Why ICARRD+20 is a turning point for agrarian reform and land justice
Twenty years after the first International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD), held in Porto Alegre, the debate on land and agrarian reform has returned to a central place on the global agenda.
+20 responds to the urgency of global environmental, climate, food, and biodiversity crises—and to the persistence of rural peoples defending their territories and the commons
In this context, from 24 to 28 February, the Second International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD+20) will take place in Cartagena, Colombia, bringing together governments, international organizations, social movements, civil society organizations, and academia from different regions of the world.
Far from being a symbolic commemoration, ICARRD+20 is conceived as a high-level political space to renew global commitments around access to land, social justice, and rural development.
For Colombia, hosting the Conference has particular significance. The country exhibits one of the highest levels of land concentration worldwide and a long history of agrarian conflicts, dispossession, and violence in rural territories. At the same time, agrarian reform has once again moved to the heart of public debate and the government agenda. Within the framework of ICARRD+20, the Ten-Year Agrarian Reform Plan will be presented—a participatory roadmap aimed at guiding land redistribution policies and guaranteeing rights for the rural population, at a politically pivotal moment for the country.
Two decades ago, the international community recognized the need to promote agrarian reforms in contexts marked by inequality, poverty, and food insecurity, as a pathway to expand sustainable access to land, water, and other natural resources. However, progress has been uneven and, in many cases, insufficient. While there is now greater recognition of the link between access to land, poverty reduction, and the construction of more democratic and peaceful societies, development approaches that prioritize economic profitability, land concentration, and intensive use of territories continue to prevail. ICARRD+20 represents an opportunity to challenge these approaches and advance toward more inclusive and sustainable policies. At stake are what we eat and how food is produced, the care of ecosystems and biodiversity, and who makes decisions about the future of territories. Ultimately, this is a matter of justice.
The Role of ILC at the Conference
ILC participates in ICARRD+20 to put land rights and agrarian reform at the heart of social, climate, and territorial justice.
The International Land Coalition (ILC) participates in ICARRD+20 as a global actor committed to people-centered land governance and to agrarian reform as a pillar of social, climate, and territorial justice. This participation builds on the commitments undertaken during the 10th Global Land Forum (GLF), held in Colombia in 2025, where ILC’s membership called on governments and key stakeholders to place land rights at the center of peacebuilding, sustainability, food sovereignty, and human dignity.
In line with this mandate, ILC is part of the Conference’s International Advocacy Committee and supports the participation of member social organizations from more than ten countries. During ICARRD+20, ILC will promote and engage in spaces and events addressing, among other issues, the rights of rural women and youth, the role of land and territory defenders, and the relationship between land tenure, sustainable food systems, climate, and biodiversity.
From Latin America, this engagement is articulated through concrete national platforms and processes. The National Land Coalition of Colombia (CNT Colombia), a platform supported by ILC, actively participates in the Conference through organizations such as CINEP. This articulation reflects ILC’s role as a bridge between local and national processes driven by its membership, coalitions, and platforms, and global advocacy spaces such as ICARRD+20.
ILC’s contribution to the Conference seeks to strengthen a global call for comprehensive, plural, and diverse agrarian reform—one that recognizes the territorialities of rural peoples and contributes to addressing the multiple crises facing humanity. Beyond ICARRD+20, ILC will work to ensure that the commitments undertaken translate into concrete, sustained, and inclusive actions at national and regional levels.
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