Land Rights

Ecuadorians’ New Constitution Guarantees Resource Rights & Makes Food Sovereignty a Right

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:14:06 +0000

On September 28, 2009, Ecuadorians approved a new constitution that includes an article granting nature the right to "exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution." The new constitution recognizes the right of all Ecuadorians to have access to sufficient resources to feed themselves in a sustainable manner with respect to cultural differences between people and communities. A priority is local food production, recognizing implicitly that the right to adequate food represents, among many things, the right of the small food producers, harvesters and fisherpeople to acquire appropriate resources and the right to rely on the laws, measures and programs that assist them in providing food.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Sets Precedent in Ruling on Grassroots Grantee

Carol Schachet — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:53:17 +0000

Recently Grassroots International made a grant to the Indigenous Council of Roraima through Caritas Brasil in support of their struggle to gain legal recognition of the 6,500 square mile Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous territory, in Brazil’s northern Roraima state. In what may set a significant precedent, one of Brazil’s Supreme Court justices ruled in favor of the Indigenous Council.

Women and the Food Crisis

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:59:48 +0000

Since I started my internship with Grassroots International in May, I have come to realize the true magnitude of the food crisis. The way that the economic system produces and distributes food is leaving far too many people hungry and jobless. Throughout my research, I studied the effect that the crisis has had on women, and I believe that their role, though historically overlooked, is crucial to finding a sustainable solution. I believe, along with everyone at Grassroots International, that women's economic and land rights are not just rights that they deserve as people, but steps that must be taken in order to bring the world out of the food crisis.

Livelihood Rights: The Right to Exist

Saulo Araujo — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:47:12 +0000

Members of Grassroots International's partner La Via Campesina -- an international network of peasants, indigenous peoples, fishers, pastoralists, women, and youth -- gathered in late June in Jakarta, Indonesia to defend their right to exist, and called for a UN Convention on the Rights of Peasants. (Below, see their final declaration)

Under intense threat from the expansion of agro-fuels in South America and Indonesia, militarization in Colombia and South Korea, and increasing food prices, rural families are voicing a predicament that affects all communities.

Abolish the MST, or the Unproductive Latifundos?

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:44:27 +0000

In late June, Grassroots partner, the Landless Workers Movement (MST) made public a document they got a hold of that showed the intention of the Rio Grande do Sul state Public Ministry to "dissolve" the MST. The document is based on a meeting, on December 3, 2007, during which the state Public Ministry decided: to outlaw any mobilization of landless workers, including marches and walks, to intervene in settlement schools, to criminalize leaders and members, and to "deactivate" all the encampments in Rio Grande do Sul.

The Hidden Face of the Global Food Crisis

Paul Venuti — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:22:54 +0000

Subheadline

Massive Farmers' Rights Violations

Partner

Via Campesina

Outside Link

The Hidden Face of the Global Food Crisis: Massive Farmers Rights Violations

Bill Clinton: Brazilian Landowner

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:50:08 +0000

A rich, influential citizen of the United States or Europe—say, Bill Clinton or Bill Gates—buys land in Brazil, either as an individual or a partner in a company. They want to invest in agrofuels, and figure that crops can be grown on their new land for fuel (and profit). But as a result, the price of land rises in Brazil; peasants and other low-income workers can no longer afford to buy land. And they have no say in how the land purchased by foreigners is used.

Gaza from Below

Salena Tramel — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:43:19 +0000

No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.

- Fourth Geneva Convention, article 33

Nonviolence. Opportunity. Innovation. In the wake of the recent escalating violence and food insecurity in Gaza, our grassroots partners have redoubled their quest for social change and sustainability in one of the most troubled places in the world. We are humbled by their laudable tenacity in the face of massive obstacles.

One-State or Two-State?

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:55:52 +0000

This week Palestinians around the world are commemorating Land Day (begun in 1976) to mark their attachment to, and dispossession from land -- the fundamental issue of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Former Grassroots International Board chair Assaf Kfoury reflects on the re-emergence of the one versus two states debate.

Brazilian Peasant Women Embody the Spirit of International Women’s Day

Daniel Moss — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:43:29 +0000

In celebration of International Women’s Day on Saturday, we at Grassroots would like to honor 900 peasant women who bravely seized and occupied a vast corporate tree farm in southern Brazil that they believe symbolizes the type of development that is destroying their communities and Mother Earth itself.

It could not have been easy.

The women, members of the Via Campesina, staged the takeover just before dawn on Tuesday, then proceeded to cut down the corporation’s trees and plant native trees in their place. At least 50 women were injured by rubber bullets and other material when police forcefully removed them from the 5,200-acre farm. Hundreds of them were reportedly arrested.