April 2014: The International Land Coalition (ILC) has released its 2013 Annual Report, which outlines its range of local, national and international activities, including efforts to develop a unified voice on land issues.

The report documents the growth of the ILC to 152 organizations and 54 countries, working to promote secure and equitable access to land for rural people through capacity building, knowledge sharing and advocacy. It describes ILC efforts to develop platforms in 20 focal countries through National Engagement Strategies, which build collaborative efforts with a range of stakeholders at the national level. The 2013 Annual Report documents efforts to support the formulation and implementation of national land policies, including efforts in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Nepal, Madagascar, Mongolia, Tanzania and Togo. It also describes efforts to influence global and regional land-related processes and systems by promoting international benchmarks, building partnerships on community land rights, encouraging national government accountability to human rights commitments, and building a strategy on indigenous peoples’ territorial rights.

With regard to building a knowledge network on land governance, the ILC report outlines its investments in the Global Land Forum, the Land Matrix, the Land Portal, South-South exchange visits, Land Watch Asia, and Gender Evaluation Criteria training. On internal ILC governance, the report describes the ‘Antigua Declaration,’ an outcome of the April 2013 Global Land Forum held in Antigua, Guatemala. The Declaration is based on an agreed definition of “people-centered land governance,” and includes a commitment to the ‘Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa,’ and the ‘Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure.’ [Publication: ILC 2013 Annual Report] [IISD RS Review of Global Land Forum] [Voluntary Guidelines of Tenure Website]