational corporations stand to benefit from oppression, killings, and destruction in the support of imperial ambitions.”

Also visible at the negotiations, were trade associations flexing their muscle to influence the process, representing millions of corporations worldwide.

Representatives from the International Chamber of Commerce, International Organisation of Employers and US Council for International Business weighed in on the negotiations, calling for a “collaborative” approach. However this industry participation in the process was roundly denounced by the civil society coalitions defending the treaty, as Erika Mendes from Ja!, Friends of the Earth Mozambique and Friends of the Earth International said, “Corporate interference in this process is one of the main obstacles to securing a strong treaty that defends human rights and communities around the world. The consistent interference of corporate front groups in this process is part of an attempt to normalize corporate capture in policymaking – from our capitals at home to the halls of the United Nations. That’s why civil society supporting this treaty has been unanimous since the beginning of the process that we must protect these negotiations, and the implementation of the treaty, from corporate capture.”

What’s clear from the first two days of negotiations is that there is a growing and critical mass of governments and civil society that are invested in securing a treaty that defends human rights, holds transnationals accountable, and provides access to justice for communities across the globe. With rampant human rights and ecological destruction ongoing, the world cannot wait.

The Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity (Global Campaign) is a network of over 250 social movements, civil society organisations (CSOs), trade unions and communities affected by the activities of transnational corporations (TNCs), representing 260 million people globally.  https://www.stopcorporateimpunity.org

Seven delegates members of the Global Interparliamentary Network (GIN) present in Geneva for the 9th round of negotiations:Colombian Parliament, Alirio Uribe Muñoz and Karmen Ramírez Boscán; from the European Parliament, Miguel Urbán (Spain) and Helmut Sholtz (Germany); from National Assembly of Zambia, Sydney Mushanga; from Parliament of Uruguay, Lilian Galán; and from Parliament of Guatemala Sonia Gutiérrez.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• 2014 26/9 Resolution that started this process.
• OHCHR documentation to prepare 9th session OIGWG.
• Website Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity.
• “Frontiers of an effective Binding Treaty”. Key arguments the Global Campaign puts forwards for an effective Binding Treaty
• First impressions on the updated draft for the 9th session by the Global Campaign
• Website Global Interparliamentarian Network in support of the Binding Treaty
• Social Media: @StopTNCimpunity #BindingTreaty #StopCorporateImpunity

HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS

Demonstration in Place des Nations in Geneva

Clara Roig / FIAN International, CC BY-NC 4.0 https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1L4AnAaLV6e6XMM6hXv2WfdcCcebqdb2z

Angel Amaya, Corporate Accountability. CC BY-NC 4.0 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1up7mPYzkWe44vjDSHJfMemjibyi18mcu?usp=sharing

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Union of Agricultural Work Commitments (UAWC) Statement

The ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached alarming proportions, with its impact echoing far beyond its immediate geographic confines. At the core of this escalating disaster is the fundamental human right to food—a right that is now perilously under threat for the Palestinian residents of Gaza.

Historically, Gaza has been an epicenter of rich agricultural production, feeding not only its own residents but also serving as a vital food resource in the region. But the recent waves of Israeli aggression and sustained blockades have crippled this once-thriving sector. The disruption of essential imports, coupled with the inaccessibility to local farmlands due to conflict, has left the people of Gaza with dwindling food resources.

The severity of this situation cannot be understated. Without adequate food, residents face malnutrition, increased vulnerability to diseases, and a heightened mortality rate, especially among children and the elderly. The daily struggles of families trying to secure a single meal, with parents facing the heart-wrenching ordeal of seeing their children go hungry, are becoming the distressing norm.

Beyond the immediate physiological effects of food scarcity, there are profound psychological and societal implications. Chronic hunger breeds despair, intensifies trauma, and deepens socio-economic inequalities. In the broader spectrum, this crisis threatens to destabilize an already fragile region, with potential repercussions on a global scale.

