LVC e-Newsletter October-December 2013 | The WTO pushed through bad deal in Bali
Via Campesina
The WTO pushes through bad deal in the final hours; Developed countries and TNCs are the big winners
PRESS RELEASE
Social Movements for an Alternative Asia (SMAA), Gerak Lawan and La Via Campesina
The 9th Ministerial Conference of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) pushed through a Bali
Package in the final hours, extending the
Conference to December 7, but at the cost of the
developing countries, the poor and the hungry. read
more...
Demands increase for international mechanisms to punish transnational corporations� crimes
Geneva
(Switzerland), Bali (Indonesia) December 3,
2013 � Social movements, networks and
organizations from the Global Campaign to
Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity -
who protested today in Bali and in Geneva
against the corporate capture of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) trade negotiations
and the United Nations (UN) Human Rights
system - are demanding binding regulations to
punish corporate crimes. read
more...
Social movements remind the WTO about the death of Korean farmer Lee Kyung Hae inside the official ministerial conference through a powerful action
(Dec 5, Denpasar, Bali) Representatives of
social movements from around the world carried
out a dramatic silent procession inside the
ministerial venue in Nusa Dua to commemorate the
self sacrifice of their comrade, the Korean
farmer Lee Kyung Hae. Lee lives on in their
struggle. Lee Kyung Hae took the extreme step of
stabbing himself to death outside the conference
halls of WTOs 5th ministerial in Cancun in 2003.
read
more...
18 years of the WTO is enough: Trade rules have favored TNCs and deepened poverty
(Bali, Dec 3, 2013) As the official World Trade
Organization (WTO) negotiations opened today on
the 3rd of December in Bali, Indonesia, peoples�
movements took to the streets. Gerak Lawan, an
alliance of Indonesian Peoples Movements against
Neocolonialism and Imperialism, along with the
Social Movements for an Alternative Asia (SMAA),
a newly formed coordination of Asian social
movements along with La Via Campesina
demonstrated in Renon Square in Denpasar from
9am until 2pm. read
more...
Typhoon Haiyan exposes the reality of climate injustice � We strengthen our resolve to struggle for an end to the climate madness
PRESS RELEASE - La Via Campesina
(Jakarta, 3 December 2013) On
November 8, 2013, the strongest super typhoon
ever recorded in history, with winds as high as
314 kilometers per hour, slammed into the
Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan devastated several
cities in the islands of the Visayas, leaving in
its wake, more than 5,000 dead, more than 1,000
still missing and millions impacted with
thousands of families left without food, water
or shelter. read
more...
Dec 3- People will take to the street on the inauguration of the WTOs 9th ministerial in Bali
(Dec 2, Bali) As the official WTO talks open on
the 3rd of December in Bali, peoples movements
will take to the streets on the same day. The
Gerak Lewan- an alliance of Indonesian Peoples
Movements against Neocolonialism and
Imperialism, along with the Social Movements for
an Alternative Asia (SMAA), a newly formed
coordination of Asian social movements along
with La Via Campesina will demonstrate in Renon
Square in Denpasar from 9 am until 2 pm.� read
more...
La Via Campesina� in Bali to call for an End to the WTO and the Free Trade Regime
(Bali, 28 November 2013) The international
peasants' movement -La Via Campesina, with over
200 million members in 70 countries, will
organize in a massive way from Dec 1-6 2013 at
the upcoming World Trade Organization 9th
Ministerial meeting in Bali, Indonesia. It will
bring in a large delegation of peasants from
around the world to Bali in order to demonstrate
its opposition to the World Trade Organization
(WTO). read
more...
Honduras : La Via Campesina as international observer of the electoral process
Declaration of the Delegation of Election Observers of V�a Campesina about the electoral process 24th of November in Honduras
(Tegucigalpa, Honduras,
November 25, 2013) La V�a Campesina
participated with 60 national and
international observers in the Honduran
elections which took place the 24th of
November 2013, in order to support and sustain
the Human and Citizen Rights of the people of
Honduras as well as the Honduran Peasants
movement. read
more...
