Resource Rights

David Moore — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 21:13:57 +0000

Food, land and water are fundamental human rights guaranteed to everyone, rich or poor, no matter the color of his or her skin. Sadly, in the 21st century, access to and control of these and other essential resources are diminishing in communities around the world. Our partners use pioneering sustainable food production techniques and advocate to change policies that threaten their livelihoods, the environment and social justice. In Brazil, Haiti, Mesoamerica, the Middle East and around the world, they work for food sovereignty—the right of communities to decide what to grow and eat without being undermined by global trade rules, and of sustainable livelihoods and resource rights for all.

Confronting the Global Food Challenge

Carol Schachet — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:07:36 +0000

A group of civil society organizations, including Grassroots International, will participate in a conference in Geneva, Switzerland, entitled "Confronting the Global Food Challenge: Finding New Approaches to Trade and Investment that Support the Right to Food." The conference-convened by Grassroots' allies the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance and FoodFirst Information & Action Network-will meet November 24-26 to explore the impact of trade and investment on the right to food and to develop new approaches that have human rights at the core.

New Report on Agro-fuels from Grassroots’ Brazilian Partners

Saulo Araujo — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:55:48 +0000

Rede Social, a Grassroots International partner, and longtime ally the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) released an 80-page report on the expansion of sugar cane plantations for agro-fuels in the Amazon and Central Plateau region of Brazil.

Will Jatropha Invade Mozambique: Via Campesina Confronts The Global Agrofuel Industrial Complex

Maria Aguiar — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:07:03 +0000

Recently I returned from the Via Campeisna's Vth International Conference in Mozambique, followed by brief visit with social justice organizations in South Africa. Also in Mozambique, as delegate to the Via Campesina Conference, was Grassroots International colleague John Peck of the Family Farm Defenders and the National Family Farm Coalition. John wrote the article below just days after hearing the President of Mozambique, Armando Emilio Guebuza, address the Via Campesina Assembly. In his address, Guebuza unfortunately noted that his government would be supporting the expansion of jatropha plantations for agrofuels production.

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.

The Via Campesina to Hold 5th International Conference

Carol Schachet — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:39:56 +0000

Subheadline

Gathering Scheduled for Maputo, Mozambique 16-23 October

Partner

Via Campesina

Outside Link

Via Campesina holds its Vth International Conference

Manufacturing Hunger: Indonesia’s Food Crisis

Carol Schachet — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:40:49 +0000

The principle of food sovereignty places local control of food production and distribution at its core. Unfortunately, throughout the world industrial farms, corporations and the policies that benefit them take that control away from local farmers and communities. In a recent report , Grassroots International's colleagues at the Oakland Institute describe this situation and its dire consequences in Indonesia where "excessive dependence on global markets, followed by the collapse of traditional agricultural structures, as well as almost non-existent social policies, have manufactured widespread hunger in Indonesia today."

West Bank Wall Elevates Barrier to Water Access for Palestinians

Salena Tramel — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:46:43 +0000

The construction of the Wall by the Israeli government in the West Bank is viewed by many as the third and final wave of expulsion of the Palestinian people, following the forced Palestinian exodus in 1948 in the wake of Israel's independence, and then the 1967 Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Perhaps, more than any other element of the occupation, the Wall illustrates the severity of the Palestinian situation and the urgency for access to resources, including water.

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.