CLOC: VI Continental School of Women Extends Solidarity to the Haitian People

Solidarity with the Haitian People: VI Continental School of Women. Political Statement from the Continental Articulation of Women CLOC La Via Campesina.

29 MAY 2024: We, the participants of the VI School of the Articulation of Women of the Latin American Coordination of Rural Organizations (CLOC) – La Vía Campesina, with more than 108 delegates representing 18 countries from Latin America, as well as invited delegates from La Vía Campesina organizations from Canada and the United States, want to express our deep concern and rejection of the current situation of the Haitian government and the recent decision by the government of the Dominican Republic to unjustifiably limit the participation of our Haitian comrades.

The VI School of the Articulation of Women of CLOC – La Vía Campesina is a crucial space for the training and empowerment of peasant women in our struggle for social justice and human rights. This event aims to promote the exchange of experiences, the building of alliances, and the development of collective strategies to face the challenges our communities encounter. The Dominican government’s refusal to grant visas to our Haitian comrades, who wished to actively participate in this school, represents an act of exclusion and discrimination that we vehemently reject.

The crisis in Haiti is alarming. Foreign interventions and international interference have exacerbated violence, insecurity, and precariousness in the country, severely affecting rural communities and, particularly, women. These crises are neither natural nor inevitable; they are the result of neoliberal policies and an imperialist logic seeking to exploit and control the Haitian people. The Haitian comrades who were prevented from participating in this school are direct witnesses and victims of these oppressive dynamics.

One of our Haitian comrades expressed with sadness: “I am very sad because, as Haitians, we want to live and participate in the CLOC Women’s School. However, every time activities are held in the Dominican Republic, it is very difficult for us to attend due to the extreme right-wing policy that exists there.”

We condemn the Dominican government’s decision to deny visas to our Haitian comrades and demand a public and transparent explanation for this unjustified measure. This action not only violates our comrades’ rights to participation and mobility but also reflects a policy of exclusion aimed at silencing the voices of those fighting for social justice.

We reaffirm our solidarity with the Haitian people and their struggle for sovereignty, justice, and human rights. It is vital that the solution to the problems in Haiti is led by the Haitian people themselves and their social movements, without external interferences that only perpetuate dependency and conflict.

At the VI School of the Articulation of Women of CLOC – La Vía Campesina, we reaffirm our commitment to continue fighting for justice, equity, and the rights of all peasant peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.

We call on all governments in the region to respect the rights of peasant organizations and facilitate their participation in spaces of dialogue and decision-making. Exclusion and discrimination have no place in our struggles for a more just and equitable world.

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