Given the magnitude of this emergency, it is incumbent upon the international community to intervene promptly and robustly. A multifaceted approach is crucial—encompassing immediate relief efforts, sustained diplomatic interventions to restore peace, and long-term strategies to rejuvenate Gaza’s agricultural sector.

Inaction or delayed action will only serve to exacerbate an already grave situation. With each passing day, the humanitarian catastrophe inches closer to an irreversible tipping point. Hence, it is imperative that global powers, humanitarian organizations, and the broader international community rally together to prevent further degradation of life in Gaza and uphold the sacrosanct right to food for its people.

Download and Read the full Statement

Food-access-in-GazaDownload

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International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) Statement

The World Food Day is an occasion for small-scale food producers’ organizations to celebrate the crucial role of peasant agriculture, family farming, artisanal fisheries, Indigenous Peoples’ food systems, consumers, and all forms of food production that take place on a community and territorial level in feeding the world. Rural and water communities and Indigenous Peoples are rights holders, and their organizations have committed to collective policy dialogue with global institutions through the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty since 1996. These dialogues resulted in important milestones and standards for the rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as the rights of small-scale food producers: the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources with the concept of Farmers’ Rights; the Voluntary Guidelines on the Tenure of Land (VGGTs) and the Voluntary Guidelines on Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines); The UN Declaration on the Right of Peasants (UNDROP) and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); the international symposia on Agroecology, the UN Decade of Family Farming, and the UN resolution on Social and Solidarity Economy.

We also ensure the broad and effective participation of small-scale producers, Indigenous Peoples, and social movements in the Committee on World Food Security and Nutrition (CFS), through the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Mechanism (CSIPM) and in various FAO processes, upholding the fundamental principles of respecting our autonomy and self-governance.

This has been possible thanks to the fruitful dialogue and negotiations that social movements for food sovereignty, gathered in the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty, have been capable of building with FAO and other UN agencies. We consider – today more than ever – the global governance space as an important arena for dialogue among governments, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and the private sector. Nevertheless, we see this space being weakened but at the same time opened to transnational capital, while we face repression and criminalization for defending our lands and territories from corporate encroachment and ecological destruction which violate our fundamental rights.

We, signatory organizations, would like to express our concern about the World Food Forum (WFF), which seems to sideline the most inclusive global governance spaces for policy dialogue, like CFS and FAO Governing Bodies while strengthening the multistakeholder approach in favor of a wider collaboration with the private sector.

WFF intends to interlink three fora: the Global Youth Forum, the FAO Science and Innovation Forum, and the FAO Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum to combine youth action, innovation, and investments for solutions. Yet, instead of mobilizing resources and attention to contribute to implementing the policies adopted by the UN Committee on World Food Security and FAO, the WFF serves as a space to promote arrangements between corporations and institutions. It offers sponsorship of specific programs by world dominants corporations, with support of few governments, that often push for a corporate-driven narrative ignoring the voice and claims of small-scale food producers’ organizations and Indigenous Peoples.

The IPC is the world’s largest alliance of small-scale food producers, including peasants, fisher people and artisan collectors, pastoralists and herders, nomads, Indigenous Peoples, Ancestral Peoples of marine ecosystems, Indigenous organizations, forest dwellers, landless persons, urban producers, rural workers, and consumers. The IPC gathers more than 6,000 national organizations and 300 million small-scale food producers. Through this platform, they aim to defend the interests of those who supply 70% of global food production and yet, at the same time, continue to suffer from food insecurity, malnutrition, and the non-recognition of their fundamental role in feeding the planet. Those constituencies are represented by specific social movements, Indigenous Peoples, and Civil society organizations (CSOs), both regional and global. Together with consumer movements, support NGOs, and other grassroots organizations, they aim to advance the food sovereignty agenda at the global and regional levels.

