{"id":46328,"date":"2021-06-16T12:14:42","date_gmt":"2021-06-16T12:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev6.blazedream.in\/ICSF\/samudra\/the-medan-declaration"},"modified":"2021-08-18T09:35:07","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T09:35:07","slug":"the-medan-declaration","status":"publish","type":"samudra","link":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/samudra\/the-medan-declaration\/","title":{"rendered":"The Medan Declaration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Document : Post-tsunami Meet<\/span><\/p>\n

The Medan Declaration<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Declaration on \u0093Rebuilding Peasants’ and Fisherfolk’s Livelihoods After the Earthquake and Tsunami Catastrophes<\/span><\/p>\n

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This declaration was adopted on the 21 February 2005 at Langsa, Aceh, Indonesia by the participants of the \u0093Regional Conference on Rebuilding Peasants’ and Fisherfolk’s Livelihoods After the Earthquake and Tsunami Catastrophes<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

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Organizations of peasants, fisher peoples and victims of the earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004, as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work with, and support, peasants’ and fishers’ organizations, came together at the \u0093Regional Conference on Rebuilding Peasants’ and Fisherfolk’s Livelihoods After the Earthquake and Tsunami Catastrophes between the 17th and 19th of February 2005. Over 80 participants from 11 countries, representing around 20 organizations, were present.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the 17th February some of the participants visited Serdang Bedagai, North Sumatra. And then the participants participated in a field trip to Aceh on the 20th -21st of February, visiting Banda Aceh, Sigli, Bireun, Lhokseumawe, Langsa and Medan, the six coordination centres of the KSKBA (Koalisi Solidaritas Kemanusiaan Bencana Alam di Aceh dan Sumatera UtaraCoalition of Humanitarian Solidarity for Natural Disaster in Aceh and North Sumatra).<\/span><\/p>\n

The tragic effects on the lives, property, livelihoods and socioeconomic basis of hundreds of thousands of people in the tsunami-affected regions of Asia and Africa are immense, and an important part of the victims are peasants and small-scale, artisanal, traditional, beach-based, labour-intensive fishing communities, living in marginalized socioeconomic conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over 220,000 people died and many others are still missing. We are in solidarity with their families and communities, whose lives and livelihoods have been shattered by this unprecedented disaster. We recognize and acknowledge the immediate support and commitment of all the people and groups that have shown great solidarity with the victims of the tsunami catastrophe.<\/span><\/p>\n

The victims, their communities and social organizations must be enabled to rebuild their livelihoods themselves. Victims of the tsunami, their communities and organizations have to be the key actors in rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such rebuilding has to be done by the people, should be democratic and non-discriminatory, and lead to improved and sustainable livelihoods. Traditional ecological knowledge systems for protecting and managing natural ecosystems, biodiversity and human habitats, have to play a central role in this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Especially in disaster situations such as this, it is crucial to strengthen peasants’ and fisherfolk organizations as key actors that defend the interests of these communities and support coalitions, networks and campaigns to further the cause of peasants and farming communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is essential to guarantee that funds are utilized for building public infrastructure for fishing and peasant communities, like water and sanitation, free schooling, public housing and building of religious centres, and medical facilities that provide free healthcare and basic medicines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Women and children<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In the tsunami relief and rehabilitation work, special attention has to be given to children by setting up educational, and health and trauma care infrastructure especially designed for them. Women and elderly people, particularly those who have lost all their relatives, also need specific attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts for the tsunami victims have to be transparent. People have the right to know where the funds go and for what they are used. International and national NGOs and institutions have to respond to the agenda and demands articulated by organizations and communities of fisherfolk and peasants for the rebuilding of their livelihoods in the long term.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a need for autonomous, independent disaster management and preparedness agencies, as well as early warning systems, both nationally, regionally and internationally, which should be done by the people themselves. These bodies should be co-ordinated by democratically elected committees, should respect human rights and be aided by experts and supporters of fishing and peasant communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

We call on governments, international institutions and other policy-making bodies as well as NGOs and peoples’ organizations to support and guarantee the following rights for small-scale farmers, peasants and fisherfolk in the tsunami-affected regions:<\/span><\/p>\n

