LAND FORUM LAC 2021. SESSION 1

The Decade of Action and land rights. Challenges and priorities in Latin America.

OCTOBER 12 - 09:00 A.M. LIMA

Land rights are fundamental to achieving the SDGs. Along these lines, various efforts are being made to promote changes that will allow men and women in family farming, peasant communities, indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants to have secure land rights and not be left behind.

To address this, various organisations are working to ensure that the SDGs on land are prioritised by the governments of the region and that they report on their progress. Through country reports, civil society has been focusing on SDGs 1, 2, 5 and 15, with an emphasis on those goals related to the land issue. These goals focus on the issue of secure access to land for men and women, the centrality of strengthening the production of family farmers, peasants, indigenous peoples and pastoralists on the basis of secure land rights, and the importance of ecosystem restoration.

On the other hand, the global community of social organisations advocating for secure land rights for men and women is pushing for land to be recognised as a human right. Introducing this perspective into the reflection on the SDGs is relevant in a context in which we are seeking to accelerate action towards 2030. Achieving recognition of land as a human right would provide people living on and from land with greater opportunities for states to put in place policies aimed at greater access to and security over their land and territory.

This inaugural session of the Land Forum will reflect on the progress and challenges of Latin American countries in relation to the SDGs on land, and how the recognition of land as a human right can contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. To this end, representatives from different sectors will be present and civil society shadow reports on the targets related to land rights will be presented, carried out in ten countries by the Land and SDG initiative in partnership with various National Engagement Strategies, among other allies.

DATE AND TIME

October 12

• 09:00 a.m. Lima, Quito, Bogotá and Panama City
• 10:00 a.m. La Paz
• 11:00 a.m. Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Asuncion and Brasilia
• 08:00 a.m. Central America

LANGUAGES

Spanish and simultaneous translation into English and Portuguese.

OPENING

Welcome

• Zulema Burneo, Regional Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean, International Land Coalition.

Opening remarks by:

• Mike Taylor, Director of the ILC Secretariat
• Miriam Medel, Chief - External Relations, Policy and Advocacy Unit, UNCCD
• Amadeo Martínez, General Coordinador Foro Indígena Abya Yala
• Clara Merino, Representative of the Regional Committee of the ILC Latin America and Caribbean Regional Platform / Luna Creciente

PANEL: The Decade of Action and Land Rights: Challenges and Priorities in Latin America

• Moderator: Diana Fletschner, Director of Programmes, LANDESA
• The land SDGs in Latin America: a reading from civil society shadow reports. Daniela Savid, facilitator of the Regional Land and SDG Initiative / Fundación Plurales
• Florencia María Gloria Gómez, Secretary of Environmental Policy in Natural Resources of the Government of Argentina (Argentina).
• Bayron Arnulfo Bin Quej, General Manager of the Lands Fund of Guatemala (Guatemala).
• Myriam Carolina Martínez Cárdenas, Director of the National Land Agency (Colombia).
• The importance of recognising land as a human right to move towards a more sustainable world. Rodrigo Uprimny, Rapporteur of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (DESC).
• The importance of land to guarantee the SDGs. A perspective from indigenous youth. Kantuta Conde, Representative of the Indigenous Youth Network LAC

Round of questions and answers

Words of thanks

• Diana Fletschner, Director of Programmes at LANDESA.