Indonesia, Registration is now OPEN for EndWTO-Bali Week of Action
Gerak Lawan (People�s Movement against Neocolonialism and Imperialism), the Bali WTO Network and the Social Movements for an Alternative Asia (SMAA) invite all those who want to End the WTO, Stop FTAs and believe that the time is now for Economic Justice, to come join us in the EndWTO-Bali Week of Action from December 1-6 in Bali, Indonesia.
As you may already know, Gerak Lawan, a national coalition in Indonesia, formed in 2005, which includes peasants, migrants, fisherfolk, women, youth, human rights lawyers, and many others, has joined forces with the Bali WTO Network. read more...Deal a decisive blow to Neoliberalism
Call to Action on behalf of Social Movements for an Alternative Asia and Gerak Lawan (Peoples Movement Against Neocolonialism and Imperialism)
The capitalist system is in a deep crisis. Since
the 2008 financial crisis where the system nearly
imploded, it has yet to fully recover. And instead,
the crisis has spread and has deepened the food,
economic, energy and climate crises. The deep
systemic crisis is crystal clear evidence that the
neoliberal regime must come to an end. read
more...
November 25th: End violence against women
(Harare, November 25, 2013) Throughout these 20
years as La Via Campesina, we have recognized the
role of women in all aspects of life. In that sense,
we have denounced capitalism and patriarchy as the
main generators of all types of violence - physical,
ethical, psychological, political and economic -
which increase discrimination and violence against
women, both young and old. read
more...
A year for agricultural policy to radically support small-scale family and peasant farming
( 21
November 2013 -Brussels) This Friday 22nd
November, the United Nations will be launching the
International Year of Family Farming for 2014. Since
1993, the Via Campesina has been the only
international organisation to daily defend
small-scale family and peasant agriculture
throughout the world; it does so with 160
organisations in 79 countries and over 200 million
peasant farmer members, both men and women. read
more...
The global struggle for peasants seeds : a struggle for our future
As countless farmers, farmworkers, urban growers, and
consumers across the globe celebrated the International
Day of Action for Food Sovereignty in October, an
overwhelming number are celebrating seeds as pilar for
food sovereignty. Afterall, according to ETC Group, 80-90%
of seeds are sourced outside of commercial
markets, that is to say through peasant seed systems,
and farm-saved seeds. In the new
publication, Our Seeds Our Future La Via Campesina
chronicles ten experiences of peasant seed selection,
saving, improvement, and re-use. read
more...
Stop the corporate takeover and expansion of carbon markets now!
COP 19 statement signed by la Via Campesina among 155 signatories
Stop the corporate takeover and expansion of
carbon markets now!
For almost 20 years, multilateral climate policies have
served to create profitable financial schemes that
maintain fossil fuel dependent systems that are
responsible for the climate crisis. November 11-22 in
Warsaw, Poland, the 19th Conference of the
Parties (COP19) to the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be no exception. read
more...
Defending peasant seeds is fighting for our right to life
- African Declaration on Peasant Seeds
We, African men and women farmers, members of La Via
Campesina, have gathered at the Fambidzanai permaculture
centre in Zimbabwe from the 12th to the 14th November to
discuss and prepare our work for the defence of African
peasant seeds against the current corporate and
institutional attacks.
For us, small-scale farmers, seeds are the foundation of
life. They are a key part of cultures developed by past
generations and carry the acquired knowledge of farming
communities worldwide. read more
African peasants reject corporate seed laws and assault on peasant seeds and food sovereignty
(Harare, November 14, 2013) At the African seeds
meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 12-14, peasant
farmers held rich discussions about the growing threat
of external investment in African agriculture, including
multinational seed companies and ongoing efforts to
exploit African land and resources for the production of
food for other parts of the world. Participants at the
meeting expressed alarm about the push for industrial
agriculture throughout Africa by corporations and their
partners, including initiatives such as the Alliance for
a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the G8 New Alliance
on Food Security and Nutrition. read
more...
We are not backward. Our seeds and knowledge are crucial for our survival
(Harare, November 13, 2013) Seed diversity, created by
peasants over centuries, is in danger of disappearing and
the diversity of seeds that remain is increasingly
threatened by large international corporations, most of them
coming from the agrichemical sector. In Africa, different
forces are converging to grab peasant seeds and undermine
their diversity and the knowledge and practices associated
with them. read
more...
