Translated by Ana Moretti
The third and last Assembly at the People’s Summit for Social and Environmental Justice happened this Friday, where the goals, commitments and the fight of the organizations and social movements for the next years were presented. This event occurred parallel to the Official UN Conference and introduced the people’s proposals for the crisis at the environmental field and the political and economic systems.
The documents presented at the Assembly are the result of five Convergence Plenaries, which took place on 16 and 17 June, and are the source for a final document which shall be handed to the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.
In the field of Rights (for social and environmental justice), discussed at Plenary 1, it was agreed that, in order to guarantee them, it is necessary to strengthen human rights and change public policies, the capitalist mode of production that overrules, oppresses and prompts the doom of popular culture, amongst other measures.
With regard to the defense of common goods and to the commodification of life (Plenary 2), it was agreed that, in order to assure the right to land and territory, it is necessary to implement agrarian regulation. According to the attending organizations, the Social Cartography is the proper tool to achieve this goal. It is as well necessary to implement public policies specially aimed at structuring these changes and bankrolling socio-environmental projects for the communities.
Food sovereignty, defended at Plenary 3, determined the strengthening of small land agriculturist and indigenous people. It is necessary to control the use of agrotoxic products in industrial scale and to fortify the agriculture ideology.
With regards to energy and to extraction industry, the subject of [Plenary 4>http://cupuladospovos.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Plen%C3%A1ria-4-NUESTRAS-SOLUCIONES.pdf], it was agreed that renewable and decentralized-management energy are alternatives for the world energy crisis. It is necessary to apply proper punishment to the organizations that pollute and cause environmental issues. The agenda also brought immaterial common goods, for instance, communication and culture, which are currently mercantilized and need to be democratized.
Work was discussed at Plenary 5. It was agreed that the agrarian reform, the abolition of the agrarian business and the denial of nature commodification are important measures to settle and humanize labor. The punishment against labor rights violation is a topic for the attending organizations at the People’s Summit.