Mozambique: UNAC Celebrates the International Day of Peasant Struggles
Under the motto “Defending our Peasant Rights to Land, Native Forests and Food Sovereignty”, the National Peasants’ Union (UNAC) held events in the district of Manjacaze, province of Gaza, to commemorate the International Day of Peasant Struggles (April 17) in honor of the 21 peasants killed fighting for agrarian reform in Carajás, Brazil, in 1996.
Similar events were held in the provinces of Niassa, Sofala, Inhambane and Tete to mark the 29th anniversary of the Eldorado dos Carajás massacre. This year’s celebrations included marches, agricultural fairs and debates reflecting on the struggles and challenges of peasants. With these actions, UNAC reaffirmed its commitment to the fight for greater protagonism in the struggle for peasant rights.
In her speech the president of the National Peasants’ Union, Ana Paula Taucale, said that the celebration of the International Day of Peasant Struggles strengthens the resistance of peasants in the fight for their rights and contributes to raising the voices of peasants so that policy makers and public managers listen and respond positively to the desires of producers in the family sector.
These celebrations were held at a time when the Land Law is undergoing review. Ana Paula Taucale took the opportunity to mobilize and make a national call for the engagement of all peasants in these processes, to ensure that the rights of peasants are protected in this important tool for national development.
“The right to land for rural communities is an inalienable and indisputable human right and must be protected in the law under review,” Taucale highlighted.
For the UNAC peasants, the ongoing review of the Land Law must respect and recognize the rights of peasants to access, own, use, benefit from and control this essential resource for the life of rural communities. It should also elevate customary rights, the rights of women and other vulnerable groups and encourage community consultation, ensure the right to adequate housing, effective community participation in land management and administration, transparency, among others.
In turn, the representative of the Manjacaze district administrator, José Balane Langa, encouraged the peasant movement to remain firm in the struggle for the production and processing of products with a view to guaranteeing food sovereignty.
On climate change, Langa said that this phenomenon affects everyone, so “we must reinvent ourselves and continue producing.”