The
Road to the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural
Development and The Forum “Land, Territory and Dignity”
both to be Held in Porto Alegre – Brazil 2006

PRESENTATION

The Food and
Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is holding the
International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
(ICARRD) from 7th to 10th March.

This event is to be
held in Porto Alegre, on the premises of the Pontifical Catholic
University of Rio Grande del Sur (PUCRS).

Twenty-seven years
after the last Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development,
FAO representatives, Heads of State, ministers and representatives
from international agencies will meet to express their recognition of
the importance of agrarian reform and access to resources, land,
water and biodiversity in eradicating hunger and poverty across the
world.

In addition, a civil
society conference with a very broad agenda, the Forum “Land,
Territory and Dignity”, will be held on an equal footing,
facilitated by the International NGO/CSO Planning Committee for Food
Sovereignty (IPC).

The International
Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development represents a
crucial opportunity for us to meet and talk with governments in order
to deal with an issue which is a priority for social movements
worldwide. The short time we have at our disposal to prepare and
facilitate participation by our organisations is certainly a decisive
factor among the difficulties we are facing in steering the process
towards and productive outcome.

During these few
days, countless activities will be held which are of crucial
importance to our organisations as members of LA VIA CAMPESINA.
Overall, we must ensure that a wide variety of civil society
organisations is represented, including organisations of peasants and
landless people, fishermen, indigenous communities, rural workers,
women, herdsmen etc, with whom we can share experiences, find common
agendas, and interact with the governments and international agencies
in order to establish genuine and participatory agrarian reform,
which is vital in order to improve the living conditions of peasant
families, indigenous communities, African descendants, small farmers,
herdsmen, rural workers, fishermen, women and young people in general
the world over.

Why are we
going to Porto Alegre?
La
Via Campesina is universal and global, and
we represent the peasants’ voice against the neo-liberal model.
We believe it is our role to create a policy of alliances with other
organisations in order to re-affirm the fact that genuine and
original Agrarian Reform is the only way to eradicate poverty,
hunger, unemployment and marginalisation.

For La Via Campesina
this will be an opportunity to discuss the activities to be organised
for the next Summit on Food Sovereignty, strengthen the Seeds
Campaign, work on lobbying for the Peasant Rights Charter and the
defence of Human Rights, assess the activities we organised in Hong
Kong, carry out an evaluation of the Forums in Caracas and Mali and
above all increase visibility for the Global Campaign for Agrarian
Reform.

The Key
Elements of our Struggle:

We believe that
access to land, water and natural resources depend upon establishing
public policy and gaining public support in order to achieve genuine
and participatory Agrarian Reform.

We believe that only
Agrarian Reform can establish a real peasant farming system, which is
the fundamental basis of food sovereignty.

We consider Agrarian
Reform to be an essential process in order to eradicate hunger and
poverty and make the countryside a place in which peasants can live
in dignity and produce food.

We believe that it
is a priority to confer peasants worldwide with the right to demand
public policies guaranteeing sustainable peasant farming.

We are fighting for
genuine Agrarian Reform which includes the defence of our seeds,
space and land as part of a global vision necessary in order to
create a world more fit to live in, without the pollution caused by
multinational food companies and their genetically modified products.

This Agrarian Reform
prioritises gender equalities, breaking with patriarchal traditions
and establishing a new power balance between men and women. We have
taken on a new commitment to fight for Human Rights and Peasant
Rights.

This Agrarian Reform
will integrate young farmers and overcome the problems linked to
migratory flows, in which people’s mobility affects the future
of peasant and indigenous communities.
La
Via Campesina is coming into this conference
with the scales tipped in its favour following its victories,
mobilisation and actions against the WTO and the neoliberal model. We
have new proposals for achieving wellbeing and dignity for our
people, integrating all the best experiences at both local and global
levels, and creating new forms of alliance which will give us greater
strength in demanding respect and protection of our rights and
cultures across the world.

We now need to
update our theoretical and practical focus on Agrarian Reform by
exchanging experiences during the various events to be held, details
of which are given below.
Activities:

·
3 March, evening (7pm) Meeting with those delegates who have already
arrived. Convento Capuchinho, Porto Alegre.

·
4 and 5 March: International Meeting of Landless People. Organised by
La Via Campesina. Convento Capuchinho.

·
6 March: Meeting of La Via Campesina’s International Working
Committee for Agrarian Reform.

·
6 – 9 March: Forum “Land, Territory and Dignity”
(Parallel Forum). Organised by civil society (peasants and landless
people, fishermen, workers, indigenous people and NGOs).

·
7 – 10 March: International Conference on Agrarian Reform and
Rural Development. Organised by the FAO.

·
8 March: Mobilisation of men and women to celebrate International
Women’s Day.

·
7 – 10 March: La Via Campesina Brazil Camp in the Tesourinha.

·
7 – 10 March: Education Seminar on the PUC University grounds.

·
10 March: Meeting of the women from the La Via Campesina ICC.

·
11 – 13 March: Meeting of the La Via Campesina ICC.
Logistics:

The Organising
Committee of the Parallel Forum will send out an official letter of
invitation, allowing participants to start visa procedures in the
respective countries and buy the plane ticket.

Food and
accommodation will be provided by the organising committee of the
Parallel Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Accommodation will
be provided in the Convento Capuchinho, Rua Paulino Chaves, 291,
which is in the Santo Antonio neighbourhood of Porto Alegre, in Rio
Grande Do Sul.

Transport at the
forum will be provided by the organisers of the Parallel Forum.
Regarding
the Visa to enter Brazil: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) told
MST that they will facilitate the via applications: You do not need
an invitation letter when you go to apply for the visa at
the Brazilian Embassy. But you need to bring the invitation
letter that you will receive from the Parallel Forum. If there
is no Brazilian embassy in your country, pls contact Dulcinea at
MST : srimst@uol.com.br
In
case you encounter any problem processing your visa, please send a
mail directly to Dulcinea.
Recommendations:

We hope that all the
delegates will approach the ministries of Agrarian Reform of
Agriculture in their respective countries in order to try and
ascertain the position they will be presenting as a country during
the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural
Development.
The leaders of the ICC should send the list of delegates in accordance with the quotas per continent. For your information, the general quota finally approved was of 130 delegates. The expenses will be met by the forum organisation body according to the following breakdown: Asia 32, Latin America 39, Africa 26, Europe 13, North America including Mexico 7, indigenous peoples 6, Wescana 7.

Quotas
by geographical area

Quotas
by social sector

Asia

25%

Peasants
and landless

60%

Africa

20%

Fishermen

15%

Europe

10%

IPs

15%

Middle
East

05%

Workers

05%

Latin
America

30%

NGOs

05%

North
America

10%
(5% + 5% IPs)