This report contains the full transcript of an interview submitted to KHRG during July 2012, which was conducted in Mergui-Tavoy District by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The community member interviewed 45-year-old G--- villager, Saw E---, who described the destruction of agricultural land, including betel nut and coconut plantations in G--- village resulting from construction of a vehicle road by the Italian-Thai Development Company (ITD). Saw E--- raises concerns regarding the lack of compensation for damaged agricultural land and crops.

Commentary: Land Grabbing and Related Issues and Abuses Continue...
Contents: Themes & Places of Violations reported in this issue...
Acronyms:
MAP...
Land abandoned under force seized and original owners required to buy them back, in Lai-Kha...
Burmese military let people’s militia groups grow crops on lands long cultivated by local people, in Nam-Zarng...
Situation of land grabbing and related abuses in areas under the influence of a ceasefire group “UWSA”, in Murng-Ton...

This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in November 2012 by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights. It describes events occurring in Papun District during the period between July to October 2012. Specifically discussed are Tatmadaw and Border Guard abuses, including forced labour, portering, land confiscation, coercive land sale transactions, and damages to the villagers' livelihood.

Submission of evidence by Lawyers Network and Justice Trust to the Letpadaung Investigation Commission...(Submitted 28 January, 2013, re-submitted with exhibits 5 February, 2013)...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The report, Land Tenure for Social and
Economic Inclusion in Yemen: Issues and Opportunities was
completed in December 2009. The report addresses the
problems of land ownership in Yemen and the various social
and economic problems associated with the system of land
ownership. Property rights under Yemeni Law are expressed
both in custom and statute, but both are informed by shari a
(Islamic law), which provides the basic property categories

Land Investments in Indonesia

The purpose of this study was to assess the bio-energy sector in Tanzania and to critically inquire the threats, benefits and opportunities to smallscale producers and sustainable environment management. Based on the terms of references this study focused on areas where land is earmarked or already in use for production of biofuels in Tanzania for both large and small-scale firms. The development of policy of liquid biofuels and other policies in general were examined.

In rural Cambodia the rampant allocation of state land to political elites and foreign investors in the form of “Economic Land Concessions (ELCs)”—estimated to cover an area equivalent to more than 50 % of the country’s arable land—has been associated with encroachment on farmland, community forests and indigenous territories and has contributed to a rapid increase of rural landlessness. By contrast, less than 7,000 ha of land have been allotted to land-poor and landless farmers under the pilot project for “Social Land Concessions (SLCs)” supported by various donor agencies.

This paper reviews the formal treatment of land rights in Afghanistan over the post-Bonn decade (2002 - 2012). The objective is to document the developments in the recent past to better understand present and possible future trends.

Through the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, in 2013 G8 countries are seeking to mobilise the private sector and multi-national corporations to boost African agriculture. This new Future Agricultures / PLAAS briefing (pdf) looks at how African countries are engaging with the New Alliance. The authors argue that large-scale acquisitions of land for corporate agriculture, which may result from New Alliance projects, pose a serious challenge for local markets and smallholder farmers.

Please find here the report of the online discussion facilitated by Ekta Parishad on the land portal in December 2012 : Is the right to land for shelter a human right? Many thanks to all of the participants for their very interesting inputs, which will contribute to the ongoing negociations with the indian government.

Special thanks to Dominik Pauli for his great support and commitment.

I invite you to read this briefing paper prepared - by Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) - on challanges faced by indigenous women in Southeast Asia in accessing justice. The briefing includes stories on the impact on indigenous women of various projects, including dams, mines, plantations and national parks. Countries covered are Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand,  and the Philippines. As affirmed by AIPP: