Country: Mexico

Warning cry about the impact of agrotoxics in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Brasilia, Brazil. 28 April 2021. Yesterday, the Latin American sections of FIAN International presented the report Toxic Pesticides in Latin America: Violations of the Right to Adequate and Nutrition at a well-attended online event.

This 108-page publication features data and reports on the impacts of these toxic substances in eight countries across Latin America and the Caribbean: Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and Haiti.

The report documents how pesticides affect environmental health and that of humans' as well, as they hinder the full realization of the human right to adequate food and nutrition. It also identifies a widespread pattern in the business strategies of companies in the region which is based on corporate capture of public institutions and territories.

Over 700 participants attended the online release of this report. During the event, Juan Carlos Morales González, from FIAN Colombia, and researcher Leonardo Melgarejo presented the report’s main findings and conclusions. Affected communities in Brazil, Haiti and Paraguay shared their stories about the devastating and destructive effects pesticides have had on their livelihoods. Then, geographer Larissa Bombardi, author of Geography of the Use of Agrochemicals in Brazil and Connections with the European Union, and the UN Special Rapporteur for toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, analyzed the results of the report and presented their viewpoints. Rapporteur Orellana clarified:

 “The fact that certain types of pollution are legal does not justify violating human rights … dangerous substances must be eliminated”. He went on to underscore “[the] shared responsibilities of exporting and importing countries…nations’ obligations to prevent exposure to toxic substances are based on human rights”.

As follow-up on the work documented in this report, FIAN International will soon file a complaint with the relevant United Nations special rapporteurs regarding the Brazilian case presented during the online event, in which aerial fumigation was weaponized to evict rural workers from a disputed area in Pernambuco.

On May 5th, another online seminar will showcase this report before a global audience: during which FIAN International will explain the results of a study on the experiences of farmers transitioning towards pesticide-free communities and food systems.

Find out how the discussion unfolded and access the report in Portuguese, Spanish or English, and the executive summary in English

View another webinar  Poisoned Food, Poisoned ecosystems: how people are working towards pesticides free communities

For more information please contact: Ana María Suárez Franco Suarez-franco@fian.org

 

Mexico: Renewed hope for putting an end to widespread malnutrition

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The serious malnutrition crisis and a lack of access to adequate food have drawn international attention to Mexico. According to the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy, the increasingly critical nutrition situation affects 28 million people in Mexico, thereby also increasing cases of non-communicable diseases. Between 2009 and 2015 alone, over half a million people died from diabetes.

Considering the abovementioned facts and the unfavorable legal context, any hope of change is pinned on the draft decree which includes the Right to Adequate Food Law. This decree was approved on April 30, 2015 by the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress and sent to the Senate on this same date.

Granted constitutional standing six years ago, the right to food is a pending issue the State must address for those demographics in vulnerable situations*.

An approval of this law would entail compliance with the final observations of the Committee of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which on March 29, 2018, voiced concern about the “high levels of malnutrition and food insecurity, and on the other hand, increasing levels of overweight and obese people, affecting the effective enjoyment of the right to adequate food”. The Committee recommended that the State of Mexico formulate “a comprehensive national strategy to protect and promote the right to adequate food.”

Such action would also fulfill the recommendations made by Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, after his 2011 visit. Among his recommendations, the rapporteur underscores that “a framework law on the right to food could establish how to detect new threats against the right to adequate food as soon as possible … [And] provide an appropriate legislative foundation for existing social programs, in particular food aid programs, as well as aid programs for agricultural producers.”

As the new members join the Senate of the Republic of Mexico, FIAN International and its section in Mexico have renewed hope and urge the legislators to join the fight and put an end to the current bleak situation.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

*Especially indigenous peoples and communities, pregnant and lactating women, infants or preschool-age children, elderly people, people with disabilities that are unable to care for themselves, sick people in destitute situations, migrants, stateless persons, refugees and people affected by disasters or by situations considered food emergencies.

