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Securing Land Tenure and Easing Access to Land
The report identifies systemic failures in African land administration, including the fact that only about 10 percent of land is legally documented. It argues that securing tenure through a combination of community land registration in land-abundant areas and individual titling in land-constrained areas is essential for investment. The text highlights the need to integrate customary tenure into statutory law and eliminate market restrictions to improve access for women, youth, and the land-poor, while warning against 'land grabs' resulting from weak governance.
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Document type: Report
ENGOS and scientists challenge the Swedish Energy Agency: stop supporting false climate change solutions in Uganda
The document criticizes the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) for supporting the Kachung Forest Project (CDM project #4653) in Uganda through a 20-year purchase agreement with Green Resources. The authors argue the project is flawed, causing environmental degradation through non-native eucalyptus and pine plantations and violating local community rights through evictions and livestock confiscation. They further challenge the project's carbon sequestration claims, suggesting it may be a net source of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite criticism, the SEA announced in March 2016 that it would remain engaged to improve community conditions, a move the authors claim supports a system of exploitation by the global North.
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Document type: Statement
Forest people forced off their land in the name of conservation
The document examines how conservation policies are used to forcibly evict indigenous peoples from ancestral lands, often masking commercial interests. It highlights the disproportionate impact on women and children and provides case studies from India's Panna Tiger Reserve and Kenya's Embobut Forest to illustrate human rights violations and the failure of top-down conservation models.
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Document type: Policy brief
INSECURE LAND RIGHTS IN BRAZIL
The report argues that Brazil's insecure land rights lead to significant rural conflicts, deforestation, and economic inefficiencies. It highlights a systemic failure in land governance characterized by institutional complexity, unreliable registries, and the absence of an integrated database for public and private lands. These issues are exacerbated by the 'social function of property' requirement, which can incentivize land clearing to prove productivity and legitimize illegal land grabbing (grilagem).
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Document type: Report
HOSTILE TAKEOVER
The report 'Hostile Takeover' by Global Witness exposes how the family of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has established a dominant grip on the country's economy and political apparatus. By mining government corporate registry data, the investigation reveals that the family has registered interests in 114 companies with listed capital exceeding US$200 million, spanning sectors from energy and mining to media and gambling. The document details how this economic power is used to reinforce political control, often through the use of proxies and shell companies to obscure ownership. It further highlights the social and environmental costs of these business interests, including forced evictions and land grabs. The report warns international investors of the legal and reputational risks of doing business with the Hun family and recommends stringent due diligence and governance reforms in Cambodia.
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Document type: Report
Violations of human and environment rights continue
Friends of the Earth International asserts that the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are insufficient because they are not standing UN policy and do not obligate states to incorporate them into national law. The statement highlights ongoing environmental damage by companies like Shell in the Niger Delta and Vale and BHP Billiton in Brazil as evidence of corporate impunity. It advocates for the 'Treaty' established by UN Human Rights Council resolution 26/09 to create binding rules for transnational corporations, while criticizing the European Union and United States for opposing this process in favor of corporate-friendly investment treaties.
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Document type: Statement
« RESISTE » : des familles travaillant ensemble pour construire l’agroécologie au Chiapas, Mexique
The document details the work of the RESISTE network in Chiapas, Mexico, which promotes agroecology, seed saving, and soil conservation to counter a national policy favoring export-oriented agribusiness and land privatization. Through horizontal community capacity building, the initiative supports eight family groups in transitioning away from chemical inputs toward sustainable food systems and the defense of territorial rights.
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Document type: Case study
POR QUE É IMPORTANTE DISCUTIR OS direitos de propriedade NO BRASIL RURAL?
The fact sheet highlights the systemic instability of rural property rights in Brazil, noting that the country ranks 76th out of 129 countries in property rights security. It links this uncertainty to increased deforestation, as clearing forest is used to prove land productivity to avoid expropriation. The document also connects land disputes to violence, citing 770 land-related homicides between 1994 and 2015 and Brazil's position as a global leader in murders of environmental and land rights activists. Institutional failures contributing to the problem include a lack of georeferencing before 2004, poor integration between the 11 federal agencies managing property rights, and the prevalence of 'grilagem' (land grabbing), with suspected grilagem affecting 23% of the state of Pará.
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Document type: Fact sheet
STAND IN SOLIDARITY
A delegation of four Indigenous Lenca activists from Honduras visited Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, and Spain between April 19 and May 5, 2016. The mission sought to highlight the repression of environmental defenders in Honduras, specifically regarding the Agua Zarca hydropower project on the Gualcarque River. The activists called for the withdrawal of funding from the Dutch development bank FMO, the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund), and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), as well as the cessation of turbine sales by Siemens and Voith. The document highlights the 2016 assassination of Lenca leader Berta Cáceres and the broader pattern of violence against environmental activists in Honduras, which it describes as the most dangerous country in the world for such defenders between 2002 and 2014.
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Document type: Fact sheet
REGULATING RISK
The document contends that voluntary sustainability initiatives are fundamentally flawed and insufficient to curb the global land grabbing crisis. It provides evidence of the significant financial involvement of EU-based institutions in agribusinesses that cause environmental and social harm, particularly in developing countries. The authors argue that the lack of monitoring, sanctions, and accessibility in voluntary schemes allows irresponsible actors to continue harmful practices. To address this, the briefing recommends mandatory human rights due diligence, expanded reporting requirements under EU directives, and binding regulations for financial investors to ensure only legally compliant agribusiness concessions are eligible for investment.
