Land is more than a mere commodity. Land is crucial for the realization of many human rights. It is the means of livelihood for many people. It is also central to many peoples’ identities. It is the object of disputes often followed by violence and impunity. It is a key element in emerging global issues, such as climate change, rapid urbanization and food insecurity.
 
The landless are the ones lacking access to – and control over – land. They are numerous, especially in the poorest parts of the world. Both the universal and regional human rights systems have dealt with their situation through their different capacities, including their monitoring activities and the exam of petitions and complaints.
 
The project “Human Rights and the Landless: mapping the contributions of international human rights systems” aims at identifying and systematizing these contributions. All of them.
 
There have been important efforts of systematization in the past, such as the excellent 2015 UN Reports “Land and Human Rights: Annotated Compilation of Case Law” and “Land and Human Rights: Standards and Applications”. Yet, literature about the landless in the international human rights framework is limited. There is room for updates and expansions.
 
The present project will update past efforts with a specific approach towards the landless (in contrast with the more general approach to “land” as a broader category). Results will represent an original contribution to the existing specialized literature and will likely be useful to activists, social movements, government officials, judges and other relevant actors.