International Mission of Solidarity with Colombia
The International Mission of Solidarity with Colombia: Assessment of land and human rights situation
Bogotá, 14th September 2016
The international Mission of Solidarity with Colombia will take place between the 20th and 24th of September, organized by La Vía Campesina International and CLOC (La Coordinadora Latinoamérica de Organizaciones del Campo). The intention of the event is as follows:
- To support the peasant movement in demanding the fulfillment of the agreements reached with the Colombian government.
- To show solidarity regarding the violations of human rights.
Special attention will be directed to the monitoring of the enforcement of the Voluntary Guidelines of Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, given the commitment of the Colombian government to implement them.
Among other issues concerning the peasants’ right to land and territory, the event will be focusing on the actual state of tenure of land, the economic situation, interferences and impacts of multinational corporations, processes of restitution and wasteland – issues that have also been addressed in 1 of the Agreement of Peace signed between the Colombian government and FARC-EP.
The International Mission will be composed of peasant leaders of La Vía Campesina and of CLOC- Vía Campesina from 16 countries and four continents, who will participate in the public hearings on the 22th of September in Putumayo, Cauca, Meta, Magdalena and Norte de Santander. The Mission will end on the 24th of September with a main event in the municipality of Apartadó in Urabá, Antioquia.
The purpose of the event is to enable the participation of the peasant communities, and in doing so, get to understand the details surrounding the diverse realities of the rural context of Colombia. This is to empower the bonds of international solidarity with the peasant organizations and their reclamations regarding the fulfillment of the agreements reached with the government, the pursuit of an agrarian reform, and the achievement of alimentary sovereignty.
At the end of the event, the International Mission will release to the public a preliminary report. In this report, the delegates will state their main readings and contributions regarding the reality of the rural Colombia, and the role of the peasant organizations in the context of the construction of peace. This bearing in mind that La Via Campesina will be overseeing the implementation of 1 of the Agreement reached in Havana.