Issues Home About Contact Us Issue 9 - May 2014 عربى
International Developments

People`s Manual for the Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure

The Voluntary Guidelines on the Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) provides a sterling example of how civil society, state bodies, and inter-governmental institutions can work together to operationalizing existing international human rights obligations and implement formative changes that meet the needs of local producers and food providers, including the specific needs of women, indigenous peoples, and other groups.

As with other international instruments, the VGGT are presented in a long document, utilizing technical language. Although this is necessary to fully explain the principles and practices in all topics and areas of implementation, it prevents communities from accessing the useful and important information and tools found within the VGGT.

To ensure that communities can access and utilize the VGGT the Land Working Group of the International Planning Committee on Food Sovereignty (IPC) organized the creation of a “Peoples’ Manual” for the VGGT. Designed as a capacity building manual and methodology on utilizing the VGGT, this Manual serves to facilitate the understanding of the VGGT and how to use them as an advocacy tool towards food sovereignty[EM2]  and to demand action and changes from governments and other relevant parties.

The Manual was drafted through regional and global consultation processes which brought together small producers, indigenous persons, women, fisherfolk, livestock herders, urban poor, and other social actors to collaborate and produce shared knowledge on how civil can best utilize the VGGT in their struggles. Many organizations have participated in this process, including HIC-HLRN. The final Manual will be produced in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

In order to make the VGGT accessible and provide a learning opportunity for activists, the Manual includes a framework of what norms the VGGT are based in and background information on the processes, and actors involved, leading up to the acceptance of the VGGT in May 2012.  It is important the civil society also have a strong understanding of the VGGT’s origins. The VGGT are not legally binding, but rather a voluntary commitment by States, however they are based in binding legal obligations and offer guidance on how to best operationalize those agreements.

The VGGT represent an opportunity for States and other parties to improve the legal and political frameworks related to land and other natural resources in order to improve governance and the realization of rights obligations. In order to facilitate grassroots movements to participate effectively in building these frameworks, the Manual pulls from the VGGT the most important and relevant concepts and commitments signatory States have accepted. These references then allow for the provision of information on how different actors such as governments, companies, civil society, academia, etc. should interpret the VGGT in order to meet the needs and demands of civil society, in alignment with the VGGT. 

As the Manual is a learning and teaching tool, the IPC working group came together to collect various fictional scenarios, based on actual experiences and situations, which offer examples of where the VGGT can be utilized by civil society. These situations include many different facets that communities face including occupation, dispossession, detention of activists, international financial institutions and development banks, land reform, and of course land grabbing for many reasons including government interests, investment, environmental sustainability, natural resource access, etc.

Finally, the Manual provides concrete, practical examples how the VGGT have been utilized in various struggles around the world. Since the VGGT were accepted in May 2012, they have been utilized in many ways as an advocacy tool. The different uses have been participation of organizations in assessment, planning and implementation of public and legislative policies;

monitoring actions of transnational corporations and specific cases of agrarian conflict where the VGGT are not observed; provide legal support to defense processes and initiatives to access land; strengthen access to justice during land conflicts; raise community awareness about defending their territory; support  public grievances against a variety of stakeholders; promoting dialogue between the State and civil society; among others.

This Manual will provide a critical resource that will work towards operationalizing international human rights obligations and allowing grassroots movements to utilize these obligations to their best advantage. As with all efforts, the goal of the VGGT should be to form policies and laws that support civil society, and especially those local food producers who are most vulnerable to unclear, discriminatory and corrupt land practices. The Manual is still underway and is scheduled for completion in Summer 2014. The HIC-HLRN team looks forward to sharing this effort among our network and utilizing the lessons and tools to further our united struggle for land rights.

Download the Voluntary Guidelines on Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT) here

 

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