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The document examines the systemic link between gender equality and sustainable development, asserting that discriminatory social norms and legal barriers hinder environmental and economic progress. It highlights the economic costs of gender inequality, the historical evolution of UN gender policies, and the specific benefits of women's leadership in climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, and natural resource governance. The briefing concludes with recommendations for gender-responsive policies, increased funding for women-led organizations, and ensuring women's control over productive resources to meet the 2030 Agenda.

The report evaluates Botswana's governance across 12 thematic areas, including human rights, separation of powers, and sustainable development. While acknowledging Botswana's global reputation for stability and economic management, it highlights systemic failures such as high gender-based violence, a lack of true separation between the Executive and Parliament, and significant economic inequality. It recommends structural reforms to the electoral system, the decentralisation of public services, and the establishment of a National Human Rights Institution to ensure more inclusive and accountable governance.

The project aims to support 70,500 direct beneficiaries in rural Eswatini, particularly in the Lubombo and Shiselweni regions, to adapt to increasing droughts and floods. It proposes a three-component approach: scaling up climate-resilient land use (such as conservation agriculture and rainwater harvesting), strengthening agricultural value chains to attract private investment, and improving the enabling environment through better land access and early warning systems. The initiative seeks USD 30 million from the Green Climate Fund, with USD 25 million in co-financing from the Eswatini Ministry of Agriculture.

The document argues that integrating nature-based solutions (NBS) and flexible tenure systems into urban upgrading schemes can improve living conditions and climate resilience for marginalized populations in African dryland cities. It highlights a pioneering approach in Namibia across three pilot cities and draws on research from the 'Peri-Urban Resilient Ecosystems' partnership involving Namibia, Kenya, and Tanzania.

The guide argues that water and food security decisions must be accompanied by social analyses to identify and protect vulnerable groups based on sex, ethnicity, income, and race. It outlines the core objectives of social analysis, such as ensuring inclusivity in decision-making and protecting customary rights to land and water. The text illustrates potential negative impacts through scenarios, including the increased burden on women in Malawi and the marginalization of pastoralists in the Sahel. It further warns that irrigation projects in Bangladesh and Pakistan can divert domestic water to farms, and that large-scale infrastructure, such as India's UKP dam, can cause mass displacement. To support these analyses, the document lists resources from organizations like the World Bank, FAO, and UNDP, and provides a framework of critical questions regarding who benefits from and who is adversely impacted by development projects.

The report identifies 24 deforestation fronts across Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, where over 43 million hectares of forest were lost between 2004 and 2017. It argues that while commercial agriculture remains the dominant direct driver, indirect pressures such as population growth, dietary shifts toward meat, and weak governance amplify forest loss. The analysis evaluates a range of responses, from area-based protections and indigenous land rights to commodity-specific certifications and REDD+ frameworks, concluding that no single approach is sufficient and that integrated, context-specific solutions are required to halt deforestation.

Friends of the Earth International denounces the escalation of systematic violence in Colombia, specifically targeting peasants, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities, and women. The statement highlights the failure of the Ivan Duque administration to protect these groups or uphold the 2016 peace agreements, noting a surge in massacres and targeted killings of local leaders and former FARC-EP members during 2020.

Friends of the Earth International denounces a surge of systematic violence in Colombia as of November 2020, reporting over 280 murders in 73 massacres. The statement highlights the targeting of peasants, indigenous peoples, and Afro-descendant communities, and criticizes the government of Ivan Duque for its failure to protect grassroots leaders and its reluctance to implement the 2016 peace agreements with FARC-EP. It calls for independent international investigations and the cessation of violence by state institutions and paramilitary groups.

Friends of the Earth International denounces a surge of systematic violence in Colombia, reporting over 280 deaths in 73 massacres by November 2020. The statement highlights the targeting of peasant, indigenous, and Afro-descendant communities, the failure of the Iván Duque government to protect leaders, and the lack of progress in implementing the 2016 peace agreements with FARC-EP. It calls for international investigation and the cessation of violence by state forces and paramilitaries.

The report by Friends of the Earth International emphasizes that Community Forest Management (MCB) cannot exist without organized communities and the protection of their cultural and spiritual ties to their territories. It identifies the right to association as a fundamental human right supported by international declarations, and argues that cultural rights—though less explicitly defined in international law—are inextricably linked to land tenure and biodiversity conservation. The text advocates for using international legal frameworks to pressure national governments to implement these rights, while stressing that legal action should be part of a broader strategy of social mobilization.

The document emphasizes that community forest management (GCF) cannot exist without organized communities and the protection of their cultural and spiritual ties to their territories. It highlights the right of association as a fundamental human right, supported by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and UN declarations on indigenous peoples and peasants. The text argues that cultural rights—including traditional knowledge, language, and spirituality—are inextricably linked to land tenure; therefore, protecting the territory is the primary means of safeguarding these cultural rights. It calls for the integration of biocultural heritage into global biodiversity frameworks to combat the collapse of biodiversity and the loss of traditional knowledge.

