The world is in the throes of a chronic food crisis. One of the root causes is insecure land tenure rights for millions of smallholder farmers and other food producers. Recognizing the fundamental links between land governance and the right to food, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) adopted the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) in 2012. While the Guidelines are voluntary, they are based on binding human rights standards and principles. Civil society organizations and other actors can therefore use human rights obligations to hold governments accountable for protecting legitimate land tenure rights of the most vulnerable populations.  

The objective of this hybrid event is to reiterate the urgency of protecting tenure rights, and to discuss how a human rights-based approach and monitoring tool, can strengthen responsible land governance. Building on Malawi’s experience, national human rights institutions and civil society actors from several African countries will further explore the added value of Human Rights 4 Land Tools in addressing land rights violations and holding governments accountable to implement the VGGT. These practical tools help to identify gaps in responsible land governance and explicitly link these to human rights obligations.