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Document type: Briefing
Africa is set to Burn
Friends of the Earth Africa criticizes the draft Paris agreement for failing to provide adequate resources for adaptation, ignoring climate debt, and promoting market-based mechanisms like REDD that may facilitate land grabs. The organization warns that the current trajectory could lead to 5 to 8 degrees of warming in Africa, causing systemic ecological collapse and mass casualties.
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Document type: Statement
Las Directrices sobre la gobernanza responsable de tenencia en una encrucijada
The document criticizes the trend of transforming the VGGT from a human rights-based framework into a corporate tool for risk management and 'greenwashing'. It argues that guides produced by entities like USAID and the G7 New Alliance shift state responsibilities to the private sector, legitimize land grabbing, and falsely equate the power of corporations with that of local communities. The signatories call for states to implement the VGGT in line with human rights obligations, establish a robust monitoring mechanism within the Committee on World Food Security (CSA), and adopt a legally binding instrument for corporations regarding human rights.
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Document type: Statement
Les Directives pour la Gouvernance Responsable des régimes fonciers à la croisée des chemins
The document is a declaration by social movements and civil society organizations criticizing the trend of adapting the UN's Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) into business-centric tools. The authors argue that guides produced by entities like USAID, the G7 New Alliance, and the Interlaken Group transform a human rights framework into a corporate social responsibility (CSR) tool, effectively legitimizing land grabbing. They contend that these guides erroneously treat states and corporations as equal stakeholders and dangerously suggest that private investors can manage land rights recognition and conflict resolution—tasks that are the sole legitimate mandate of the state. The statement calls for states to implement the VGGT based on human rights obligations, for the FAO to provide technical support for state regulation of businesses, and for the adoption of a legally binding international instrument on multinational corporations and human rights.
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Document type: Statement
The Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure at a Crossroads
The statement criticizes recent guides developed by agencies like USAID and the Interlaken Group that frame the VGGT as a tool for corporate risk management and corporate social responsibility. The authors argue that this 'multi-stakeholder' approach wrongly transfers state duties—such as identifying tenure rights and resolving conflicts—to private investors, thereby legitimizing land grabs and ignoring power asymmetries. They call for states to enact laws regulating transnational corporations, ensure free prior and informed consent, and establish a robust monitoring mechanism within the UN Committee on World Food Security.
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Document type: Statement
Agroecology and Climate Justice: A People’s Guide to Paris and Beyond
The document critiques industrial agriculture as a primary driver of climate change and social inequality, while presenting agroecology as a viable, small-scale alternative. It specifically attacks 'Climate Smart Agriculture' (CSA) as a corporate-led 'false solution' designed to greenwash industrial practices. The text advocates for a transition toward food sovereignty and the relocalisation of food systems, highlighting the role of women and traditional knowledge in building climate resilience.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Agroecología y justicia climática: Guía popular hacia París y más allá
The document contrasts industrial agribusiness with agroecology, asserting that the former is a primary driver of climate change and social inequality. It dismisses 'climate-smart agriculture' as a marketing tool for corporations to maintain power structures without addressing the root causes of the climate crisis. Instead, it advocates for a transition to agroecology, which supports small-scale producers, protects biodiversity, and enhances climate resilience. The text highlights the role of women and traditional knowledge in this transition and calls for public policies that shift resources away from industrial meat and crop production toward food sovereignty.
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Document type: Fact sheet
THE NEW SNAKE OIL?
The report details how Golden Veroleum (GVL), backed by Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), has expanded its palm oil operations in Liberia through a process of intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and flawed consent mechanisms. It highlights a 'legal vacuum' in Liberia's agricultural sector and argues that the company's Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with local communities provide negligible benefits while stripping residents of their land rights. The document also notes a suspicious acceleration of land acquisition during the 2014 Ebola crisis and identifies financial ties between GVL and high-ranking Liberian politicians.
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Document type: Report
Appel des organisations de la société civile à leurs gouvernements concernant la Nouvelle Alliance pour la Sécurité Alimentaire et la Nutrition en Afrique
Civil society organizations gathered at the World Social Forum in Tunis in March 2015 to oppose the G8's New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa. They argue the initiative promotes corporate-led agriculture, facilitates land grabbing, and undermines the rights of small-scale farmers. The statement calls for a shift toward food sovereignty, agro-ecology, and the protection of peasant seed systems, demanding that governments suspend New Alliance commitments and prioritize human rights-based agricultural systems.
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Document type: Statement
Call of civil society organizations to their governments on the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa
A statement by social movements and civil society organizations opposing the G8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa, arguing that it prioritizes corporate interests over small-scale producers and undermines food sovereignty.
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Document type: Statement
Declaración de Solidaridad con las víctimas de Rana Plaza y con las mujeres trabajadoras en marcha en este Día Mundial de Acción Feminista
The document marks the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, linking the disaster to a broader pattern of economic violence and exploitation of women by multinational corporations. It highlights the risks faced by women environmental defenders—including peasant and indigenous leaders—who oppose polluting projects such as hydroelectric dams and extractive industries. The statement calls for the dismantling of corporate power and for transnational companies to be held accountable for human rights abuses and environmental crimes.
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Document type: Statement