Rights of peasants violated daily

Since this violent massacre in Brazil, the situation of peasants worldwide has worsened drastically.  The increased liberalization of agriculture has forced many from this group- such as smallholder farmers and indigenous people- to produce for export rather than for their own sustenance. Peasants have disappeared- both literally and figuratively- as large transnational corporations have rapidly taken control over food production and trade. The oppression of peasants and peasant’s rights activists is a daily occurrence. FIAN, the international organization for the right to food, has launched various campaigns over the past year to urge governments to address human rights violations against peasants. Given the essential role that small-scale food producers play in sustainable food systems, protecting the human rights of peasants should be a matter of concern for the world at large.

Mechanisms for the protection of human rights, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights do not sufficiently protect the distinctive rights of peasants, thus the international peasant movement, La Via Campesina, has been campaigning since 2000 to create the International Convention on the Rights of Peasants. This instrument is intended to respect, protect, fulfill, and uphold the rights of peasants within the United Nations. FIAN International supports this demand for a Convention on Peasants’ rights and urges all supporters worldwide to unite on April 17th to ask their respective governments to improve the protection of the human rights of peasants, and support the issues associated with peasants’ rights in the UN Human Rights Council.