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Secure and Equitable Land Rights in The Post-2015 Agenda
Secure and Equitable Land Rights in The Post-2015 Agenda
2
What makes secure Building on the
and equitable existing international
land rights so critical consensus on
to achieving the land rights
Sustainable Land is mentioned frequently in the Outcome
Document of the OWG.3 This reflects the already solid
Development Goals? international consensus achieved on this subject in
recent years.4
The Post-2015 Agenda must address the structural
factors that undermine sustainable development. It is This consensus is manifest, among others, in the
widely recognised that secure and equitable rights to United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
land and natural resources are central to this effort.1 Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP 2007), the Africa
Unions Framework and Guidelines for Land Policy in
Land rights empower people and provide a sense of Africa (2009), and the Voluntary Guidelines on the
dignity. They enhance food security and are Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries
fundamental to achieve the right to food and increase and Forests (2012), but also a growing number of
the productivity of small-scale food producers. They commitments by the private sector.
provide an incentive for ecosystem stewardship, and
they promote inclusive and equitable societies whilst We encourage governments to further align the
underpinning cultures and value systems. In most language and the ambition of the Agenda and its
countries of the world, land rights make the difference monitoring framework to these international
for girls and women that need education, income and standards.
voice. It is estimated that non-marketed services
derived from the use of land and natural resources
make up 50-90% of the total source of livelihoods of
rural households living in poverty world-wide.2
3
Our recommendations
Forests, rangelands, bodies of water, and related and the protection and restoration of ecosystems and
natural resources worldwide are often held and biodiversity (Goal 15).5
managed by communities through customary
institutions. Two billion people access and use To address this subject, delegations can build on
these resources, including 370 million Indigenous agreed language of the Voluntary Guidelines on the
Peoples for whom international instruments recognize Responsible Governance of Tenure,6 and the
distinct rights. Framework and Guidelines for Land and Policy in
Africa,7 as well as the UN Declaration on the Rights
The Post-2015 Agenda should strengthen rather of Indigenous Peoples and the recently released
than fragment these community-based and collective Outcome Document of the World Conference on
tenure systems, particularly in relation to poverty Indigenous Peoples.8
eradication (Goal 1), sustainable agriculture (Goal 2)
The achievement of land-related targets depends on We welcome the reference to this principle in
recognition of rights and qualitative procedures, the Outcome Document of the World Conference
namely inclusive, participatory and representative on Indigenous Peoples9 and, recently, by the UN
decision-making and accountability at all levels, Secretary General.10
including the principle of Free, Prior and Informed
Consent (FPIC), a right of indigenous peoples within We encourage governments to reintroduce this
international human rights instruments, and principle to be consistent with international
increasingly a principle to be extended to all local benchmarks. This is critical to ensure that
communities. sustainable development strategies respond to
peoples needs and avoid devastating consequences
on local communities.
4
3 Womens land rights
The Post-2015 Agenda should advance and monitor progress on secure womens land rights.
Supported by a robust body of evidence, the UN It is promising that the OWG Outcome Document
Secretary General has recently emphasised the role makes womens land rights explicit under target 5a.
that secure womens rights to land and natural It is of the utmost importance that this remains a
resources play in ending poverty and achieving a life stand-alone target to serve Goal 5, and continues to
of dignity for all,11 including reducing gender-based include inheritance rights as warranted by
discrimination and violence. internationally-agreed standards.12
During the OWG negotiations over 37 governments, Explicit reference to women and men in all the other
as well as the Group of 77 (G-77), championed the land-related targets as currently under Goal 1 is a
inclusion of gender equality and womens necessary safeguard to ensure that the gender gap is
empowerment in targets related to land. not inadvertently exacerbated and Goals are met for all.
