During The 55th Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD55) that took place from 1 to 10 February 2017 at United Nations Headquarters in New York under the priority theme “Strategies for the eradication of poverty to achieve sustainable development for all”, VIVAT International in collaboration with Mining Working Group, Greek Orthodox Church Diocese of New York, the Mercy International organized a side-event under the title “Defense of Land and Water as A Strategy to Eradicate Poverty”.
Two of the speakers—Fr. Nicholas Barla, SVD and Fr. Jean-Paul Pezzi, MCCJ—are VIVAT International members. Fr. Nicholas Barla focuses on defending the rights of the indigenous peoples in Eastern part of India in regards to land and water. Meanwhile, Fr. Pezzi broadens the perspective by providing information on landgrabbing phenomenon in the world today by big mining corporations.
For more information, see attached is the link to the page of the event: https://un.goarch.org/2017-csocd