Defense of Territory
We support the rights of Indigenous people in regards to access to land and determination over their territories including Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. Our efforts focus on supporting communities defending their territories, natural resources and livelihoods in the face of mining and other extractivist industries. We echo our Guatemalan partners who see the defense of ancestral and Indigenous language, culture, historic memory, as well as individual and collective bodies as an important continuation of the defense of territory.
Some subthemes in this area include support of communities impacted by Canadian mining companies and other extractive industries; food sovereignty; land access; and support for criminalized land defenders.
Related posts about defense of territory
Cooperant Update: Protected Areas in Guatemala: A Conservation Project that Only Conserves Elite Economic Interests
By: Mélisande Séguin, Campesino Committee of the Highlands cooperant Cooperant Update: Protected Areas in Guatemala: A Conservation Project that Only Conserves Elite Economic Interests In 1989, the Guatemalan Congress adopted the Protected Areas Law and created the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP) with the goal of guaranteeing the protection [...]
Solidarity with the CCDA in the Face of a New Wave of Repression Against the Campesino Movement
Indigenous and campesino communities across Guatemala continue to face the threat of violent evictions, criminalization, and attacks. In just the past few weeks, the CCDA has documented a worrying series of human rights violations affecting its leaders and members. BTS expresses its solidarity with the CCDA as they continue to [...]
Cooperant Update: Women and the agrarian resistance in Guatemala
Women and the agrarian resistance in Guatemala By: Mélisande Séguin, Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) Cooperant CCDA women activists, planning and organizing. Land dispossession as a historical root of the latest wave of evictions Guatemala has one of the most unequal land distribution and titling systems in [...]
With the threat of more evictions looming, the CCDA speaks out
CCDA leadership reads a statement denouncing corrupt actors threatening communities with eviction. After receiving information indicating that even more forced evictions may be carried out in the next few days, the CCDA shared the following: Statement from the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) Greetings to the people [...]
Cooperant Update: Ten months after forced eviction, the Nueva Jerusalén Wiscoyol community is still landless
Ten months after forced eviction, the Nueva Jerusalén Wiscoyol community is still landless By Mélisande Séguin, CCDA Cooperant On August 9, 2023, police and private security forces attacked the Xinka community of Nueva Jerusalén Wiscoyol and ruthlessly burnt people’s homes and possessions under the supervision of state authorities. Ten months [...]
Cooperant Update: Criminalization Continues to Threaten the Agrarian Movement
Criminalization Continues to Threaten the Agrarian Movement The CCDA speaks out against the criminalization of General Coordinator Neydi Juracán and the campesino movement. Photo credit: CCDA By Mélisande Séguin, CCDA Cooperant Criminalization is the malicious use of the criminal justice system to paralyze and repress movements for social [...]