Radio Mundo Real

A delegation of the Latin American Coordination of Countryside Organizations (CLOC-Via Campesina) appeared this week before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) based in Washington, D.C. There, they talked about the systemic human, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights violations of peasants throughout the continent. They also cited Cuba and Bolivia as examples to be followed.

The members of the CLOC Secretariat Deolinda Carrizo and Diego Montón (Argentina) talked about this in interview with Real World Radio. The hearing was facilitated by members of the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) of Argentina.

Monton told Real World Radio that the presence of CLOC at the OAS does not avoid the debate on the organization’s discrimination against countries like Cuba, or the campaign of some Latin American countries over media monopolies. He said “the peasant was not identified” as part of the Latin American system, so we requested a hearing.

The mission’s main objective was to develop an inter-American human rights agenda with the presence of human rights missions from Argentina, Colombia, Honduras or Guatemala, to mention some examples. Daniel Pascual, of the Guatemalan CUC, would also participate in the mission.

Deolinda Carrizo said that key issues of the peasant and indigenous agenda in the Americas were mentioned, such as land grabbing, the patenting of seeds and genetically modified seeds. Concepts such as food sovereignty and the agrarian reform are essential.

She also mentioned that the report submitted before the IACHR is the result of the international work of La Via Campesina, in their incidence on the creation of a Peasants’ Charter, an effort they are doing before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights based in Geneva, Switzerland.