The proposed amendment of article 26 of the Constitution to allow government take possession of private land without prior compensation continues to fiercely divide opinion in parliament.

Opponents of the draft legislation claim the amendment is a government ploy to grab people's land. But government argues that the amendment would stop the long delays in developing infrastructure projects, which also lead to escalation of costs.

Since Uganda’s February 2016 elections, there has been widespread speculation that the government would try to change the constitution to entrench the power of ruling elites. The focus has been the possible removal of presidential age limits, paving the way for President Yoweri Museveni – in power for 31 years – to run again.

Plans to reduce forest protections linked to attacks on inspectors and campaigners, environmental groups said after two land rights activists murdered

Environmental campaigners have blamed the Brazilian government and Congress for intensifying violence in the lawless Amazon after two land activists were murdered and a transporter carrying vehicles for Brazil’s environment agency was torched last week.

Deadline: 

14/07/2017

The Partnership Coordinator ensures the smooth functioning of the Land Matrix partnership, and is responsible for organizing, monitoring and improving project activities, under the direction of the Steering Committee. The position will be based at the University of Pretoria, hosted by the Department of Agricultural Economics and the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation. The position will be at project manager level of the University of Pretoria.

"People have many reasons to come after me - because I talk about land grabbing, because I talk about the rights of indigenous people, of crimes against minorities"

MUMBAI, June 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In her long career defending the rights of women, indigenous people and ethnic minorities, Sultana Kamal has faced numerous threats and intimidation. But none over a statue.

 Globally, principles for responsible investment in agriculture and food system, requires respecting, protecting, and promoting human rights, including the progressive realization of the right to adequate food, in the context of national food security. This is in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights instruments and protocols.

International principles, protocols that safeguard land rights

MONROVIA – When Liberia signed a series of contracts with international palm oil producers in the years after its protracted civil war, the news was greeted by some as a welcome sign of national renewal. Despite criticism voiced by local and international advocacy groups that the massive deals amounted to “land grabs,” the prospect of tens of thousands of jobs, tax revenues for a cash-starved government, and repaired roads and ports was too much for Liberian officials to pass on.

A group of indigenous leaders in northeastern Brazil came under a brutal attack late Sunday by ranchers in a violent escalation of territorial disputes. The attack is the latest in a string of sometimes deadly assaults on activists.

ASOLOKOBAL, Indonesia — Laurensius Lani’s footsteps can be heard at dawn alongside the traditional honay thatched-roof houses of the Baliem Valley, here in the archipelago country’s eastermost Papua province.

Federal police in the Mexican state of Michoacan killed four Indigenous campesinos Wednesday, entering their homes and shooting them on site, Ruptura Colectiva reports.

The four victims, whose names have yet to be released, were members of the Arantepacua Communal Property Collective, a grassroots organization that fights for Indigenous land rights in Michoacan. Eight members were left injured and 40 more were arrested, Mexico News Daily reports.

Witnesses also claim police threatened women and children who arrived at the scene of the murder with violence.

There are serious concerns that government reforms will further exacerbate land tenure and food insecurity for the majority of the population in Myanmar who rely on their farm fields and forests for their livelihoods.

Cross River set up one of the world’s protected forest reserve, raised a high standard for conservation, but Governor Ben Ayade still draws environmentalists’ ire for his stance on converting part of the area under the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation  (UN-REDD) scheme for a 260-kilometre Superhighway project.