The report examines the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), adopted in December 2018. It argues that UNDROP fills a gap in international human rights law by recognizing peasants and other rural workers as collective rights holders, rather than just a sum of individuals. The document details how the Declaration protects collective rights to land, food sovereignty, seeds, water, and a healthy environment, while debunking myths that collective rights oppose individual rights or are exclusive to Indigenous Peoples. It provides strategies for applying the Declaration at national, regional, and international levels to hold states and transnational corporations accountable.

The document analyzes the 2018 UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP) as a tool to shift human rights frameworks from purely individualistic perspectives to the recognition of collective rights. It details how UNDROP protects the rights of peasants, indigenous peoples, and nomadic communities to food sovereignty, land, seeds, and a healthy environment. The report highlights the role of collective rights in supporting agroecology and community forest management, while debunking myths that collective rights oppose individual rights or are exclusive to indigenous peoples. It provides examples of national and regional applications and advocates for a binding UN treaty on transnational corporations to ensure corporate accountability for human rights violations in rural areas.

The document asserts that community forest management (CFM) cannot exist without organised communities and the protection of their cultural and spiritual ties to their territories. It identifies the right to association as a fundamental human right supported by international frameworks, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The briefing further argues that cultural rights—such as the preservation of traditional knowledge and languages—are inextricably linked to territorial protection, as traditional practices occur within specific biological environments. It concludes that integrating biocultural heritage into global biodiversity frameworks is necessary to combat both the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.

The report argues that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) is a landmark instrument that recognizes peasants and other rural workers as holders of collective rights. It details how the Declaration protects food sovereignty, land tenure, and environmental rights, debunking the misconception that human rights apply only to individuals. The document provides examples of national and international applications of these rights and advocates for their inclusion in a Binding Treaty on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights.

The report identifies systemic gender inequalities across seven Sahelian countries that hinder women's resilience to climate change, specifically citing limited land ownership, high burdens of unpaid care work, and restricted access to climate information and financial services. It proposes a Gender Action Plan to increase women's economic empowerment, reduce workloads through solar-powered technologies, and improve access to climate-smart agricultural inputs and micro-insurance, targeting at least 40% of interventions for women.

The report examines how land conflict in South Sudan is rooted in historical grievances and exacerbated by civil wars, leading to widespread land grabbing by military and political elites. It highlights the failure of the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) to explicitly address land within its transitional justice framework. Based on citizen interviews, the report finds a strong preference for restitution over compensation and communal reparations over individual ones. It recommends that the Compensation and Reparations Authority (CRA) be used to address land-related human rights violations and that the government expedite the adoption of a national land policy to resolve conflicting statutory and customary tenure systems.

The document denounces the murder of Mama Fikile Ntshangase, a member of the Somkhele community and vice-president of a sub-commission of the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organisation (MCEJO). Ntshangase was killed on October 22, 2020, after refusing a bribe from Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) Ltd to drop legal actions against the expansion of the Tendele coal mine, which would have displaced 21 families. The statement highlights a broader trend of human rights violations against environmental and land defenders across Africa, driven by the expansion of mining, oil, and gas activities by multinationals. It demands that South African authorities, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, conduct impartial investigations and calls for a binding international instrument to regulate states and end the impunity of multinational corporations.

Friends of the Earth International denounces the killing of Mama Fikile Ntshangase, a member of the Somkhele community and vice-president of a subcommission of the Mfolozi Community Environmental Justice Organization (MCEJO). Ntshangase was murdered on October 22, 2020, after opposing the expansion of the Tendele coal mine, owned by Tendele Coal Mining (Pty) Ltd (a Petmin subsidiary), which threatened to displace 21 families. The organization highlights a broader trend of increasing human rights abuses against environmental and political activists across Africa, where transnational companies expand mining, oil, and gas activities despite local opposition. The statement calls on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and other authorities to ensure an impartial and exhaustive investigation into the murder and other attacks on community rights defenders. It further advocates for a legally binding international instrument to regulate transnational corporations and end corporate impunity.

The report finds that climate finance for small-scale agriculture is disproportionately low, averaging USD 10 billion annually in 2017/2018, which represents only 1.7% of total tracked global climate finance. This funding is overwhelmingly public (95%) and primarily delivered via grants (50%). The analysis highlights a significant gap between these flows and the estimated annual financial needs of small-scale farmers, which are approximately USD 240 billion. The report identifies critical barriers, including limited land tenure, high transaction costs for dispersed customers, and a lack of private sector investment. It recommends enhancing public-private collaboration through blended finance, implementing weather-indexed insurance, and improving data collection on domestic and private financial flows to better target climate-smart agricultural investments.