ILC members are doing amazing work, leading the fight for a more just and equitable world. In celebration and recognition of this, the second ILC Award was awarded during the 2018 Global Land Forum in Bandung, Indonesia. Between July and November 2017, ILC members were asked to share their good practices – processes, methodologies and tools that they used to generate positive change in the framework of the ILC’s 10 commitments for people-centred land governance. All members were then given the chance to vote for who they thought had shown exemplary contribution to securing the land rights of women and men living in conditions of poverty.
WHAT IS IT?
ILC AWARD RECIPIENT
Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program, Kenya
ILC is proud to announce that the winner of the second ILC Awards is the Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program (OPDP)!
The Ogiek community brought a land rights case against the Government of Kenya at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, after exhausting all local redress mechanisms. The case attracted attention from the international community, and helped to hold the government to a higher standard of accountability. It enabled the Ogiek people to address violations of their rights to human dignity, worship, education, property, and association, among others. During the case, the Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program (OPDP) documented community by-laws, maps, and protocols for the management of communal lands, and used this information to engage the government in seeking legal ownership of the land. The African Court found in favour of the Ogiek community, recognising them as an indigenous community in Kenya and restoring their land rights.
Want to know more about OPDP and their work? Read this photo essay or watch this video:
ILC AWARD NOMINEES
10 other organisations were also nominated for the second ILC Award. Although they did not win this year, their work is nonetheless incredibly valuable in protecting land rights across the world.
IFAD/IPAR, Senegal
IFAD’s agricultural development project in Matam (PRODAM) has contributed to securing land tenure by supporting the “one household, one hectare” principle in the allocation of land in village irrigation schemes and facilitating the establishment of pastoral units responsible for the management of pastoral resources. The project granted access to land in irrigated areas to returnees and dispossessed people by regrouping the people and redistributing land to all families living in the villages.
Association for Rural Advancement, South Africa
The Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA) partnered with the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), a South African human rights organisation, to launch a class action lawsuit against the Government of South Africa on behalf of a class of farm dwellers known as labour tenants. Under the 1996 Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act, labour tenants were granted rights to apply for ownership of the land they occupied. However, the government has failed to implement this law, and 19,000 labour tenant claims remain pending. AFRA and LRC sought to use international best practices to create a new legal mechanism, through the appointment of a “Special Master” to oversee the implementation of this legal provision by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.
Dana and Qadisiyah Local Community Cooperative, Jordan
In Tafla in southern Jordan, the Dana and Qadisiyah Local Community Cooperative (DQLCC) has set up a sustainable tourism partnership with a group of local farmers by establishing a small camp for tourists on the edge of a nature reserve. Since the local community has limited rights of access to its land and no rights of use, management, or alienation, DQLCC is working to strengthen the livelihoods of community members. The Wadi Dana tourist camp, which is working towards eco status, is operated by local people and volunteers, and provides community members with employment and work experience opportunities. A small team provides “hotel services” for guests staying in tents and chalets: food is prepared by a female home cook, and guests are offered traditional “village life experiences” and guided hikes, led by shepherds (mainly youths) and farmers. Eco-tourism is strengthening community livelihoods, promoting a traditional lifestyle, providing an alternative to migration, and promoting improved land and ecosystem management.
Maldhari Rural Action Group, India
Some 78% of the grazing commons in the state ofGujarat have been acquired by investors and other actors, restricting access for local land users. Local NGO Maldhari Rural Action Group (MARAG) worked with local communities to launch “Wheels of Hope”, a motorbike campaign that covered a distance of 1,200km, nine districts, and twenty five blocks in eight days, targeting the community development blocks with the highest rates of encroachment and acquisition of common land. Through the campaign, local communities established that rights over the commons belong to those who depend on them for their livelihoods.
Kyrgyz Jayity Association, Kyrgyzstan
The national pasture users’ association, Kyrgyz Jayity, is a voluntary association of legal entities and a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the ability of pasture users, pasture user unions, and pasture committees to effectively manage and use pasture resources.
Community Land Scotland, Scotland
Community Land Scotland (CLS) has worked to strengthen a human rights approach to land governance through multi-stakeholder dialogue and advocacy. Previously, Scotland’s land tenure system was oriented towards private property rights. This has changed, with CLS working with the Scottish Human Rights Commission to introduce a human rights based-approach to land governance. Through its advocacy work, CLS convinced the Scottish Land Reform Review Group that there was a need for a land policy statement. CLS has worked with Scottish and international human rights organisations to develop human rights arguments as the basis for defending people living on community land. Its efforts have led the government to pass the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (LRRS).
Transparency International, Ghana
In 2016, Transparency International gave ten widows from Kulbia village in the Upper East Region of Ghana an opportunity to tell their land rights stories. They used a technique known as participatory Video, which enables people to use video as a conduit, facilitating and enhancing communication between people who might otherwise never converse. The women learned to produce videos through experiential games and exercises that demystify technology and open access for anyone, regardless of literacy or experience. They collaborated in authoring a short documentary about their experiences of discrimination and landlessness as a result of widespread corruption by traditional land custodians, and managed to interrogate their landlessness.
Arab Center for Agriculture Development, Palestine
The Arab Center for Agriculture Development (ACAD) has used different methodologies to protect the land rights of local communities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the rehabilitation and utilisation of land by planting different kinds of plants and trees. ACAD has lobbied on behalf of local farmers to protect their land rights and has facilitated activities to strengthen the resilience of target groups, in particular women and young farmers, by establishing agricultural cooperatives in Beit Skarya village in the West Bank. The cooperatives have strengthened the capacity of farmers to increase their incomes and sustain their agribusinesses. Furthermore, women have received technical and vocational assistance in adding value to their farm produce and have gained access to local markets.
Asociación Servicios Educativos Rurales, Peru
Asociación Servicios Educativos Rurales (SER) promoted changes to statutes in 25 communities to formally include women in decision-making processes. It also developed women’s capacities to improve their effectiveness in their new roles as community leaders. Twenty women in the Andean regions of Ayacucho and Puno have since joined the management boards of their respective communities and are implementing local projects for sustainable development.
Comité de Desarrollo Campesino, Guatemala
Staff and members of Comité de Desarrollo Campesino (CODECA) faced serious repercussions after the organisation published a report highlighting human rights violations by powerful landowners in Guatemala. There were 40 arrests and 117 acts of aggression, which left two people dead, and a media campaign aimed at defaming and discrediting the organisation. Despite this, CODECA carried on its struggle and implemented community resilience mechanisms, and, with support from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, eventually secured acquittal verdicts from the Guatemalan justice system and the release of three detained land rights defenders. This experience has changed CODECA’s position as a movement coordinating efforts by urban, rural, and indigenous peoples to transform Guatemala into a multinational state.