“The Guidelines for Ensuring Balanced Representation of Civil Society in FAO Meetings and Processes” and the “FAO Strategy for Partnerships with Civil Society Organizations” have been the basis for cooperation between FAO and Civil Society organizations since 2013. Every FAO initiative should further develop these policies – enhancing the power of multilateralism – along with the principles of self-organization, CSOs’ autonomy, and collective representation through regions and constituencies. This approach will facilitate better communication between small-scale food producers, Indigenous Peoples, and FAO Member States, and International Governmental Organizations. Therefore, we urge FAO Member States to strengthen the global governance spaces and allow CSO and Indigenous Peoples’ representatives to participate and enter a policy dialogue for better solutions.

In this regard, we would like to continue the discussion with FAO, especially with the partnership office and FAO Member States to improve our dialogue and possible collaboration and establish spaces and tools to effectively implement it.

We also reaffirm our commitment to actively engage in the Global Governance processes –including FAO technical Committees, Regional Conferences, and other technical meetings –in respect of the FAO Strategy for Partnership with Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations.

In this context of multiple and intersecting crisis, we need to join our efforts towards the achievement of Food Sovereignty! In our fields, on our seas, in our communities, in our territories, in the choices we make every day as producers and consumers in solidarity, we build the alternatives to the multiple crises that beset our planet.

Signed by

1. Habitat International Coalition (HIC)
2. URGENCI
3. La Via Campesina
4. U.S Food Sovereignty Alliance
5. Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA)
6. World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP)
7. World Forum of Fish Harvesters & Fish Workers (WFF)
8. International Movement of Catholic Agricultural and Rural Youth (MIJARC)
9. Movimiento Agroecológico de América Latina y el Caribe (MAELA)
10. International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements (FIMARC)
11. International Indian Treaty Council (IITC)
12. Network of Farmers Organizations and Agricultural Producers of West Africa (ROPPA)

IPC-Statement-for-World-Food-DayDownload

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La Via Campesina (LVC) is a global peasant movement of 182 small-scale food producer organisations from 81 countries around the world and one of the largest grass-roots movement of small-scale food producers comprising peasant, migrant, waged labour and indigenous peoples’ organisations. Every four years, La Via Campesina organises an international conference open to all its members. It brings together representatives of these different organisations from the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. These international conferences are spaces of rich cultural and linguistic diversity that also brings the lived realities of people from different contexts and regions.

The 8th International Conference of La Via Campesina is scheduled to take place in Bogota Colombia, from 1-8 December 2023.

A unique opportunity for journalists who report on food and agricultural issue.

If you are a journalist covering food, agriculture, climate justice and related issues, our conference offers an opportunity to understand the latest developments, debates and practices in over 80 countries around the world. Here, you will discover a diverse set of peasant-perspectives and analyses of the global politics of food production and consumption. You will also witness a wide range of initiatives in the field of peasant agroecology and diverse models of food production.

We invite our friends and allies in the media to browse through this press kit, where we elaborate all aspects of the conference, and also detail out a process for accreditation.

There will be a registration process at the conference venue for journalists covering the conference. To avoid queuing, you can also fill in your details online and we will issue the badges once you arrive at the venue and we have verified your identity. We also encourage all our journalist friends who may only be covering the conference from your remote locations, to fill this form.

REGISTER NOW 8ConfLVC-Press-Kit_ENDownload

DOWNLOAD THE SPOKESPEOPLE BIOGRAPHIES

If you wish to use our communications kit, follow this link.

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Here below is the latest PETITION issued by La Via Campesina to Stop the Genocide War Committed by Israeli occupation against Palestinians and to safeguard civilians in the Gaza Strip. Every action counts in this moment. We request all our members, allies and friends to read the PETITION, SIGN and email it to the concerned departments in your government, Members of Parliament as well as the UN Secretary-General calling upon all of them to act in the interest of humanity.

HERE IS THE INTERNATIONAL PETITION FROM LA VIA CAMPESINA:

Given the principles of international human rights law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Geneva Conventions, we, La Via Campesina (LVC), a global peasant movement, voice our profound concern regarding the genocide war committed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza.