IACHR meets European counterparts at a critical time

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The Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) – Organization of American States (OAS), Paulo Abrão will cross the Atlantic to meet his European counterparts this week.

A series of high-level meetings will be held with EU and EU Members States officials as well as international CSOs, which have been supporting both politically and financially the inter-American system, particularly during last year’s financial crisis.

Abrão will also take the opportunity to present its recently approved Strategic Plan, which various CSOs contributed to, including FIAN International’s section in Ecuador on behalf of all FIAN entities.

Need for real commitment

In a context where States and the private sector (particularly transnational corporations) are increasingly pushing for voluntary guidelines to take over internationally binding human rights instruments and standards, it is crucial to genuinely reinforce the political and legal role of regional human rights systems. This is particularly imperative for OAS Member States that have progressively been withdrawing their financial and political support to the IACHR, thereby leading the latter to its worst crisis in history. 

The lack of political commitment by OAS States is also reflected on some of their sponsored candidates, whose competences are questionable, for the two seats that the 47 Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly will choose in June. The 163rd Period of IACHR Sessions in July will also see the appointment of the first rapporteur on economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, which could suppose a positive change for communities across the Americas. 

Guarani and Kaiowá, seeking justice in IACHR

The Inter-American system is crucial for fighting injustice and structural inequalities against most marginalized groups, especially indigenous communities. This is the case of the indigenous peoples Guarani and Kaiowá in Brazil, who have been facing evictions and violence throughout their struggle for the right to ancestral territory as well as to food and nutrition, and whose situation has only worsened following the Parliamentarian coup d´état.

Last December, the Guarani and Kaiowá’s great assembly Aty Guasu, with the support of CIMI, FIAN International and its Brazilian section, as well as Justicia Global, filed a petition to the IACHR against the State of Brazil. Not only this petition will contribute to further developing standards on the right to food and nutrition in connection with the right to ancestral territory, but also to the IAHRC rapporteurship on economic, social, cultural and environmental rights.

FIAN International hopes that OAS Member States strengthen and prioritize their political and financial support to the IACHR. In addition, this should be reflected on the dialogue and cooperation between the EU and its Member States with the OAS, as regional systems are a crucial element for the development and implementation of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and EU Action Plans on Human Rights.  

The organization will engage in the IACHR visit, together with the European CSOs network CIFCA to keep supporting the consolidation of regional human rights systems. 

For more information, please contact castaneda-flores[at]fian.org 
For media enquiries please contact delrey[at]fian.org 

A billion people need fully functioning IACHR

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Last Monday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) broke the astonishing news about its financial crisis. The Commission announced that 40 percent of its personnel will not be renewed beyond July and that its 159th and 160th sessions will be suspended, unless it receives funds or the commitment for donations before June 15. Such drastic changes would have a serious impact on its ability to fulfill its mandate and carry out its basic functions, thereby risking the human rights protection of the billion people living in the Americas.

Reacting to the news, several NGOs from all over the world has issued an Open Letter whereby it appeals to all member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) to take the necessary measures to ensure the immediate and adequate funding of IACHR.

FIAN International recalls that the Inter-American Human Rights system is the result of people’s struggles in the Americas. They delegated their sovereignty to the States to create a system that ensures protection against abuse and injustice. Therefore,  it is the obligation of OAS member states to ensure sustainable financial fund for the Commission to remain fully operational as last resort against violations of fundamental rights in the continent and an international reference for its great efforts in protecting thousands of affected people and communities.

You can read the Open Letter here.

Construyendo la política alimantaria comunitaria

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Result of training workshops in Guerrero and Morelos, Mexico, on building community-based food policies with a gender and human rights perspective.
The work was made possible by financial support from World Prayers Day, FIAN International, FIAN Mexico, and also the invaluable voluntary effort of the participating organizations.