The OWG Outcome Document proposes a much- 2030, about 3 billion people, or about 40 per cent of
needed Sustainable Development Goal that aims to the worlds population, will need proper housing and
make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, documented land.14
resilient and sustainable.Lack of secure and equitable
land rights lies at the heart of poor housing. Well over We believe that to meet the most basic needs of those
one billion people in urban areas currently do not have living in poverty in cities, the Post-2015 Agenda
security of tenure.13 In a world characterised by should advance and measure progress on secure land
massive demographic shifts, it is estimated that by rights in urban environments.
For their full benefits to materialize, rights to land and Likewise, language that refers to ownership only
natural resources must be secure. Secure land does not capture the range of individual and collective
tenure is the language used in the Voluntary tenure arrangements that vary among and within
Guidelines and the Rio+20 Outcome Document.15 countries, and may unintentionally exclude some of
Focusing solely on access to land does not these countries.
guarantee that an individual or community has
effective control over the longer term, limiting their To realise the transformative benefits of secure rights
confidence to invest and use the land. In addition, it to land the Post-2015 Agenda should ensure that all
may limit the applicability to legislative frameworks. women, men, indigenous peoples and local
This is especially true for women. communities have secure rights to land, property, and
natural resources necessary for their livelihoods and
well-being, and should devise a monitoring framework
accordingly.
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Measuring progress on rogress can and should be monitored on the full
P
range of individual and community-based tenure
land rights is feasible systems, including over common land and natural
resources.
To achieve progress towards targets, we need Measurement can and should focus on both legal
measurable and disaggregated indicators that can be frameworks and outcomes.
regularly reported on in a cost effective-manner. We Capturing perceptions of tenure security through
believe that for land rights such measurement is surveys is critical.
feasible in all countries. Measurement can combine qualitative and
quantitative information.
Land information is available from a variety of sources,
and with well-established methodologies. Where data Furthermore, there must be a realization that
gaps exist resources should be put in place to communities and individuals can generate their own
up-scale current best practices. data, geospatial information and statistics to
complement public information. For example,
The development of the Post-2015 Agenda provides a community-based monitoring systems are already
big opportunity to push the land rights evidence base contributing to monitoring the Strategic Plan for
forward, and we are encouraged by the emphasis Biodiversity 20112020.17 Peoples knowledge is key
given to the data revolution and participatory to mobilising citizens and devising accountability
methodologies.16 In the monitoring process, our mechanisms that will ultimately make the Agenda
experience affirms the following: truly transformative.
Secure and Goal 50 Achieve gender equality and Goal 8 0 Promote sustained, inclusive
equitable land empower all women and girls and sustainable economic
rights for women, growth []
men, indigenous
peoples and local Goal 11 Make cities and human Goal 10 Reducing inequality within and
communities settlements [] sustainable among countries
6
Endnotes
1
See, among the others, the 2009 IAASTD Report, The Outcome Document of the World Conference
8
the 2010 UN High Level Task Forces Updated on Indigenous Peoples mentions FPIC (A/69/L.1) in
Comprehensive Framework for Action, and the Section 20, as well as fair, independent [...]
Global Strategic Framework for Food Security & processes to advance and adjudicate the rights
Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security. of IPs pertaining to land, rights and resources
in Section 21, and secure land tenure in
2
TEEB. 2010. The Economics of Ecosystems and Section 26.
Biodiversity: Mainstreaming the Economics of
Nature: A synthesis of the approach, conclusions Ibid.
9
4
See, among the others, the 2014 African Unions 11
Ibid.
Common African Position (CAP), the 2013 Report of
the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the 12
See Art. 14, 15 and 16 of the Convention on the
Post-2015 Development Agenda, various reports Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
from the Sustainable Development Solutions Women, and among others, Voluntary Guidelines
Network, and 2014 IFADs Post-2015 Overview on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land,
Document. Fisheries and Forests, sections 3B4 and 4.6.
