E/C.12/GC/26
(e)
Measures to mitigate climate change, such as large-scale renewable energy
projects or reforestation measures, might contribute to such trends when not adequately
managed;
(f)
Global trends, including climate change and the resulting increase in internal
and cross-border migration, are likely to increase tensions over the access to and use and
tenure of land, with negative implications for human rights;
(g)
Weak, mismanaged, corrupt or non-existent legal and institutional frameworks
for the governance of land tenure exacerbate these problems and lead to land disputes and
conflicts, social inequality, hunger and poverty.
Concerns relating to access to, use of and control over land have led in recent years to
the adoption of a number of international instruments that have significantly influenced
national legislation and policy and have been widely endorsed by Governments. In 2004, the
Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) adopted the
Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food
in the Context of National Food Security,2 which contain several provisions relating to access
to natural resources, including land and water. In 2012, the Committee on World Food
Security endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of
Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security,3 which have acquired
a high degree of legitimacy owing to, inter alia, the inclusive nature of that Committee. In
2014, the Committee on World Food Security endorsed the Principles for Responsible
Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems, which address, inter alia, the human rights
implications of agricultural investments. 4 In 2007, in its resolution 61/295, the General
Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and
in 2018, in its resolution 73/165, it adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, in both of which the Assembly
recognized a right to land for these populations. Indeed, the importance of land for the
realization of many human rights has led some scholars, civil society organizations and
special rapporteurs to consider land as a human right, with reference to all the rights,
entitlements and State obligations relating to land. One example is the basic principles and
guidelines on development-based evictions and displacement, which were drawn up by the
Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing as a component of the right to an
adequate standard of living.5
3.
4.
The present general comment was formulated on the basis of the Committee’s
experience in its review of State party reports6 and in the light of its other general comments
and its Views and decisions on communications. It is aimed at clarifying States’ obligations
relating to the impact of access to, use of and control over land on the enjoyment of the rights
enshrined in the Covenant, especially for the most disadvantaged and marginalized
individuals and groups. Thus, it is aimed at clarifying the specific obligations contained in
the Covenant that relate to land, particularly in the context of the rights enshrined in articles
1–3, 11, 12 and 15.
II. Provisions of the Covenant relating to land
5.
Secure and equitable access to, use of and control over land can have direct and
indirect implications for the enjoyment of a range of rights enshrined in the Covenant.
6.
First, land is crucial to guarantee the enjoyment of the right to adequate food, as land
is used in rural areas for the purpose of food production. Consequently, if land users are
deprived of the land they use for productive purposes, their right to adequate food might be
2
3
4
5
6
2
See https://www.fao.org/3/y7937e/y7937e00.htm.
See https://doi.org/10.4060/i2801e.
See https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/cfs/Docs1314/rai/CFS_Principles_Oct_2014_EN.pdf.
A/HRC/4/18, annex I.
The Committee has referred to land-related issues in approximately 50 concluding observations since
2001. See, for example, E/C.12/IND/CO/5, E/C.12/KHM/CO/1, E/C.12/MDG/CO/2 and
E/C.12/TZA/CO/1.
GE.23-00043