Article written by Fuad Abu Saif, Palestinian grassroots activist and researcher in the struggle for land and dignity, affiliated with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) and member of the international coordination of La Via Campesina. This article was written for Defending Peasants’ Rights, as part of the International Day of Peasant’s Struggles on…
This article was published in the CETIM magazine “Lendemains Solidaires”, in its first issue dedicated to agriculture (January 2022). You can find the article here. There’s nothing more paradoxical than the fact that those who contribute most to food security – namely rural communities – are the ones most affected by poverty and malnutrition. Erected…
Thesis to obtain the Master in International and Development Studies of the Graduate Institute in International and Development Studies in Geneva AbstractFocusing on the Guarani Mbyá and the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) in Santa Catarina, this thesis explores the similarities and differences between indigenous and landless food sovereignty. It shows how their narratives are intertwined…
Which agroecology for peasants’ and rural workers’ rights – Introduction by Defending Peasants’ Rights We are reproducing a publication by Friends of the Earth International which aims to define an agroecology for food sovereignty. Agroecology, food sovereignty and peasants’ rights are closely linked. Together, they form a political and practical basis for both fighting the…
As we write this page, the war of Israel on Gaza has been going on for 112 days. We, at Defending Peasants’ Rights, want to show our solidarity with the people in Palestine. With this page we want to put forward some of the articles monitoring this war and the violations of human rights it…
This article was published in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps on September 7, 2023, and can be found here (in French). In this article, Melik Özden, director of Cetim, responds to the director of the multinational seed company Syngenta, promoting new technologies in agriculture. He prefers peasant agriculture to new technologies, and calls for the…
Defending Peasants’ Rights relays here the petition launched by La Via Campesina on October 21st and joins its call for a immidiate stop to the war on Palestinian people by Israel. You can find the petition HERE. You can find this article with the list of signatories HERE on La Via Campesina’s website. More than…
Victory for Peasants’ Rights! The United Nations Human Rights Council votes in favor of creating a Working Group on UNDROP On October 12th, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted, with a very wide majority, for the creation of a Working Group dedicated to the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people…
La Via Campesina and CETIM have organized a training course for La Via Campesina members in August 2023, and are now making training materials available to all. This material is also available in PDF version here. Session 2 of the UNDROP training seminar aims to provide a general overview and analysis of the key rights…
This article was first published on Cetim’s website, on September 20th, 2023. You can find it here. On July 26, 2023, the Nigerien military overthrew the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum. In response, a number of international organizations took coercive economic measures, such as blocking the banking system and imposing trade embargoes. Unilateral coercive measures…
Vincent Delobel, a peasant farmer in Belgium, describes the situation of peasants in Europe. First of all, it’s very difficult for peasants to earn a decent income from their work, and secondly, it’s impossible for many young people to set up or take over a farm because of the financial cost and pressure on land….
This video was made by La Via Campesina and first published on its webiste on June 5, 2023. You can find it here. In this video La Via Campesina explains what is Food Sovereignty for them. Food Sovereignty is at the center of the actions and struggles of La Via Campesina. They have fought, and…
