Background

Land rights constitute one of the most significant and persistent inequalities experienced by people of African descent globally. Land rights are integral to the identity, history and future of enslaved Africans trafficked to the Americas and Europe, as they are to the human rights of all peoples everywhere. Historical processes rooted in enslavement, colonialism, dispossession, segregation and racial discrimination have contributed to the denial of ownership, tenure, use, occupation, control and protection of lands, territories, related maritories and resources traditionally possessed, occupied or used by communities of African descent.

These patterns continue to be reinforced by structural and systemic racism, exclusionary legal frameworks, weak tenure security, administrative barriers to land titling and demarcation, land grabbing, illegal occupation, forced displacement and discriminatory development models. In many contexts, lands used or occupied by people of African descent have been affected by extractive, agricultural, infrastructure, tourism, urban development and climate-related processes undertaken without adequate consultation, effective participation or appropriate remedies. 

The denial of land rights has direct impacts on the enjoyment of other human rights, including the rights to adequate housing, food, water and sanitation, health, education, work, culture, a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, participation, access to justice, equality and non-discrimination, and sustainable livelihoods. For many people of African descent, abrogation of their land rights compromises their spirituality, beliefs and modes of worship, as well as degrades traditional communal ideals, beliefs and practices, including collective ownership and use of land. Land dispossession and territorial insecurity may also contribute to environmental degradation, insecurity, violence, displacement, social fragmentation and the erosion of cultural identity and collective memory. 

The Working Group is mindful that the rights, histories and forms of discrimination affecting people of African descent must not be conflated with those of other groups. While there may be overlapping concerns regarding land, territories and maritories, resources, consultation, environment and development, people of African descent have distinct histories, legal claims, identities and experiences of anti-Black racism, afrophobia, racial discrimination, enslavement, colonialism, historical erasure and administrative and judicial miscarriages of justice. 

Objectives

This call for inputs seeks to collect information for the preparation of the 39th session of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, which will focus on “Land Rights of People of African Descent.” The information received will inform the Working Group’s thematic discussions, conclusions and recommendations on the historical, legal, economic, social-cultural and other contemporary dimensions of land rights of people of African descent. The Working Group particularly welcomes inputs from States, United Nations entities, regional human rights mechanisms, international and regional organizations, development actors, international financial institutions, communities of African descent, national human rights institutions, civil society, and other stakeholders.

The Working Group seeks inputs that will help it to:

• Examine historical and contemporary dimensions of land dispossession affecting people of African descent;
• Identify legal, institutional, political, economic, social, environmental and cultural obstacles to the realization of land rights of people of African descent;
• Analyse promising practices, jurisprudence, public policies and community-led initiatives at national, regional and international levels;
• Assess how development policies, international cooperation, financing, investment and land governance frameworks affect the land rights of people of African descent;
• Clarify the relationship between land rights, racial justice, environmental justice, climate justice and reparatory justice for people of African descent
• Consider effective participation, consultation and consent standards in decisions affecting lands, territories and maritories, resources, livelihoods and cultural spaces of people of African descent;
• Formulate concrete, actionable and evidence-based recommendations for States, international and regional organizations, development actors, international financial institutions, businesses and other stakeholders. 

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

The Working Group invites Member States, national human rights institutions, United Nations entities, regional human rights mechanisms, international and regional organizations, development actors, international financial institutions, civil society organizations, representatives of communities of African descent, land defenders, women’s and youth organizations, academics, legal practitioners and other stakeholders to provide information on the following issues:

1. Historical roots and contemporary patterns of land dispossession

What historical processes have led to land dispossession affecting people of African descent? How do enslavement, colonialism, segregation, racialized land policies, conflict, displacement, urban exclusion or discriminatory development continue to affect access to land, housing, territory, natural resources and cultural life?

2. Legal recognition, tenure security and access to land

Are the land, territorial, housing, cultural or resource rights of people of African descent recognized in law, policy, jurisprudence or practice? What obstacles exist in relation to legal recognition, secure tenure, titling, demarcation, restitution, inheritance, protection from eviction or access to remedies? How have the complexities of successive legal systems and official languages throughout enslavement, colonization, independence and post-independence affected identification and demarcation claims of ownership, tenure and use?

3. Development, investment, climate and environmental harm

How do extractive industries, agribusiness, infrastructure projects, tourism, conservation, urban redevelopment, gentrification, environmental degradation, climate-related measures or development-finance initiatives affect lands, territories, housing, water sources, livelihoods and cultural spaces of people of African descent?

4. Role of international organizations and development actors

How do international cooperation, development programming, land governance initiatives, climate finance, infrastructure financing, poverty reduction strategies, food security programmes or private-sector investment affect the land rights of people of African descent? What safeguards, accountability mechanisms or good practices exist to ensure that such initiatives do not contribute to dispossession, displacement, exclusion or discrimination? What role have faith-based institutions played in shaping land rights outcomes for people of African descent?

5. Participation, consultation and consent

How are people of African descent consulted in laws, policies, plans, budgets, development programmes and projects affecting their lands, territories, resources, housing, livelihoods and cultural spaces? Are consultation processes transparent, representative, culturally appropriate, adequately resourced and initiated from the earliest stages of decision-making? Where applicable, are they based on the principle of free, prior and informed consent?

6. Equality, non-discrimination and data

How do racism, racial discrimination, Afrophobia, xenophobia and related intolerance affect access to land, housing, credit, markets, public services, infrastructure and justice? Is data collected on land tenure, housing, evictions, displacement, environmental harm, public investment and development impacts affecting people of African descent? How has increasing use of digitized records, databases and electronic legal transactions affected the land rights of people of African descent?

7. Intersecting forms of discrimination

How do Afro-descendant women, children, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ persons, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless persons, rural, urban, coastal and hinterland communities and land defenders experience land-related discrimination differently?

8. Land rights and reparatory justice

How should land rights be understood within broader frameworks of reparatory justice for people of African descent? What forms of reparation are relevant in relation to land dispossession, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, guarantees of non-repetition, recognition of collective rights, community development, memorialization or institutional reform?

9. Promising practices and recommendations

Please share promising practices, jurisprudence, policies, legislation, community initiatives, participatory mechanisms, research, data, advocacy strategies, development safeguards or reparatory measures relating to land rights of people of African descent. What concrete recommendations should the Working Group make to States, international organizations, development actors, international financial institutions, businesses and other stakeholders?

How inputs will be used?

Submissions will inform the Working Group’s preparation for its 39th session, including panel discussions, conclusions and recommendations on land rights of people of African descent. 

Unless specifically requested otherwise and provided they are in line with UN norms and standards, submissions will be posted on the Special Rapporteur’s homepage at the OHCHR website and may be referenced in the reports. In view of consent and privacy issues, contributions containing names of alleged victims will be considered but not published online.