That's the wrap. As a pre-event of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA-2021), ILC will be participating at the CLPA-2021 from 29th October 2021 to 4th November 2021. See you there!
Day 1 highlights | Day 2 highlights
Below are the highlights from Day 3’s discussions:
1. Want to protect land and environmental defenders (LED)? Start with binding legal frameworks. State ratified texts on LED protection are non-binding. There is low community awareness of the work of Land Rights Defenders. And land and environmental rights defenders remain perceived by states and investors as “enemies” of development. Countries need to expand mechanisms, from local to national, before leading to the African Union. Here’s a link on how to submit information on violations against defenders to the UN Special Rapporteur on HRDs, in English and in French https://srdefenders.org/submit-information/submit-information-on-a-human-rights-violation/.
2. The African Environmental Defender’s Fund has grown and is well-managed but face other challenges. Initially supported exclusively by ILC and ran by Natural Justice, the fund now assists other defenders who are non-members of ILC, and includes cases originally uncovered by the fund, such as the provision of CCTV cameras. Key challenges it faces now include: (1) having access to adequate information that enables verification and determines uptake of case, and (2) monitoring the situation of defender, to see if it has improved or not, and establish how the fund has assisted. Good news: applications not covered by this fund can solicit other opportunities.
Land and environmental rights defenders remain perceived by states and investors as “enemies” of development
3. Public-Private-Partnerships on people-centred land governance would be of great benefit. Large-scale investment continues to dominate. The CSOs, the private sector and the government would need to hold frequent dialogues at the national level. This calls for a direct engagement with the government.
4. Africa cannot remain a “start-up” continent. Technologies are already playing a key role on land governance everywhere. Control of tech should be given to communities. We shouldn’t be scared of tech, we use it everyday. We need to scale-up affordable tech for use in land metrics.
The CSOs, the private sector and the government would need to hold frequent dialogues at the national level
5. Not “lack of data”, but lack of “the coordination of data”. The problem of data on land and property rights in Africa can be solved with adequate sharing, harmonization, and properly protected data processes. Clear progress is yet to be made on the use of data for advocacy, for policy, for accountability, and for impact. Who controls land data in Africa? How do actors make data “act”?
Thank you for being with us these three days. As a pre-event of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA-2021), ILC will be participating at the CLPA-2021 from 29th October 2021 to 4th November 2021. See you there!