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Land Policies under Rights Review
As we approach the end of another year, Land Times reflects on the state of the land and the people. The period covered in this issue is one of review and evaluation of the performance of states and public institutions at all levels in the management of people’s land and natural resources amid popular calls
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Land Investment in South Sudan: A Dangerous Game for the World’s Newest Country
In July 2011, after thirty years of civil war and the resulting damage to housing, land and the economy, South Sudan emerged a “free” and “sovereign” state, although highly fragmented and dependent on aid. This fragile nation with rampant corruption makes it a lucrative target for widespread private investment and land acquisition. The current trend of land grabbing involving African
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UN Judges Egypt’s Habitat Rights Performance
GENEVA—On 2 December 2013, following its review and formal dialog with the Arab Republic of Egypt, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) publicly issued its concluding observations on the state’s performance under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This periodic evaluation was severely delayed, while the state failed to meet its reporting deadline
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Standing on Shaky Ground: Adverse Possession in Egypt
A principal unifying factor in early land administration in the MENA region reflects the predominance of various currents of Islam, with its egalitarian traditions and tenets of social justice and equality. The 19th Century Ottoman administration codified the prevailing land tenure systems into a set of regulations that governments still follow in much of the region; however, the independent states
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Habitat in the Egyptian Constitution
Amid an atmosphere of clouds and confusion mixed with the anticipation of building the future, the new version of the Egyptian Constitution has been a long-awaited feature of the Egyptian people’s struggle for better life. No one could guarantee achieving universal satisfaction with this Constitution, or that it would flow from the current revolutionary tide. The limits to political and
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Prawer Plan Platzed, or Postponed?
The Israeli government has backed down from the controversial Prawer Plan to relocate and dispossess tens of thousands of Bedouin villagers in the Naqab, the southern part of the country. The decision followed an announcement by Benny Begin, an architect of the plan, disavowing claims that he had consulted with the affected community. That disavowal lost Knesset support, and Prime
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Egyptian Housing Rights Day
A new habitat rights tradition has been born out of tragedy in Egypt. Since the disastrous since rock slide that killed untold numbers of inhabitants of the Duwiqa (East Cairo) informal settlement on 8 September 2008, housing rights activists across the country now commemorate that date as “Egyptian Housing Rights Day.” Egyptians keep this date by reflecting on the inadequate
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Ethiopia’s Development under Human Rights Review
OAKLAND CA— In a report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is September 2013, the Oakland Institute and HIC’s Housing and Land Rights Network outlined the human rights and international law violations perpetrated by the government of Ethiopia in the name of country’s development strategy.
Drawing clear links between recorded testimonies on the ground and breaches
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New EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement:Trade at the Expense of a People’s Self-determination
The European Parliament has flouted the principles of international law and human rights, reversing its own decision three years ago and entering into a new and controversial four-year fisheries agreement with the Moroccan government. The European Parliament rejected extending the previous arrangement in 2011, because it did not clearly reflect the interests of, or benefits to the people of occupied
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“Right to the City”: A Global Dialogue for MENA
New paradigms of social production and enjoyment of human settlements have been the subject of social movement and civil society discourse in various countries of Latin America for the last 50 years. Urban reform and a “right to the city” are now present—explicitly or implicitly—in both theoretical and legal frameworks and, at once, are becoming a platform for change in
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Local Government and Human Rights Reach the UN
The United Nations recently has made small but significant steps toward recognizing the explicit human rights dimensions of local government. On 29 September 2013, the Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted its resolution (A/HRC/24/L.2), approving its Advisory Committee’s research proposal on local government and human rights, “bearing in mind that human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human
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| Terminology Corner |
| Contributors to this Land Times |
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