Civil society continues fight against land grabbing

Rome, Italy, 17 October 2011 - As the 37th session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) begins at FAO, civil society organizations (CSO) welcome Saturday's results of the second round of negotiations on the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, and urge governments to conclude negotiations as soon as possible.

After an intense week of negotiations, 74 percent of the text of the guidelines was adopted, including crucial issues for social movements and organizations, like the recognition and protection of customary systems of land tenure, forest and fisheries, and protection of the defenders of the rights of farmers, fishermen, indigenous peoples, pastoralists and nomads, as well as a commitment to not criminalize social struggles in defense of their natural resources.

"The adopted text reflects the fact that we were here, reminding government officials that they have an obligation to ensure our interests," said Kalissa Regier, Canadian farmer, on behalf of La Via Campesina.

The CSOs also presented the Dakar Appeal Against Land Grabbing, endorsed by 870 organizations around the world, to the chair of CFS, Dr. Noel D. De Luna. They asked that this appeal be considered in the negotiations and for a ban on land grabbing. However, this and other proposals of the CSOs were strongly rejected by several governments.

"I saw several governments attempt to get rid of the human rights approach to the governance of natural resources. It was a tough fight, "said Sofia Monsalve Suárez, a key negotiator and representative of FIAN International. "The use of natural resources for food production is a matter of right and cannot be commoditized."

Because of the complexity of the text, the negotiations were not concluded. Several contentious issues, such as investment in agriculture, still remain. The Committee on Food Security, the new governing body of agricultural and food policy, will determine when the next negotiations will take place and in the coming week will discuss about others important issues as food price volatility and trade policies.

Some of the main events organized by CSOs around this week:

Monday, 17 October
12.30 - 14.00 Lebanon Room (D209)
o "The NGO/CSO Forum" Side-event with a focus on Land Grabbing and civil society expectations for the CFS.

Tuesday, 18 October
12.30 - 14
Iran Room (B016)
"Africa can Feed Itself" Side-event, a dialogue between African governments and African family farmers which will focus on what investments are needed to promote sustainable agricultural development.

Wednesday, 19 October
13.00 - 13.30
Outside FAO (Food sovereignty tent, Piazza di Porta Capena/Salita di San Gregorio)
Press Conference and Via Campesina action "Small Farmers for a Corporate Free Agriculture"

17.00-19.00
Ethiopia Room
Strategy meeting: WTO negotiations and CFS role on food trade governance

Friday, 21 October
14.30 - 16.00
Iran Room (B016)
CSM Evaluation of the CFS 37

Kalissa Regier, Sofia Monsalve Suárez and other civil society representatives are available for interview.

For more information contact:
* Monica Di Sisto Fair/Cisa, Fair/Italian Committee on Food Sovereignty, monicadisisto [at] gmail.com, +49 157 8188 6732
* Marina Litvinsky, FIAN International, litvinsky [at] fian.org, +39 335 8426752
* Annelies Schorpion, La Via Campesina, a.schorpion [at] eurovia.org, +39 331 9209210

Wilma Strothenke, Coordinator Communication, FIAN
********************************
FIAN International Secretariat
Willy-Brandt-Platz 5/ D-69115 Heidelberg Germany
Tel +49(0)6221 65300 56/ Fax +49(0)6221 830545
Postal Address: PO Box 102243/ D-69012 Heidelberg Germany
e-mail: strothenke [at] fian.org/ www.fian.org

FIAN is an international human rights organization that has been advocating the realization of the right to food for more than 20 years. FIAN consists of national sections and individual members in over 50 countries around the world. fian.org