30 April 2013: The Global Land Forum, organized by the International Land Coalition (ILC) and held in Antigua, Guatemala, from 23-24 April 2013, brought together farmers, indigenous peoples, women’s organizations, NGOs, research centers, trade unions, multilateral institutions and governments to discuss the political, economic, environmental and societal linkages between land governance, food security, poverty and democracy.

During the Forum, participants stressed that land rights are critical to meeting challenges, such as territorial development, climate change, food security and indigenous people’s self-determination. For small-scale producers and family farmers, they noted that: equitable access to land and tenure security are important for ensuring food security, particularly considering continued land grabbing; and policies, such as ‘Hambre Cero’ (Zero Hunger) and the promotion of family farming should be implemented.

The Forum agreed that: human rights are critical to land governance, particularly the right to food, the rights of rural women and land rights; and women producers are central to small-scale agriculture, recognizing that women’s rights to access, control and land ownership enables economic empowerment and equal participation in decision-making; and women’s contribution to agriculture must be reflected in national budgets. Participants also noted that international agreements must not disenfranchise the poor.

The Forum also underscored, inter alia: the necessity for effective and efficient support to indigenous communities in their struggle for land and territorial rights; and the role that the International Land Coalition (ILC) can play in fostering collaboration between the state and civil society, and in sharing experiences on strategies that contribute to equitable and productive land use.

Participants discussed experiences on how data can be assembled and leveraged to empower people and communities, and noted that UN treaties, safeguard policies of development finance institutions, and other standards can potentially increase accountability. The Forum emphasized that the documentation of land rights, support for participatory monitoring of human rights standards, agricultural budgets and public data initiatives are all critical to hold government, local elites and the private sector accountable. Guatemalan President Otto Fernando Pérez also attended the event and noted his government’s intention to push for approval of the Rural Development Law.

Every two years, the International Land Coalition (ILC) organizes a forum to mobilize its members and partners to influence land-related policy and to facilitate multi-stakeholder processes that enhance people-centered responses to land governance challenges. The 2013 Global Land Forum was jointly hosted by the Asociacion Comité de Desarrollo Campesino, Comité Campesino del Altiplano, Coordinacion de ONG y Cooperativas, Unión Verapacense de Organizaciones Campesinas, Oxfam International-Guatemala and the ILC. [Publication: Inclusive and Sustainable Territorial Governance for Food Security: Sharing Lessons from Around the World: Outcome Document] [2013 Global Land Forum Website] [International Land Coalition Website]