The Confédération Paysanne welcomes the decision of the Administrative Court of Poitiers, which ruled on two appeals and canceled the project to create 15 mega-basins: nine planned in the Aume-Couture basin and six in the Pallu sub-basin .
Peasants’ Rights
Mayotte water crisis: MODEF calls on France to take action
Mayotte is experiencing a severe water crisis as water sources run dry and the distribution network in a poor state requiring urgent attention. Rains to replenish the sources not expected until November. Water cuts are common.
La Via Campesina @ UN Human Rights Council: “it is high time that States systematically protect, promote and respect the rights enshrined in the UNDROP”
Peasants and other people working in the rural areas are affected the most by the current multiple global crises. La Via Campesina has appealed to the UN Human Rights Council to strengthen the promotion and protection of peasants’ rights, and make recommendations to address their violations through the creation of a UN Special Procedure on UNDROP. The Bolivia mission in Geneva will present the resolution on this during the 54th UN HRC Session for voting.
Bridging Local Farming and International Activism
La Via Campesina has over 200 million members in more than 80 countries. There are three levels within La Via Campesina. The member organizations, which include unions, cooperatives, or associations, form the first level. Then, all these organizations are grouped by region, with nine regions in La Via Campesina. These nine regions together constitute La Via Campesina. Every four years, a conference is organized to decide the working priorities for the next four years. The next conference will be held in Colombia in December. We expect 500 delegates from all over the world.
La Via Campesina and CETIM denounce the sanctions against Niger at the UN
On September 14, 2023, during the 54th session of the Human Rights Council, a biennial “Panel discussion on unilateral coercive measures and human rights” was held in Geneva. Fatimatou Hima from the Plateforme Paysanne du Niger, a member of Via Campesina, intervened on behalf of CETIM to declare and denounce the consequences of economic and financial sanctions against Niger and its people, particularly the impact on Nigerien peasants.
The Landworkers’ Alliance: Seasonal Worker Visa and the Degradation of Working Conditions in UK Horticulture
A new report from the Landworkers’ Alliance (LWA) shines a light on the systemic drivers of exploitation in the UK immigration system with regard to seasonal fruit and veg pickers. The report also includes a supply chain analysis, which reveals that migrant seasonal workers picking soft fruit retain on average just 7.6% of the total retail price of the produce.
La Via Campesina Stands with Morocco in the Wake of Catastrophic Earthquake
The numbers speak of the tragedy – over 2497 of our comrades have passed on, and 3,000 more are injured, many critically. It deeply saddens us that the majority of those affected are the marginalized peasant workers, the backbone of our food systems, historically overlooked and left behind in the march towards urban-focused development. La Via Campesina extends its heartfelt solidarity to our brothers and sisters in Morocco during these testing times.
Brazil: III Seminar on Sexual and Gender Diversity
Between the 14th and 17th of September this year, the Escola Nacional Florestan Fernandes (ENFF), located in Guararema, São Paulo, Brazil, will host the III Seminar on Sexual and Gender Diversity of the La Via Campesina Brazil. The event, already established as a forum for debate and knowledge-building on matters related to sexual and gender diversity, promises to bring together over 80 participants from different movements that constitute La Via Campesina, addressing topics ranging from human rights to the intersectionality of struggles.
An opportunity for rural struggles: UNDROP follow-up mechanism before the Human Rights Council
Time has come for the implementation of UNDROP to be tackled at the international level. It is in this context that La Via Campesina (LVC) and its allies, advocate for the creation of an international follow-up mechanisms on peasants’ rights, in the form of a UN Special procedure. In the 54th session of the Human Rights Council that started on September 11th, the Permanent Mission of the Plurinational State of Bolivia will present a resolution to create this mechanism.
La Via Campesina affirms its support for the peasants of Niger and its rejection of sanctions and military intervention by ECOWAS
Following the coup d’état that took place on 26 July 2023, very harsh sanctions were decreed against Niger, such as the blocking of the banking system and the trade embargo on the country. In addition to these unjust and inhumane sanctions, the Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has announced a military intervention in Niger, supported by the United States and France.