Climate Summit: Don't turn farmers into 'climate smart' carbon traders!
7 November 2013. Farmers produce food, not carbon. Yet, if
some of the governments and corporate lobbies negotiating at
the UN climate change conference to be held in Warsaw from
11-22 November have their way, farmland could soon be
considered as a carbon sink that polluting corporations can
buy into to compensate for their harmful emissions. �We are
directly opposed to the carbon market approach to dealing
with the climate crisis,� says Josie Riffaud of La V�a
Campesina. read
more...
African Farmers meet in Zimbabwe to give more strength to the struggle for seeds sovereignty
Harare, 06 November 2013 � More than 40 farmers from
several African countries, members of La Via Campesina,
together with allies, will meet in Zimbabwe on 12-14
November 2013, to discuss the threats posed to smallholder
farmers� seed systems on the continent. In particular, it
will discuss the changes to African seed laws, and responses
to such threats. The seminar will be hosted by the Zimbabwe Organic Smallholder Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF),an organisation member of La Via Campesina. read
more...
Peasants' rights at Organization of American States
(October 29,
2013, Washington) In the light of the continuous
violations of the human rights in Latin America�s rural
sector, the Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Organizaciones
del Campo, CLOC - V�a Campesina, is going to present in an
audience before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights,
CIDH, a report on the situation of the human, social and
cultural rights in the peasant communities in Latin
America and the Caribbean. This report intends to link the
research and monitoring processes at continental level,
and denounce the issues that take place in the peasantry�s
context. read
more...
Mozambique's ProSavana programme � "Open your eyes, you'll lose your land," warns a Brazilian �sem-terra�
One of the central figures of the Brazilian �sem-terra�
(landless) movement, Augusto Juncal, was in Maputo as a
�heavyweight reinforcement� for the campaign by Mozambican
small-scale farmers against ProSavana. Juncal left the
warning: "Open your eyes, you'll lose the land". ProSavana, an agricultural development
programme by the governments of Mozambique, Brazil and
Japan� is being challenged by the Uni�o Nacional
dos Camponeses de Mo�ambique (UNAC - National Union of
Small-scale Farmers of Mozambique), the largest organisation
of its type in the country. read
more...
The True Food Prize Goes to the Haitians
The Iowa state capitol is vibrating with activity this week
in preparation for the World Food Prize Laureate Award
Ceremony that is set to take place on Thursday. The 2013
World Food Prize credits Monsanto in the fight against
hunger through sustainable agriculture -- yet there is a
disconnect between the spirit of the prize and the U.S.
agrochemical giant's actual practices. Organizers of the
Food Sovereignty Prize aim to bridge this gap by honoring
grassroots social movements in their own ceremony that will
take place on Tuesday in New York City. read
more...
Malawi: Small Scale Farmers and Rural Women Share Experiences in farmer-to-farmer exchange visit to defend food and seed sovereignty[1]
Over 100 small-scale farmers and rural
woman came together in Lilongwe during the August SADC
Heads of States Summit as a regional collective of the
People's Dialogue, the Rural Woman's Assembly and Via
Campesina Africa to come up with
alternatives and �practical solutions to end rural poverty
and promote people-driven development in the Southern Africa
Development Community region (SADC). �One of the key demands
was the adoption of Food Sovereignty by
our governments as a policy in all SADC countries, which
means the right of countries to
control what, how and where they produce, and to control
the policies and programmes under which they produce. read
more...
Statement on the 2013 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum
The 2013 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) hosted
and chaired by Indonesia this year, met in Bali from 5-7
October 2013. The APEC has no enforceable agreements like
ASEAN�s, but it continues to serve as a platform for
economic and political leaders to come together and mainly
push the agenda of investments liberalization and free
trade, and address security issues in the region. read
more...
October 16: La Via Campesina celebrates World Food Sovereignty Day, demands real solutions to end hunger
La Via Campesina celebrates
the world food sovereignty day. People around the world
will carry out actions to celebrate the need of a people's
food system. The global peasants' movement will make its
voice heard loud and clear reaffirming that peasants- led
agro-ecology is the real solution to global hunger. Not
only do peasant farmers feed communities, they also cool
the planet and protect mother nature. Unlike agribusiness,
peasants do not treat food as a commodity for speculation
profiting out of hunger. They do not patent nature for
profit, keeping it out of the hands of the common man and
woman. read
more...
