MAKING INVESTMENT WORK FOR AFRICA PAN AFRICAN PARLIAMENT, MIDRAND, SOUTH AFRICA JULY 2011 Human Rights Impacts By Angela Mulenga, Foodfirst Information and Action Network

Introduction  What are Human rights : Universal and inalienable: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights Indivisible: The right of everyone to an adequate standard of living cannot compromised at the expense of other rights Interdependent and interrelated: Each right contributes to the realization of a person’s human dignity

Introduction Rights related to the right to food Include; The right to feed oneself (adequate, sustainable..) The right to food sovereignty and to self determination (People freely establish their political condition and provide their own economic, social and cultural development) The right to livelihood resources(People freely use their natural wealth and resources, without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic cooperation.)

States‘ obligations  Obligation to respect: States are required not to interfere with the existing access to and availability of the adequate food  Obligation to protect: States should adopt measures to ensure that private enterprises or individuals do not deprive individuals of their access to available and adequate food  Obligation to fulfill: States must pro-actively engage in activities intended to strengthen people’s access to and utilization of resources and means to ensure their livelihood, including food security

Extra-territorial obligations (ETOs) 1. Obligation beyond states‘ borders: obligation of a state towards a person outside its territory 2. Shared responsibility: between victims‘ state and foreign states (bilaterally and multilaterally) 3. Shared responsibility : between foreign states (bilaterally and multilaterally) 4. Obligation to provide remedy including: restitution, compensation, satisfaction and guarantee of non- repetition

Human Rights Impacts and land grabing  Unfortunate now that..Over one quarter of the world’s population is estimated to be landless, including over 200 million people who live in rural areas  Yet Land is the main asset from which the rural poor are able to derive a livelihood, yet millions of families do not enjoy ownership rights over the land that they cultivate and are thus considered landless.

Human Rights Impacts and land grabbing  landlessness is caused by a number of factors e.g population growth, scarcity of land, environmental degradation, natural disasters, inadequate legal protections for land ownership, poor governance  However the most recent and frightening form, has been the acquisition of large-scale areas of land by foreign investors.

Human Rights Impacts and land grabbing  According to the World Bank, direct foreign investment ( land grabbing ) in agricultural farmland throughout the Global South, amounted to an estimated 45 million hectares in 2009 alone, with South America, Central America, Southeast Asia, and most significantly, Sub-Saharan Africa being the sites of these major land deal.  There is no doubt that Direct foreign investment is needed in Africa but should it negatively impact on human rights, take way people’s livelihoods ??  The answer is NO, NO, NO, NO

Human Rights Impacts and land grabbing  Why ? Land acquisitions present a serious threat to violation of Human rights …threatens national food security,agriculture upon which most of African governments still depends.  Land grabs are particularly detrimental as peasants and pastoralists, who depend on access to land and natural resources in order to sustain themselves, face eviction. Hence violation of Human rights.  Other Land grabbing human rights implications include ;impoverishment, insecurity, loss of property, lack of access to means to livelihood, hunger, disease, injury or death.

 Women are often victims of excessive force and endure the risk of being raped, tortured, or killed.  Reduces the political space for peasant oriented agricultural policies Distorts markets towards increasingly concentrated agribusiness interests and global trade Damages environment (biodiversity, logging,...) violates the right to food Reduces water availability in case of irrigation schemes Human Rights Impacts and land grabbing

Remedies  While there is no official right to land codified in international human rights law, rights have been established in the international legal framework that relate to land access for particular groups and several remedies for victims can be applicable such as ;  Domestic Remedies -African commission on human and peoples 'rights, African court on human and peoples‘rights and Office of the high commissioner for human rights  UN Remedies: Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic and Cultural Rights (The Individual complaints procedure The inquiry procedure)

Remedies  Special mechanisms ; Working group on economic, social and cultural rights Chaired by : Commissioner Angela Melo  Special procedures of the human rights council

Intervention of FIAN Draft of the protest letters in the form of urgent actions sent to the responsible authorities of alleged violations Open letters to concerned authorities of the violation in the form of SISI* Draft of the OECD* complaint Support for the tripartite meeting (victims + company+ government) Letters to the special rapporteur Report to the Universal Periodic Review Report to CESCR

ETO consortium (international corporations have to respect international human rights law)  FIAN International is the Secretariat of the steering committee of the ETO consortium (ETO guiding principles)  80 members (lawyers, academicians and other experts in different domains)  In Africa we have 10 members in the steering committee of the Consortium  There is a need of more members in the steering committee: Civil Society organizations, Social movements (ideas, campaign after adoption of the guiding principles on ETO)  Membership application form

Thank you for your attention !