Seeds of resistance, harvests of hope: farmers halt a land grab in Mozambique by Timothy A. Wise | 30 Oct 2018 Mozambique | land grabbing | seeds & biodiversity | actions On July 26, 2018, farmers in Xai-Xai, Mozambique, achieved a milestone. They met to formalize their new farmers’ association, elect leaders, and prepare a petition to the local government for land. The association, christened Tsakane, which means “happy” in the local Changana language, was the culmination of six years of resistance to a Chinese land grab that had sparked protest and outrage. The association now has a request pending for its own land. An encouraging story by Timothy A. Wise On July 26, 2018, farmers in Xai-Xai, Mozambique, achieved a milestone. They met to formalize their new farmers’ association, elect leaders, and prepare a petition to the local government for land. The association, christened Tsakane, which means “happy” in the local Changana language, was the culmination of six years of resistance to a Chinese land grab that had sparked protest and outrage. The association now has a request pending for its own land. An encouraging story by Timothy A. Wise
We feed the world by Jyoti Fernandez | 14 Oct 2018 United Kingdom | food sovereignty | laws & policies | actions Great talk by Jyoti Fernandez of the Landworkers Alliance on the opening night of the We Feed the World exhibition reminding us of the role we all can all play in standing up for a fairer food and farming system. Great talk by Jyoti Fernandez of the Landworkers Alliance on the opening night of the We Feed the World exhibition reminding us of the role we all can all play in standing up for a fairer food and farming system.
Traders, farmers, workers and citizens groups decry green-light to Walmart-Flipkart deal – Call on Quit India day for joint struggle against foreign e-commerce by Joint action committee against foreign retail and e-commerce | 10 Aug 2018 India | corporations | actions The Joint Action Committee Against Foreign Retail and E-commerce greatly condemns the go-head to Walmart’s takeover of Flipkart by the Competition Commission of India. Flipkart indulges in gross and widely-reported violations of current FDI norms for e-commerce as expressed in the Press Note 3. These violations are all market distorting. The government has sat over scores of complaints given to it for such violations, and a case is also currently in the Supreme Court. Before investigating and deciding on these existing ongoing by Flipkart, billions of dollars of new FDI cannot be allowed to come in and compound these ongoing violations against India’s markets, economy and citizens. The Joint Action Committee Against Foreign Retail and E-commerce greatly condemns the go-head to Walmart’s takeover of Flipkart by the Competition Commission of India. Flipkart indulges in gross and widely-reported violations of current FDI norms for e-commerce as expressed in the Press Note 3. These violations are all market distorting. The government has sat over scores of complaints given to it for such violations, and a case is also currently in the Supreme Court. Before investigating and deciding on these existing ongoing by Flipkart, billions of dollars of new FDI cannot be allowed to come in and compound these ongoing violations against India’s markets, economy and citizens.
With vigor of the youth, intensify the struggle for land and life! by PAN Asia Pacific (PANAP), the Asian Peasant Coalition and People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty and grassroots movements | 29 Mar 2018 land grabbing | actions We mark the Day of the Landless this year amid ever pervasive landlessness and land grabbing, driven by the competition of global powers and local elites to control the world’s resources at the expense of small food producers and the food sovereignty of poor countries. This is accompanied by rising militarism and violent repression of rural communities. Among those worst affected by deepening poverty and hunger as well as increasing human rights violations are the rural youth. We mark the Day of the Landless this year amid ever pervasive landlessness and land grabbing, driven by the competition of global powers and local elites to control the world’s resources at the expense of small food producers and the food sovereignty of poor countries. This is accompanied by rising militarism and violent repression of rural communities. Among those worst affected by deepening poverty and hunger as well as increasing human rights violations are the rural youth.
We will not be silenced by Bolloré's SLAPP lawsuits! by Civil society organisations, media outlets, journalists and NGOs | 24 Jan 2018 France | corporations | actions This Thursday 25 January, a lawsuit was opened against three newspapers (Mediapart, L’Obs and Le Point) and two NGOs (Sherpa and ReAct), who are accused of defamation by the Luxembourgian holding Socfin and its Cameroonian subsidiary Socapalm, for articles reporting on the mobilisation of villagers and farmers in West Africa who live near farms managed by these two companies. These companies have strong links to the Bolloré group, and Vincent Bolloré himself serves on their board of directors. This Thursday 25 January, a lawsuit was opened against three newspapers (Mediapart, L’Obs and Le Point) and two NGOs (Sherpa and ReAct), who are accused of defamation by the Luxembourgian holding Socfin and its Cameroonian subsidiary Socapalm, for articles reporting on the mobilisation of villagers and farmers in West Africa who live near farms managed by these two companies. These companies have strong links to the Bolloré group, and Vincent Bolloré himself serves on their board of directors.
