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Action Case Colombia - Peasant community success before Constitional Court
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Columbian Court Rules in Favour of Families Illegally Evicted from Las Pavas
Colombia: Forced eviction in Las Pavas leaves 120 families displaced
Colombia: displacement of rural families, Bolívar region
Colombia: 123 families returns to the Las Pavas land
A Constitutional Court decision in favor of 123 families evicted from the rural area of Las Pavas in the township of Buenos Aires, Colombia, is a major victory for the peoples' struggle for the right to food.
Evicted by the police in 2009 at the request of two palm-oil producing companies, the community of Las Pavas has been fighting tirelessly since 1997 when they peacefully occupied unused land and started farming. Without any alternative means of subsistence, the families persisted in a year-long struggle to formalize their possession of these lands.
The community repeatedly suffered criminalization and harassment, including forced evictions, attacks by paramilitary groups, and the destruction of crops and food. In response, the families organized to form the Buenos Aires Peasant Association (ASOCAB) and filed complaints requesting a reversal of the judicial decision that ordered their eviction in 2009.
FIAN and various Colombian organizations supported the families of Las Pavas in their struggle. FIAN initiated two Urgent Actions, asking its international membership to write to the Colombian President to take the necessary steps to formalize the families' possession of the land.
In 2009 FIAN, with other organizations, sent an Amicus Curiae brief to the judge in charge of the case, offering information to assist the court in deciding the matter.
Finally, in May 2011, the Colombian Constitutional Court found that the actions leading to the forcible eviction of the families of Las Pavas had been illegal, and ordered a reassessment of the question of land possession.
Provided the reassessment is carried out legally the peasant community will eventually be granted their right to the land - and their means to feed themselves will be guaranteed.
Las Pavas community leader Misael Payares Guerrero acknowledges the role of FIAN and other supporters: "We need international support to defend our rights, because we want a way of life where respect, not only for people, but also for nature, takes precedence."
Read the blog http://retornoalaspavas.wordpress.com/imagenes-de-asocab/