 

Colectivo de mujeres campesinas de la Costa Grande de Guerrero S.C.
Unión de pueblos de Morelos A.C.
Elaborated by:
Ana María Suárez Franco, FIAN Internacional
Leticia Correa Miranda, FIAN-México
Dinorah López Velázquez, FIAN-México

Document in Spanish language

Mexico: After 9 years of struggle, peasants triumph over ‘La Parota’ hydroelectric dam

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Since 2003, when the Federal Commission for Electricity (CFE) undertook preparatory steps in the construction of the hydroelectric dam ‘La Parota’ in the territory of 35 peasant communities in Guerrero, 25,000 inhabitants have faced displacement and loss of livelihoods.

Under the Accords, signed in August 2012, the state will not approve La Parota dam if the affected communities do not accept it, if they are not justly compensated, or if it will impact the environment. The Governor committed to securing a dialogue between CECOP and the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón, to ensure a commitment to the ruling from the federal government.

The Accords also guarantee that the state of Guerrero will cease the repression of the peasant movement, respect the legal rulings that were issued in favor of the CECOP and support peasant efforts to restore the social fabric that has been broken as a result of the violent repression of the past nine years.

FIAN International has supported the peasant’s struggle since 2004. In 2004 and 2005, FIAN International intervened with two urgent actions when the resisting peasants, in their struggle to defend their land rights against the construction of the hydroelectric dam, were met with violence and repression.  In 2008, FIAN International intervened again with an Amicus Curiae in support of a constitutional complaint by the affected communities, in which it argued the lack of consultation of the affected people and an inadequate environmental evaluation for the construction of the dam.

FIAN International welcomes the Cacahuatepec Accords and will closely monitor government compliance with its stipulations and further steps towards the definitive cancellation of the hydroelectric project.

Indigenous Rural Women’s Rights under Scrutiny – UN CEDAW Committee Reviews Mexico

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According to recent estimates, in Mexico, 28 million people lack access to adequate nutrition.  Of the 18.1 million people who live in areas that have a high or very high level of marginalization, 80.6 percent live in rural zones. While data regarding how many women are affected by malnutrition is not easily accessible, FIAN Mexico conducted community meetings with 171 women from the states of Guerrero and Morelos on the subject of rural and indigenous women’s right to adequate food and identified a number of obstacles to the realization of this right.

The Committee periodically reviews state reports and civil society submissions with the goal of highlighting gaps and failures in the implementation of international obligations of State Parties under the CEDAW Convention. FIAN Mexico, with the support of FIAN International, presented written and oral statements about the right to adequate food in Mexico, highlighting severe inadequacies in the implementation of this right. These include insufficient and insecure access to, and ownership of, productive resources, in particular land; harmful cultural practices; violence against indigenous rural women human rights defenders; and the inability of single women and women responsible for caring for disabled people to realize their right to adequate food.

In its Concluding Observations on Mexico, the CEDAW Committee expressed concern about “the lack of indigenous rural women’s access to land, property and justice,” in particular in regard to women in the states of Guerrero, Chiapas and Oaxaca. The CEDAW Committee recommends to the government of Mexico to “adopt temporary special measures to address the disparities that indigenous rural women face with regard to access to land and property, as well as basic social services, including education and health, and participation in decision-making processes.” Concerns were also raised with regard to “information indicating that the State party’s public security policy against organized crime has negatively impacted indigenous rural women, who have been since subjected to higher levels of violence” and recommends that the State “take all necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation of the relevant legislation to prevent violence against indigenous women, investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of violence against indigenous women, and ensure effective and prompt access to justice to victims, including redress mechanisms.”

Finally, the CEDAW Observations recommend that Mexico “put in place a comprehensive strategy aiming at the elimination of harmful practices which discriminate against indigenous rural women including by conducting awareness-raising campaigns targeting indigenous communities in collaboration with civil society and women’s organizations, to enhance a positive and non-stereotypical portrayal of women.”

FIAN International welcomes the Committee’s Observations and, together with FIAN Mexico, will closely monitor State action in regard to compliance with the recommendations made by the CEDAW Committee at the country level.

Read the concluding observations of CEDAW here.

Read the submission of FIAN to CEDAW (in Spanish) below.