Protected Areas Law and its consequences for the communities that inhabit the areas
(this article was orginally published in the Bulletin 40, December 2018)
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The Agreement on Socio-economic Aspects and the Agrarian Situation (1996) points out that a sustainable and lasting peace must be based on a socio-economic development oriented to the common good that responds to the needs of the entire population, in order to overcome poverty, extreme poverty, discrimination and social marginalization. The Peace Accords develop a set of guidelines to address the agrarian situation and rural development as well as a goal of transforming the structure of land tenure and use.
In 2017, more than 20 years after the signing of the peace deal, the structural problem; the unjust distribution of land, which generates high rates of poverty, malnutrition and exclusion, is even more pronounced than at the end of the war. The UNDP stated in 2017 that inequities, weak state institutions and land concentration continue to make it impossible to improve livelihoods.
Forced evictions have continued to be a central concern of rural organizations and communities in various regions of the country, even though families and communities are in the process of negotiating and dialogue with the government's agrarian institutions (Land Fund and Secretariat of Agrarian Affairs) to regulate their right to access the land.
In this thematic area we accompany the Veracruz Union of Peasant Organizations (UVOC), which advises communities that demand their right to land in a region where large estate landownership prevails.
From the La Mocca farm to the 12 Tz’ikin community: a story of unfinished struggle
Between 2006 and 2010, PBI accompanied 149 Q'eqchi' peasant families from Finca La Mocca, members of the Verapaz Union of Campesino Organizations (UVOC), in their struggle to have their right to access to land recognized. Thirteen years later, we met with these families once more to reflect on those times and learn about what happened after the land was handed over. 1
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UVOC: 40 years of resistance, organization and struggle in defense of the rights of campesino and indigenous families
2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the Union of Peasant Organizations (UVOC), an organization that PBI has been accompanying since 2005. We will provide a brief historical review of both the achievements and the challenges encountered along the way.
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Access to land and defence of territory
Evictions and violation of the rights of indigenous communities continues
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Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) of the Verapaces
Communities unionized in the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) of the Verapaces struggle for their territory in spite of death threats and criminalization. Learn about the struggle of Don Lorenzo and Don Pedro of the Santa Elena Samanzana II community, Cobán, Alta Verapaz.
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Verapaz Union of Peasant Organisations UVOC
Check out this documentary that tells the story of the struggle of the community of La Primavera in the municipality of San Cristobal, Alta Verapaz, to recover the land on which they have lived for generations. Despite receiving land titles in 2015, the struggle faces new challenges. The community is member of UVOC.
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