A sign-on statement to stop the poisoning of the people and the planet by Pan-Asia Pacific (PANAP) | 24 Jan 2018 corporations | food sovereignty | India | actions Thirty-three years ago today, the horrendous Bhopal gas tragedy at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in India immediately killed 3,000 people and 15,000 more subsequently. Survivors, exposed to the deadly gas and their children, continue to suffer from the world’s worst industrial disaster. Thousands of tons of hazardous wastes remain buried underground and the area remains contaminated. Meanwhile, Union Carbide, which became a subsidiary of Dow-Chemical Co. in 2001, has yet to fully account for the tragedy. Thirty-three years ago today, the horrendous Bhopal gas tragedy at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in India immediately killed 3,000 people and 15,000 more subsequently. Survivors, exposed to the deadly gas and their children, continue to suffer from the world’s worst industrial disaster. Thousands of tons of hazardous wastes remain buried underground and the area remains contaminated. Meanwhile, Union Carbide, which became a subsidiary of Dow-Chemical Co. in 2001, has yet to fully account for the tragedy.
Sign on letter: OceanaGold must pay up and pack up from El Salvador by multiple organisations | 21 Dec 2016 El Salvador | corporations | actions We, the undersigned organizations representing XXXX of people around the world, have been accompanying allied groups in El Salvador in support of their work to prevent gold mining in their communities since 2009. That is the year when your Pac Rim Cayman subsidiary filed an unjust investor - state lawsuit with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) against El Salvador. It is also the same year when three anti-mining community leaders and an unborn baby were brutally murdered in northern El Salvador, in the area where your company was conducting its operations. We, the undersigned organizations representing XXXX of people around the world, have been accompanying allied groups in El Salvador in support of their work to prevent gold mining in their communities since 2009. That is the year when your Pac Rim Cayman subsidiary filed an unjust investor - state lawsuit with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) against El Salvador. It is also the same year when three anti-mining community leaders and an unborn baby were brutally murdered in northern El Salvador, in the area where your company was conducting its operations.
160 global groups call for moratorium on new genetic extinction technology at UN Convention by multiple organisations | 5 Dec 2016 technologies | actions | GMOs This week, international conservation and environmental leaders are calling on governments at the 2016 UN Convention on Biodiversity to establish a moratorium on the controversial genetic extinction technology called gene drives. Gene drives, developed through new gene-editing techniques- are designed to force a particular genetically engineered trait to spread through an entire wild population – potentially changing entire species or even causing deliberate extinctions. The statement urges governments to put in place an urgent, global moratorium on the development and release of the new technology, which poses serious and potentially irreversible threats to biodiversity, as well as national sovereignty, peace and food security. This week, international conservation and environmental leaders are calling on governments at the 2016 UN Convention on Biodiversity to establish a moratorium on the controversial genetic extinction technology called gene drives. Gene drives, developed through new gene-editing techniques- are designed to force a particular genetically engineered trait to spread through an entire wild population – potentially changing entire species or even causing deliberate extinctions. The statement urges governments to put in place an urgent, global moratorium on the development and release of the new technology, which poses serious and potentially irreversible threats to biodiversity, as well as national sovereignty, peace and food security.
Global call on banks to halt loan to Dakota Access Pipeline by multiple organisations | 30 Nov 2016 United States | actions Over 400 civil society organisations from more than 50 countries today issued a joint open letter to the seventeen banks providing a US$2.5 billion project loan to Dakota Access LLC. The letter, endorsed by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, demands that the banks involved immediately halt all further disbursements of the loan and require the project sponsor to stop construction work until all outstanding issues are resolved to the full satisfaction of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The letter and the full list of signatories can be found below. Over 400 civil society organisations from more than 50 countries today issued a joint open letter to the seventeen banks providing a US$2.5 billion project loan to Dakota Access LLC. The letter, endorsed by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, demands that the banks involved immediately halt all further disbursements of the loan and require the project sponsor to stop construction work until all outstanding issues are resolved to the full satisfaction of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The letter and the full list of signatories can be found below.
Solidarity statement: The repression and criminalization of Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement must stop! by multiple organisations | 29 Nov 2016 Brazil | actions Early on the morning of November 4, armed police raided the “Escola Nacional Florestan Fernandes” (ENFF) in Guararema, Sao Paulo, detained members of the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST) members and fired live ammunition. We call for an immediate end to the repression and criminalization of the MST and other grassroots organizations in Brazil, and for the release of all those arrested on groundless charges. Advocacy for land rights and peaceful protest are not a crime. They are essential rights protected under Brazil’s constitution and that must be respected by all Brazilian authorities. Early on the morning of November 4, armed police raided the “Escola Nacional Florestan Fernandes” (ENFF) in Guararema, Sao Paulo, detained members of the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST) members and fired live ammunition. We call for an immediate end to the repression and criminalization of the MST and other grassroots organizations in Brazil, and for the release of all those arrested on groundless charges. Advocacy for land rights and peaceful protest are not a crime. They are essential rights protected under Brazil’s constitution and that must be respected by all Brazilian authorities.
