A Future With The Right To Land, A Future For The Right To Self-determination – Scoop.co.nz

Tuesday, 30 March 2021, 3:19 pmArticle: IPMSDL

For many Indigenous Peoples communities across the world,the fight against landlessness and the defense of ancestrallands marks this years commemoration of Dayof the Landless.

Landlessness, lack of land rightsrecognition and ownership, and systemic land grabbing remainamong the maindrivers of social inequality and oppression forIndigenous Peoples (IP), farmers, and rural workers. Amidseveral victoriesto recognize ancestral land rights, nearly one-quarterof the world remains landless including IndigenousPeoples who remain the poorestwith high cases of hunger and malnutrition. The IPoppression as seen in landlessness and discriminationremains a challenge not only for their fundamental right androot of identity and existence but also in their role intackling sustainable food production, climate change, andprotection of biodiversity.

They are pushed tolandlessness by imperialist plunder, government andcorporate development projects, warand conflict, logging,mining,mega-damconstruction, plantation,colonialtransmigration policies, and even forestconservation projects. In all these, indigenous womenand children are also put at a greater risk of harassmentand exploitation.

The suffering inflicted against IPcommunities not only manifests in such overt acts ofviolence; it is manifested in land laws and policiesfavoring big businesses and foreign investments to open andencroach ancestral lands.

Even during the pandemic,entryand construction of destructive projects in IP landscontinue. These also fuels conflictand militarization ofIP communities resulting in forcibleevictions and internal displacements.

But IP landdefenders and its advocates do not take this sitting down.Globalmovements to defend IP continue to grow even amidstincreasing criminalization,harassment,terrorist-tagging,and killingswith impunity by state security forces.

As states,world leaders, and corporations converge in globalsummits on food systems and agriculture, IPMSDLexpresses condemnation and great concern as imperialistcontrol and corporate powers continue to dominate. Thestructural roots of landlessness, hunger and poverty, andgrowing human rights violations to those who stand againstit, will remain unaddressed without genuine representationfrom Indigenous Peoples, rural workers, farmers, andpeasants, and peoples movements.

On the Day of theLandless, lets amplify our call for the recognition of IPcollective and self-determined rights to own, manage,utilize land, territories, and resources.

IPMSDL joinsIP movements, advocates, peasants, rural and agriculturalsectors, and other marginalized sectors in calling forgenuine land and agrarian reforms and a better future freefrom landlessness andoppression.

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A Future With The Right To Land, A Future For The Right To Self-determination - Scoop.co.nz