International Conference on Land and Seeds: Peasants of Mozambique United in Struggle in Defense of Land and Peasant Agriculture
Maputo, October 14, 2013 � The National
Union of Peasants (Uni�o Nacional de Camponeses , UNAC), a
member group of La Via Campesina, organized through unions
and zonal nuclei, districts, and provinces throughout the
county, holds the Second International Conference on Land,
in Maputo on October 15 and 16, 2013. read
more...
Gaining support for the peasant's way - La Via Campesina at UN's leading food security institutions
�Reforms at the level of international institutions like
the CFS must be seized to advance the cause of peasants and
family farmers. In truth no policy whether at the national
or international level truly takes into consideration the
interests of this group, so its up to us to say what we
need�- Ibrahim Coulibaly, president of the National
Confederation of Peasant Organisations (CNOP) of Mali. read
more...
INDIA: Bihar's agroecological farmers host international farmers' delegation
Earlier this year, when Sumant Kumar and his 4 friends, all
young farmers from the Nalanda region in Bihar,�made
headlines�for breaking the world records in rice and
potato production without using any chemicals, herbicides or
GM seeds, it inspired farmers across the world. Through the
global network of peasants' movements called La Via
Campesina, farmers in the state of Karnataka in southern
India got a call from Brazilian farmers, asking if they
could go see this unbelievable feat together. read
more...
People have the right to land and seeds to produce healthy food, and practice food sovereignty!
October 16 - Global Day of Action for Food Sovereignty
La Via Campesina calls for international support for the
Global Day of Action for Food Sovereignty, this coming
October 16, the same day that FAO celebrates as World Food
Day. The peasant movement affirms that it is only possible
to end the global food crisis and hunger through food
sovereignty and agro-ecological production. Current economic
policies hinder the development of peasant agriculture and
favor agribusiness. read
more...
FAO recognizes La Via Campesina's crucial role as the major international small food producer's organisation
(Rome, 4 October 2013) Today, during a meeting between La
Via Campesina and FAO's Director general Jose Graziano da
Silva an agreement of cooperation was formalized which
acknowledged the essential role played by small holder food
producers. Their role was recognised as most important in
the eradication of world hunger. The cooperation will focus
on various key areas: strengthening peasant based
agro-ecological food production, protecting small holders
rights to access land and water, as well as improving
farmers rights over seeds in accordance with international
and national seed laws. read
more...
The International Seed Treaty: A resolution in support of Farmers' Rights
(Oman, September 30) La Via Campesina welcomes the adoption, on 28 September 2013, by the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, also known as the seed treaty, of a resolution calling on states to implement and support Farmers� Rights, ie the rights of peasants and farmers over their own seeds. read more...Building a peasant revolution in Africa
The recent debate around the 2012 National Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill in Uganda and the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) it promotes elevated issues related to food access across the country. Although the bill was tabled in Parliament earlier this year, Ugandan peasants and small farmers still have reason to worry that control of their land and its resources could quickly slip further away�especially if they are not tightly organised. read more...ZIMSOFF and the Shashe Agro-Ecology School in Zimbabwe
While it is now widely acknowledged that a smallholder-based, agro-ecological food production system is the best way to eradicate hunger and to reduce the impact of agriculture on climate change, less attention is given to the role farmers play in sharing the lessons they have learned. Building on a farmer-to-farmer approach, the Zimbabwe Organic Smallholder Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF) is interested in training community facilitators and trainers, helping them develop a horizontal and participatory learning system. read more...La Via Campesina�
Via Campesina is an international movement of peasants,
small- and medium-sized
producers, landless, rural women, indigenous people, rural
youth and
agricultural workers. We are an autonomous, pluralist and
multicultural
movement, independent of any political, economic, or other
type of affiliation.
Born in 1993, La Via Campesina now gathers about 183
organisations in 88
countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
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Email:�viacam...@viacampesina.org
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