Since October 7th, Israel has been waging a genocide war against the Palestinian people. This relentless aggression has tragically claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Palestinian civilians and left over 13,000 injured, with a staggering 65% of the casualties being women and children. This assault has caused extensive destruction, obliterating, or damaging around 70,000 homes and numerous public and private structures.

As a result, close to a million Palestinians have been internally displaced within the Gaza Strip. Simultaneously, the Israeli occupation has imposed an unparalleled blockade on the Gaza Strip, inhabited by 2.5 million Palestinians. This embargo includes prohibiting the entry of food, cutting off water and electricity supplies, and restricting movement throughout the region.

Considering the aforementioned, we, the undersigned, call for the following immediate actions:

• Unconditional Cessation of Hostilities: An immediate and unconditional cessation of ongoing hostilities and acts of violence against civilians.
• Safe Passage and Border Openings: The establishment of safe corridors and the opening of all border crossings to facilitate the swift entry of medical aid, and food, and to expediently transport the injured for urgent medical care.
• Accountability for War Crimes: Prosecution of those responsible for war crimes before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in line with its mandate and international law.
• Formation of International Investigative Committees: Establishment of international committees to investigate and report on the unprecedented crimes committed during this conflict. In advocating for these actions, we stand in solidarity with all civilians caught in the crossfire and seek justice, peace, and the upholding of fundamental human rights.

If you agree with these demands, we urge you to send an email to the UN Secretary General António Guterres, reiterating these demands: CLICK TO EMAIL THE SECRETARY GENERAL NOW

You can also sign this petition by adding your details here.

Find out about the solidarity demonstrations for the Palestinian people that are happening around the world HERE and Join!

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Explore the heart of the International Conferences of La Via Campesina, where voices unite, struggles converge, and a better world is shaped. Discover the history, purpose, and challenges of these gatherings as we build food sovereignty to secure a future for humanity.

With 7 conferences behind us, and the 8th on the horizon, we’ll take you through the essential topics, strategic lines, and new spaces in the upcoming conference in December 2023.

Stay updated and join the movement for a better tomorrow. Download and share this podcast, and visit VIACAMPESINA.ORG for more information. Follow us on social media to be part of the conversation.

#LaViaCampesina #FoodSovereigntyNow #PeasantRightsNow #8ConfLVC

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UAWC Statement

October 16, 2023

Water is a fundamental human right, essential for life and dignity. However, for the residents of Gaza, access to clean water is an urgent crisis, as Israeli settler colonialism systematically restricts their access.

Gaza’s primary source of freshwater is its coastal aquifer. However, over-extraction and natural seawater intrusion have led to about 97% of the water being undrinkable due to high salinity and pollution, according to World Health Organization standards.

Since occupying Gaza in 1967, Israel has maintained control over most of the region’s freshwater resources. The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993, allowed Israel to extract more than four times as much water from the West Bank’s Mountain aquifer compared to the Palestinians.

Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which began on October 7th and has involved its launching of hundreds of airstrikes on Gaza, has created an ongoing and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian catastrophe.

Israel is not only waging war on Gaza via airstrikes but also through cutting off the population from accessing the most basic of needs.

The catastrophic situation in Gaza is not a product of recent events alone but has been manufactured by decades of Israeli occupation and injustice, including total control of water resources. Now, the situation regarding water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services is more dire than ever, and demands immediate international action.

As of 12 October, Gaza has been plunged into an electricity blackout, pushing essential health, water, and sanitation services to the brink of collapse. This blackout came in the wake of Israel’s cutting off of electricity and fuel supplies to Gaza on 8 October, ultimately leading to the depletion of fuel reserves and the shutdown of Gaza’s sole power plant.

