Global Indigenous Peoples' Food Sovereignty Forum

Sunday, November 15, 2009
For Immediate Release

(Rome, Italy) Indigenous Peoples arrived in Rome on Friday to  participitate in the Global Indigenous Peoples' Food Sovereignty  Forum, taking place from November 13th to 16th. The Forum is a part of  “People's Food Sovereignty Now!”, the Civil Society  Organizations' forum, parallel to the United Nations World Summit  on Food Security, from November 16th to 18th at the headquarters of  the UN Food and Agricultural Organization.

Indigenous Peoples came from places as diverse as the Amazon rainforest  to the Arctic homeland of the Saami to the deserts of Africa, the  islands of the Pacific and the mountains of the Himalayas to sound the  alarm on the dire effects suffered by their communities from the food  crisis. Their communities are the most impacted by hunger and  malnutrition, constituting a violation of their right to food.  Indigenous knowledge and practices have the potential to improve local  and global food security but have not been recognized and have been  met with opposition in many cases.

Indigenous representatives shared stories of how they are being  impacted by the food crisis. They also identified many causes of food  insecurity for Indigenous communities, including the loss of land,  territories and resources, the non-recognition and violation of their  Indigenous rights, the commodification of genetic resources,  environmental pollution and climate change, among others. The  representatives stressed the importance of food sovereignty over  security, noting their livelihoods and cultures are linked to their  lands and territories.

They developed proposals and strategies calling for recognition of  their self-determination, their rights and the control of their lands,  territories and resources. Indigenous groups called for governments to  support their traditional practices, to enable their full and  effective particiapation in all discussion on food security, and to  uphold their rights. They also called for the UN Food and Agriculture  Organization to establish a Working Group with Indigenous Peoples in  their Committee on Food Security.

Hasina Kharbhih, a Khasi Indigenous woman from India, noted that, “Our  Indigenous communities in Asia and across the rest of the world are  really suffering right now. All the responses to this food crisis must  ensure our peoples' rights and protect our food sovereignty. There  has to be a recognition that we are facing some of the worst effects  of the global food crisis, but also that we have so much to contribute  from our traditional, sustainable and organic methods, and the need  for our full participation in all levels of discussions. Our rights as  Indigenous Peoples are not negotiable and can play a large role in  solving this food crisis.”

The Forum concludes tomorrow with the adoption of a final declaration  containing a number of recommendations which will be read at the UN  World Summit on Food Security, on November 17th, 2009.