In the case of peasant communities:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Houses have to be rebuilt in their original locations, based on traditional practices and local knowledge, in contrast to some official attempts to relocate people under the pretext of safety. In case of potential safety problems, a dialogue with the affected communities should lead to an adequate solution, also for the communities concerned.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Ensure that peasants are not displaced from their own traditional lands and homes, and that they can stay on their farms.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Guarantee clear and unambiguous rights to their lands, including recognizing customary rights where applicable; ensure clearly defined demarcation of boundaries of the lands they have been living in before the tsunami devastation; and, in case of land being wiped out by the tsunami, guarantee equitable provision of land to the peasants.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Systems for irrigation, traditional wells, sanitation and potable drinking water have to be rehabilitated. Peasants and their organizations must have a clear say in the planning and execution process, including initiatives for soil desalination.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Rehabilitation efforts have to ensure that land appropriated by transnational corporations or other vested interests will be returned to peasant owners.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts have to take into account people’s food sovereignty, including a genuine agrarian reform programme.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 We demand that national authorities reject genetically modified (GM) food aid and any imported food aid that depresses local prices, purchasing food locally wherever possible, and matching local cultural and social tastes and preferences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Ensure a fair and equitable trading and market system that will guarantee remunerative prices for crops and reasonable costs for inputs at the national level.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 General training and education for building up human resources among peasants, and training centres for organic agriculture have to be established. Promote, in tsunami-hit areas, the practice of organic agriculture as an alternative to the pressure by multinational companies for transgenic seeds or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and industrial agricultural production.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Co-operatives managed by peasants and their organizations must be set up as well as transportation infrastructure for agricultural products.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the case of fishers and their coastal communities:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Design housing projects that are safe and appropriate for fisherfolk and coastal communities engaged in beach-based fishing activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Prevent private corporate interests, including in the tourism and travel industry, from appropriating coastal areas for profit-making activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Ensure that craft and gear for small-scale fishing communities are designed and manufactured by traditional artisanal fishworkers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Make certain that government aid for fisheries development goes to small-scale traditional fishing communities, and not to large-scale, mechanized, harbour-based fishing interests.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Prevent the eviction of fishing communities from coastal areas and recognize their rights of access to, and management of, coastal resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Enforce legislation to ensure fishing zones only for traditional, small-scale fishers, with distances to be determined as locally appropriate, in consultation with fishing communities and their organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Ensure that rehabilitation plans involve fishers, their communities and organizations, respecting customary law and traditional rights and practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Emphasize that, while rejecting the neoliberal agenda for reconstruction and rehabilitation, fishers and their organizations stress that the above principles should be applicable for all disasters, big or small.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Strengthen local, national, regional and international organizations of fisherfolk and fishing communities. As NGOs and other organizations that work in support of peasant and fisherfolk organizations and communities, we commit ourselves to:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Support the defence of labour-intensive, beach-based fisheries and the livelihood interests of peasants, as well as the monitoring of relief and reconstruction efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Raise awareness and campaign against dumping of discarded fishing vessels in tsunami-affected areas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Support initiatives by the victims and their communities for a social audit of relief and reconstruction efforts so that they can control how and for what purposes funds are used.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Demand that governments of tsunami-hit countries desist from anti-people and anti-democratic activities and policies, and respect the rights of the people for justice, without any discrimination whatsoever, whether this relates to their nationality, ethnicity or religious beliefs, and guarantee the safety of all those engaged in relief and rehabilitation work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Press international NGOs to respond to the capacity-building and other requirements of fisherfolk and peasant organizations in order to strengthen themselves, and to fisherfolk and peasants to rebuild their livelihoods according to their needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adopted on the 21st of February 2005 at Langsa, Aceh, Indonesia by the following participants of the <\/i>Regional Conference on Rebuilding Peasants’ and Fisherfolk’s Livelihoods After the Earthquake and Tsunami Catastrophes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Signatories:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The affected fisherfolk and peasant<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizations National organizations:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Federasi Serikat Petani Indonesia (FSPI), Indonesia<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 National Fisheries Solidarity (NAFSO) and Movement for National Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR), Sri Lanka<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 National Fishworkers Forum (NFF), India<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Federation of Southern Fisherfolk (FSF), Thailand<\/span><\/p>\n

International organizations:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Via Campesina<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP)<\/span><\/p>\n

NGOs and other organizations supporting peasant and fisherfolk organizations present at the Conference:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Green Movement of Sri Lanka<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 OXFAM Solidarity, Belgium<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 MORE AND BETTER, Italy<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Centro Internazionale Crocevia, Italy<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Focus on the Global South, Thailand<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 INSIST, Yogyakarta, Indonesia<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 YSIK, Jakarta, Indonesia<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 YBA, Aceh, Indonesia<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 JALA, Medan, Indonesia<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 LEUHAM, Aceh, Indonesia<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 SBSU, Medan, Indonesia<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 SINTESA, Medan, Indonesia<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 LENTERA, Medan, Indonesia<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 KAU, Jakarta, Indonesia<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Coordinadora de Residentes de Tlatelolco (CODE), Mexico<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 CECAM, Mexico<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Japan National Confederation of Farmers’ Movement (NOUMINREN), Tokyo, Japan<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Confederation Paysan, France<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Catalan Department for Cooperation and Development, Spain<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0095 Hyogo Research and Quake Restoration Centre, Kobe, Japan<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Document : Post-tsunami Meet The Medan Declaration Declaration on \u0093Rebuilding Peasants’ and Fisherfolk’s Livelihoods After the Earthquake and Tsunami Catastrophes This declaration was adopted on the 21 February 2005 at Langsa, Aceh, Indonesia by the participants of the \u0093Regional Conference on Rebuilding Peasants’ and Fisherfolk’s Livelihoods After the Earthquake and Tsunami Catastrophes Organizations of peasants, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":[],"tags":[],"region":[],"source":[],"country":[],"state":[],"city":[],"samudra_category":[5309],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/samudra\/46328"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/samudra"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/samudra"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46328"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=46328"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=46328"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=46328"},{"taxonomy":"state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/state?post=46328"},{"taxonomy":"city","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/city?post=46328"},{"taxonomy":"samudra_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/samudra_category?post=46328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}