Further, Israeli military operations have inflicted severe damage upon Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure. Between 7 October and 12 October, Israeli airstrikes have targeted and damaged six water wells, three water pumping stations, one water reservoir, and one desalination plant. These facilities were vital to providing water to over 1,100,000 people. On the evening of 9 October, Israel cut off Gaza’s supply of drinking water, affecting more than 650,000 people. Moreover, all three seawater desalination plants, which previously produced 21 million litres of drinking water daily, have ceased operations completely. The WASH cluster estimates that at least half of Gaza’s population has had no access to tap water since the closure of the last pumping station. On Sunday 15 October, Israel says to have reinstated water supply for one line serving eastern Khan Younis in the south of Gaza. However, Israel destroyed many of the water pipes, and residents cannot turn on the water pumps without electricity, which Israel still withholds. People across Gaza now have severely limited access to clean drinking water, with some having been forced to consume brackish water from agricultural wells. This has raised grave concerns about dehydration and the spread of waterborne diseases, such as cholera. The daily average water usage per person, for all purposes and from all sources, has dipped to only three litres per day.

Palestinians in Gaza warn that even if they survive Israel’s bombing, they will die of thirst or starvation.

Essential service infrastructure now relies on backup generators, which are barely being sustained by dwindling fuel reserves. Four out of five of the wastewater treatment plants in Gaza have been forced to shut down due to Israel’s cutting of power, and on Sunday 15 October, the final operational plant had to cease operations because of weather conditions leading to the daily discharge of 120,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage into the sea. Majority of Gaza’s 65 sewage pumping stations are non-functional, elevating the risk of sewage flooding. Sewage and solid waste are already accumulating in the streets of some areas, posing health and environmental hazards.

It is imperative to recognize that the present crisis is not an isolated incident but rather the latest chapter in a prolonged and tragic Israeli oppression and control over Gaza’s water resources.

Even before the devastation of the past week, the water situation in Gaza was already alarmingly dire, underscoring the systemic injustices inherent in the occupation. Palestinians in Gaza endure restricted access to water, with Israel controlling the flow and distribution of this essential resource. This resulted in chronic water shortages and countless obstacles to accessing clean water. As of 2021, 97% of Gaza’s water was unsafe to drink, and only 4% of households in Gaza had access to uncontaminated water. That Israel is able to cut off Gaza’s supply of basic resources is in and of itself exemplifying of the oppressive nature of the occupation.

Israel is engaging in blatant violation of the basic human right to water and right to sanitation.

Israel constructed this humanitarian disaster, and its control of Gaza’s water, both before and during the current crisis, is illustrative of the grave injustices of the occupation. We call upon the international community to follow through on their commitment to basic human rights by immediately ensuring that Israel not withhold water resources so that Palestinians in Gaza have access to water. This is an urgent need, and only one small step in addressing the longstanding injustices against Gaza.

Summary: The decision by Israel to cut off water to Gaza, devastating its over two million residents, is not just a severe humanitarian crisis but a blatant violation of international law. Depriving an entire population of water, an essential element for survival, necessarily causes catastrophic health and environmental consequences in a very short span of time. Such actions are in direct contravention of international conventions, most notably the Fourth Geneva Convention, which mandates the protection of civilian populations during times of conflict. This convention, among others, was established to prevent the very atrocities that Israel is currently committing against the people of Gaza. The international community must urgently address this grave violation, as it not only threatens the lives of millions but also undermines the very foundations of international humanitarian law.

We urge the international community to recognize the severity of this crisis and take immediate action. The deprivation of water is not just a violation of basic human rights but also a testament to the ongoing oppression faced by the Palestinian people. We call upon global leaders and humanitarian organizations to condemn Israel’s actions and demand the immediate restoration of water and essential services to Gaza. Further, humanitarian aid, including clean water, sanitation facilities, and medical assistance, must be provided immediately. It is absolutely crucial that Israel be held accountable for its blatant and violent violations of human rights and international law. We implore the world to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their basic right to live with dignity, free from oppression and injustice. There is no time to spare; people cannot survive without water.

Gaza-Water-Crisis-statementDownload

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