New Report by the UN Working Group on UNDROP on territorialities of land and sea
After receiving contributions from various UNDROP rights-holder movements and organisations, as well as States, the UN Working Group on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas recently released its latest report on the territorialities of land and sea. The report highlights the growing gap between the recognition of territorial rights under international law and their implementation, with rural women and communities relying on customary or collective tenure particularly affected.
The report points to extreme territorial inequality: 85 per cent of agricultural holdings are smaller than two hectares but control only 9 per cent of cultivable land, while the largest 0.1 per cent control more than half. Dispossession also affects fisheries, pastoral territories and areas targeted by climate, conservation and renewable-energy projects, as well as communities affected by conflict and displacement.
The report calls for stronger, binding measures to protect territorial rights, including legal recognition of collective and customary territories, restitution and compensation for dispossession, and stronger rights for rural women. It also recommends limits on land and water concentration, agrarian reform and redistribution, legally binding human-rights instruments to regulate business enterprises, and meaningful consultation and, free, prior and informed consent for development and climate-related projects.
Read the full report below:
