On December 8th, two peasant leaders of the Landless Rural Workers Movement of Brazil were shot to death by hooded man while they were having dinner at their campsite “Don José María Pires”, in Paraíba State. This clearly reflects a “hate speech” which has been specially targeting Brazilian popular organizations. The victims were Rodrigo Celestino and José Bernardo da Silva…
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity urged the governments on November 29th to conduct strict risk assessments and consult indigenous people and other local communities before releasing organisms into the environment with “exterminator technology” such as gene drives. The decision to consult the people about this dangerous genetic modification of organisms was celebrated by Friends of the Earth and the…
On December 3rd, 2017, a year and a week ago, Marivic Danyan, a young indigenous woman less than 30 years of age saw how the Philippine Army murdered her father, her two brothers, her husband, an uncle and cousins. It was a massacre. Today, Marivic spoke with Real World Radio, because the peaceful struggle for their lands continues. It all…
Days before the first anniversary of the murders of eight indigenous people of the Philippine village Datal Bonglangon, Mindanao Island, on December 3rd, 2017, one of the lawyers supporting the local community, Pochoy Labog, directly accused the company that has been occupying this native territory since early 1990s. He is also accusing Rodrigo Duterte´s administration, due to its policies complacent…
December 2nd marked 33 months of the murder of the Lenca people defender, Berta Cáceres, at her home in La Esperanza, Intibucá department (Honduras) and the attempted murder of environmental activist Gustavo Castro, member of Otros Mundos Chiapas – Friends of the Earth Mexico. The case went to trial after many irregularities in the investigation carried out by the Public…
Monday marks the first anniversary of the massacre of eight indigenous people in Datal Bonglangon village, South Cotabato province, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. The inhabitants of the small community paid with their lives the demands for their ancestral lands and the resistance to the coffee and mining industry for export. Their blood taints the company and Rodrigo…
With certain advances in the recognition of the role of indigenous people and local communities in terms of the conservation of biological diversity, the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity came to an end in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Nevertheless, some environmental organizations are worried about the role of corporations in the official…
[gallery columns="4" ids="3631,3619,3617,3615,3613,3611,3609,3607"] In a Buenos Aires fully armed, with helicopters and military officers, the only voices heard above the siren alarms are those of the social organizations against the G20 Summit and the return of neoliberalism in the region. This accelerated return has also meant the loss of rights acquired by the people in the past decade and…
On Thursday, November 29, the Tegucigalpa court announced the verdict over the femicide of Berta Cáceres, who was murdered on March 2nd, 2016 at her home in La Esperanza (Intibucá Department). The men accused were Sergio Rodríguez, Mariano Díaz, Douglas Bustillo, Elvin Heriberto Rápalo, Edilson Duarte, Oscar Haroldo Torres and Emerson Duarte. Duarte was cleared. In addition, Rápalo, Torres, Duarte…
24 hours after the historical decision by the Third Committee (on cultural, social and humanitarian aspects) of the United Nations General Assembly in favor of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, the representative of Vía Campesina, Diego Montón, assessed from New York the process and its final outcome. The draft…
