On 30 December 2020, nine Tumandok indigenous leaders were killed and 16 others arrested by the Philippine Army and National Police in a joint operation on Panay Island, located south of the Philippines. State forces allege that those killed were members of an insurgent group and that upon being served search warrants for illegal possession of firearms and explosives, they…
“The US's recent decision to back the waiver of intellectual property rights of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) shows that people power works,” said Sam Cossar, Co-coordinator of the Economic Justice and Resisting Neoliberalism program of Friends of the Earth International (FOEI). “The pressure is really now on the European Union (EU) and Australia not to continue blocking it. It…
“Today high income countries are vaccinating 25 times faster than the lowest income countries,” warned the Coordinator of the Development and Intellectual Property Programme at Third World Network (TWN), Sangeeta Shashikant, on Thursday. “Intellectual property waivers are a must in the context of a pandemic,” she added in an interview with Real World Radio. This Friday, the World Trade Organisation…
Representatives from different trade unions affiliated to the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) stressed their commitment with the struggle for racial equality today. They also expect to ratify this commitment during the 4th Continental Congress to be held by TUCA from 20-23 April. With the workshop titled “The fight for racial equality in trade unions and the world…
Real World Radio interviewed Francisca Jiménez, Deputy Chair at TUCA, in charge of closing the second pre-congress workshop of the 4th Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) Congress. The activity titled “The trade union strategy related to the reforms of social protection systems in light of the ‘Future of Work’” was supported by the Bureau for Workers´ Activities (ACTRAV)…
The first workshop ahead of the 4th Congress of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) focused on the gender perspective and gender justice. Real World Radio interviewed Jordania Ureña, Trade Union Policy and Education Secretary at TUCA, who acted as facilitator during the workshop. Ureña highlighted that “gender issues should not only be dealt by women. This is…
This Monday, the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas will start four days of intense work with its affiliated organisations, allied and international institutions that support its work, through four pre-congress workshops ahead of their 4th Continental Congress to take place from 20-23 April. Both events will be held online. “The creation of these spaces is part of a process…
Marianela Mejía Solórzano and her sister Jennifer, members of the Honduran Black Fraternal Organisation, OFRANEH, were detained on 3 March of this year. They are among the 32 OFRANEH members who currently face arrest warrants, accused of supposedly “usurping” lands from the company Bienes y Raíces Juca SRL which plans to build real estate projects on ancestral territories. The arrest…
Roberto David Castillo Mejía is a Honduran businessman, former government employee for the state energy agency, and later Executive Director of the company in charge of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project: Desarrollos Energéticos S.A (DESA). Berta Cáceres and the Lenca community from Rio Blanco opposed the installation of DESA’s project on the Gualcarque River. The project was granted a 20-year…
On Thursday 25 February, Nury Martinez, Chair of the National Agricultural Union Federation (FENSUAGRO), member of La Via Campesina in Colombia, will address the plenary meeting of the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council. She will denounce the systematic violence and repression of peasant organisations in Colombia, as well as the ongoing selective threats against defenders of land…
