Many indigenous and traditional farming (or campesino) communities are struggling to protect the land on which their livelihoods depend. Often living in conditions of extreme poverty, they rely on their land for food, shelter, and cultural identity. In some cases, pollution from mining threatens to seep into the land and water. In others, communities have been forced from their land for development projects or monoculture plantations, condemning them to internal displacement and landlessness. Others campaign for sustainable land use, seeking to halt patterns of destruction for the benefit of future generations.
Defenders of land rights, culture, and natural resources can find themselves facing powerful interests and brutal opposition. Some have approached PBI for protection after they have been attacked or their colleagues assassinated. Many others have been subjected to criminal prosecutions based on spurious charges.
Photo by Prensa Comunitaria.
On July 18, PBI-Guatemala posted: “Today members of the Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa face a hearing in a process of criminalizing their right to defend their territory Ch’orti’.”
Photo by Noticias Oaxaca NVI.
PBI-Colombia has posted:
“We accompany the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, @sanjoapartadó in the commemoration of the massacre of July 8, 2000, in which 6 of its members were murdered in the village of La Unión by paramilitaries in collusion with the security forces. To remember is an act of resistance.”
PBI-Honduras has posted:
“Yesterday [June 24], we attended the Assembly of the @CNTC [National Union of Rural Workers] El Progreso. The organization has been defending the rights of the campesinos for more than 30 years, claiming their access to land and supporting the development of agricultural production and small livestock projects.
Photo: PBI-Mexico was part of the Civilian Observation Mission (MCO) in July 2023 documenting concerns about this megaproject.
Photo: The Civil Force in Veracruz.
PBI-Colombia has posted:
“We accompanied the Peace Community @sanjoapartado, touring the villages of Mulatos, Resbalosa and Calzón Rojo in #Urabá.
Their community work strengthens the defense of the territory from food sovereignty. We recognize this political project, which persists in search of peace and respect for life. #WeArePBI”
Following a year-long project involving consultations with human rights defenders, Peace Brigades International joined a coalition of human rights organizations to release the Declaration +25, a landmark document systematizing relevant developments in regional and international human rights law and standards of the last 25 years.