Open letter to Mr. Han Chang-fu: Stop export of Paraquat produced by Syngenta and others in China! by MultiWatch et al. | 31 Oct 2016 China | actions We welcome the suggestion of the Agricultural Ministry of China on 9 May 2016 to re-classify the toxicity of the pesticide Paraquat from “medium toxic” to “extremely toxic” as well as the decisions taken by your ministry to ban the use of all Paraquat formulations in China. Further, we appreciate that the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals (ICAMA) correctly stated that Paraquat has "no specific antidote, that accidental application is dangerous, and that illness duration is long and painful, and could be life-threatening". However, we are strongly concerned that the Agriculture Ministry of China on April 24 2012, and again on May 9 2016, officially allows production of Paraquat for export to be used in other parts of the world, harming the health of agricultural workers, farmers and the environment in these countries. We welcome the suggestion of the Agricultural Ministry of China on 9 May 2016 to re-classify the toxicity of the pesticide Paraquat from “medium toxic” to “extremely toxic” as well as the decisions taken by your ministry to ban the use of all Paraquat formulations in China. Further, we appreciate that the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals (ICAMA) correctly stated that Paraquat has "no specific antidote, that accidental application is dangerous, and that illness duration is long and painful, and could be life-threatening". However, we are strongly concerned that the Agriculture Ministry of China on April 24 2012, and again on May 9 2016, officially allows production of Paraquat for export to be used in other parts of the world, harming the health of agricultural workers, farmers and the environment in these countries.
Sign-on letter: Civil society organisations demand amnesty for Ethiopian land rights leader Okello Akway Ochalla by Oakland Institute | 5 May 2016 Ethiopia | actions On 27 April, after a lengthy trial, human rights defender Okello Akway Ochalla was charged to nine years in prison. We are writing to ask you – organizations committed to land, human rights, and development issues – to stand with us in support on this issue. Time is of the essence – there is a 30 day window to appeal Mr. Okello’s sentence, and we have been advised that diplomatic pressure from the US is the best chance for amnesty in Mr. Okello’s case. On 27 April, after a lengthy trial, human rights defender Okello Akway Ochalla was charged to nine years in prison. We are writing to ask you – organizations committed to land, human rights, and development issues – to stand with us in support on this issue. Time is of the essence – there is a 30 day window to appeal Mr. Okello’s sentence, and we have been advised that diplomatic pressure from the US is the best chance for amnesty in Mr. Okello’s case.
Disobedience, the movie. by Disobedience productions | 1 May 2016 climate crisis | actions May 4-15, 2016: A global wave of mass actions will target the world’s most dangerous fossil fuel projects, in order to keep coal, oil and gas in the ground and accelerate the just transition to 100% renewable energy. "Disobedience", a movie that documents this struggle and forcefully argues that civil disobedience is the way to go. May 4-15, 2016: A global wave of mass actions will target the world’s most dangerous fossil fuel projects, in order to keep coal, oil and gas in the ground and accelerate the just transition to 100% renewable energy. "Disobedience", a movie that documents this struggle and forcefully argues that civil disobedience is the way to go.
Call for support: global day of action for food, land and justice, 8 April by Asian Peasant Coalition | 7 Apr 2016 Philippines | actions We call on the KMP members and its allied organizations nationwide to launch “sympathy barricades and protests across the country” to condemn the brutal and shameless massacre in Kidapawan perpetrated by the Aquino government. Let us denounce the bloody dispersal of a farmers’ rally in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato last April 1, 2016. The incident left two persons dead, at least 37 hurt and wounded. We also call on our international friends and allies to join us on April 8 and support Kidapawan farmers. We call on the KMP members and its allied organizations nationwide to launch “sympathy barricades and protests across the country” to condemn the brutal and shameless massacre in Kidapawan perpetrated by the Aquino government. Let us denounce the bloody dispersal of a farmers’ rally in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato last April 1, 2016. The incident left two persons dead, at least 37 hurt and wounded. We also call on our international friends and allies to join us on April 8 and support Kidapawan farmers.
The assassination of our sister in in struggle: Bertha Cáceres by Via Campesina | 3 Mar 2016 Honduras | food sovereignty | actions The assassination of Bertha Cáceres took place in her home, while she was resting, which drastically increases the risk to women and men defenders, to the indigenous peoples who resist in communities, and to members of popular and social movement organizations who have taken up our legitimate struggle. A statement and call to action from La Via Campesina in response to the assassination of our sister in in struggle: Bertha Cáceres The assassination of Bertha Cáceres took place in her home, while she was resting, which drastically increases the risk to women and men defenders, to the indigenous peoples who resist in communities, and to members of popular and social movement organizations who have taken up our legitimate struggle. A statement and call to action from La Via Campesina in response to the assassination of our sister in in struggle: Bertha Cáceres