Farmers march during ASEAN

Around 40 small farmers, landless farmworkers, rural youth, and women from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand marched today from University of the Philippines’ iconic Oblation statue to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the venue of the three-day civil society gathering, ASEAN Peoples’ Forum/ASEAN Civil Society Conference.

Dubbed as “Salubong and Pakikiisa” (Solidarity Walk), the marchers belonging to the international peasant movement, La Via Campesina joined more than 300 hundred

representatives from ASEAN civil society, peoples’ organizations, and NGOs gathered at CHR.

In a statement, the group urged ASEAN governments to respect, protect, and promote the right to land and access to justice of farmers and peasants in the region.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization, 70% of the food that people consume globally comes from small farmers.

“Small farmers and peasants feed the world. Peasants’ right must be secured to ensure that there can be food on every person’s table. We owe it all to the food producers of Southeast Asia to protect their rights”, said Elvira Baladad of PARAGOS-Pilipinas, a member of La Via Campesina.