(Harare, May 10, 2018) April was a busy month for La Via Campesina and its allies. In this bulletin we share various struggles which happened in April and the first week of May. We celebrated our International Day of Peasant Struggles on the April 17th by raising our voices against the free trade agreements, the corporate impunity and called for peasant rights to be guaranteed. Actions and mobilisations were organized globally (see Map) by our member organisations, allies and friends. In Geneva, after many years of negotiations, the United Nations declaration on peasants’ rights is now at the point of being finalised. The declaration, formally regarding the ‘Rights of Peasants and other People Working in Rural Areas’ was discussed between the 9th and the 13th of April within the UN Human Rights Council. In Rome, a Second International Symposium on Agroecology was held at Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) from 3rd to the 5th. We welcome this as a new step in the recognition and promotion of Agroecology by intergovernmental institutions, governments, universities and research centers. FAO and other UN agencies must continue to strengthen their work in Agroecology. We share also the statement of the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty following its meeting in Paarl (Cape Town), in March this year. In this bulletin, you will also find various struggles of our member organisations; a video (teaser) and the final report of the VIIth International Conference of La Via Campesina. Download the newsletter and share it with your allies, friends and other organisations.
