PCFS slams the Aung San Suu Kyi-led Burma government for pushing this law and its impracticable amendments – a far cry from its promise of protecting the land rights of farmers. In fact, the VFV law was made stricter. Four years since NLD broke the country’s military junta, the government has opted to abide with the trends on land policies perpetuated by international and development finance institutions that undermine food sovereignty and deny the land rights of farmers and Indigenous Peoples. No plan to amend the law or even the constitution will be able to resolve landlessness in Burma if the development framework is to “draw more investment.”
Our voices here today could only resound the calls that the Indigenous Peoples of Cordillera have been demanding the government to heed for a long time. Policymakers must now begin to recognize the rights of one of the most vulnerable segments of the society, to protect and promote their access to and control over lands and resources, and to advance their right to genuine pro-people development.
PCFS LAC member Instituto Politecnico Tomas Katari (IPTK) hosted the Regional Training on Climate Justice in partnership with IBON International, held 15 to 16 April 2019 in Sucre, Bolivia. A total of 53 participants coming from Bolivia, Guatemala, Argentina, and Colombia joined the training.
This initiative aims to bring together a wide cross section of civil society global leadership to issue a Declaration and Call to Action that essentially say ‘enough is enough’ in the attacks on civil society and human rights defenders. The Summit issued a Declaration that leaders signed at the Summit as well as a more specific Call to Action for governments with actions that can make a difference.
The Movement Building Training is a collaborative effort of the PCFS and its members and networks in the target countries which was identified as a priority country where the building or strengthening of a people’s movement is urgently needed.
“We hope that the Belgrade Call to Action will push the governments of these countries to undertake appropriate measures that will put an end to the phenomenon of peasant killings and promote genuine agrarian reform to uplift farmers from their dire conditions,” Mallari stressed.