5
See Art 8 (J) of the Convention on Biological 13
UN-HABITAT. 2014. Background paper World
Diversity on the role played by knowledge of Habitat Day: Voices from Slums. Available at http://
indigenous peoples and local communities in unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. WHD-2014-Background-Paper.pdf
See also Sec. 197 of the Rio+20 Outcome
Document, as well as the Chennai Guidance for 14
UN-HABITAT. Undated. Housing & Slum Upgrading.
Implementation of the Integration of Biodiversity Website content from
and Poverty Eradication, recently adopted by the http://unhabitat.org/urban-themes/housing-slum-
CBD Conference of Parties, which explicitly upgrading
recognize the value of indigenous peoples and
local communities conserved territories and areas 15
Resolution A/RES/66/288 adopted by the General
(ICCAs). Assembly of the United Nations.
6
See in particular Chapter 9: Indigenous peoples and 16
Independent Expert Advisory Group (IEAG). 2014.
other communities with customary tenure systems, A World That Counts. Mobilising the Data Revolution
where it is affirmed that States should provide for Sustainable Development.
appropriate recognition and protection of the United Nations: New York.
legitimate tenure rights of indigenous peoples and
other communities with customary tenure 17
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, adopted
systems. by the Conference of Parties of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010.
7
See in particular Section. 3.1.3 on the need to
acknowledge the legitimacy of indigenous land
rights systems.
7
Information and This briefing is
contact also endorsed by
This technical briefing has been prepared by Action FA, Asian Farmers Association, Asia
A
Aid International, Biovision, Forest Peoples Program, ALRD, Association for Land Reforms and
the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), Global Witness, Development, Bangladesh
Huairou Commission, the Institute for Advanced CADPI, Centro para la autonoma y desarrollo
Sustainability Studies (IASS), the International de los pueblos indgenas, Nicaragua
Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the Center for Environment and Development,
International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs Cameroon
(IWGIA), Habitat for Humanity International, Landesa, CEMIRIDE, Centre for Minority Rights
the Millenium Institute, Namati, Oxfam International, Development, Kenya
the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), and the CIYA, Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association
Secretariat of the International Land Coalition. Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment,
United States
For further information, contact: Fundacin PRISMA, El Salvador
Catherine Gatundu at catherine.gatundu@actionaid. HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation, Switzerland
org; Paul McCann atpaulmccann@namati.org; Megan ICRAF, The World Agroforestry Center, Global
MacInnes at MMacInnes@globalwitness.org; Katia IFRI, International Forestry Resources and
Araujo at katia.araujo@huairou.org; Lorenzo Cotula at Institutions, Unites States
lorenzo.cotula@iied.org; Melany Grout at melanyg@ Indigenous Media Foundation, Nepal
landesa.org; Luca Miggiano at luca.miggiano@ The Indigenous Bubi People of Bioko Island
oxfamnovib.nl; Jenny Springer at jspringer@ IPF, Indigenous Peoples Foundation for
rightsandresources.org; or Stefania Battistelli at s. Education and Environment, Thailand
battistelli@landcoalition.org. Landnet Malawi
MACOFA, Mau Community Forestry Association,
Kenya
Photo credits Minority Rights Group International (MRG),
Peru United Kingdom
Alan Harvey / IFAD MBOSCUDA, Mbororo Social and Cultural
Mali Development Association, Cameroon
Candance Feith / OXFAM Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights
Paraguay NEFIN, Nepal Federation of Indigenous
Denise Muschel / HFHI Nationalities
India Ngorongoro Youth Development Association,
OXFAM Tanzania
Uganda OPDP, Ogiek Peoples Development Program,
James Akena / OXFAM Kenya
Tajikistan RECOFTC, The Center for People and Forests,
Andy Hall / OXFAM Thailand
Rural Development Fund, Kyrgyz Republic
Sabah Womens Action-Resource Group (Sawo)
SDDPA, Society for Development of Drought
Prone Area. India
SONIA for a Just New World, Italy
WILDAF, Women in Law and Development
in Africa, West Africa